With the bigshots like Amazon and eBay prevailing over the market, it’s a tough time for marketplaces to prove themselves and I think everyone would agree with the fact that technology is proving to be the key differentiator in this scenario.
Chat Integrations are one such differentiator.
Top to mid segment brands have incorporated chat in their marketplaces to make their platform more user-friendly and engaging.
The market is hot right now for chat integration services, and with every passing day it is only heating up. Marketplaces and online platforms are rushing to add real-time user-to-user messaging to their websites. After all, that’s what users expect- the communication to be fast and direct.
CometChat is a tool that can be well-synchronized with iOS and Android, without messing with the current applications. With text chat accompanied by image, audio, video and screen sharing, CometChat is a path-breaking kit for marketplaces in this highly competitive age of the Internet.
A good example of the concept of real-time chat between the buyer and seller is AliExpress, the online shopping portal. Transforming the way people buy, Aliexpress allows customers to directly talk to sellers in this marketplace and ask questions about products and delivery.
Why Add Chat to Your Marketplace Website?
Let’s list the many benefits of adding the chat functionality to your Marketplace website
Buyer convenienceChat integration will enable smooth communication between buyers and sellers via real time messaging. A buyer will be able to ask queries and the seller will be able to respond to the same in order to clear the buyer’s doubts regarding any product.
Seller convenienceOn the other hand, sellers can gain insights into the kind of sentiments his products generate and the knowledge of various frequent user queries.
Trust and transparency A marketplace has its own set of challenges to face. The bigger the place, greater are the chances of duplicity. A direct chat with the seller builds trust in the minds of the buyers and can boost overall sales.
Faster TransactionsWith real-time chat, user queries are sorted faster thereby, contributing to smoother transactions. Moreover, marketplaces can deploy chatbots to enable in-chat payments to further accelerate the process of conversion.
PrivacyThe most prominent feature of this module is the privacy of contact details. The buyer and the seller can have direct chat without revealing their contact details so as to avoid spam calls and messages.
Features of a Chat Integration App
So, let us now focus on the top features of chat integration app and use cases of each of these features.
One-on-One Chat
Starting from the basics, One-One Chat allows the buyer and the seller to chat with each other in real time without leaving the platform. Customers can chat, negotiate, and seek information irrespective of their geographical boundaries.
Chat integration ensures that neither the seller nor the buyer has to disclose their personal contact details to connect, and yet, they can hold conversations relevant to transactions.
Whilst building trust between sellers and buyers within the marketplace, one-on-one chat also helps transparent transactions.
Use Case Scenario: A customer checks out a car listed on a marketplace and really likes the car. He wants to go ahead with the purchase but hesitates as he has multiple questions regarding the car mileage, servicing documents, pricing and so on. He has an option to send the seller an email and then wait for a reply, giving him time to find other options.
Let’s analyze two resultant situations:
Without chat integrationSince email communication takes time, buyer loses interest in the listing or finds an alternative option on a different platform.
With chat integrationHe contacts the seller instantly and is able to ask questions and negotiate in real time. His doubts are cleared, queries resolved and the transaction follows. Voila!
File Sharing
Chat integrations get better with file sharing!
Sellers and buyers can share images or any kind of documents over a chat session using file sharing, creating a clear chain of communication making the buying process easier and more accessible.
Use Case Scenario: Taking the previous example of a car sale. Let’s say buyer likes the car, he has connected with the seller and has been asking him questions regarding the car but now he wishes to see some more pictures of the car from different angles or maybe he wants to have a look at the inside of the same car.
The seller can use the file sharing feature to send across multiple pictures to the buyer and this in turn will help the buyer asses his purchase decision.
Role Based Access Control
With Role Based Access Control, many transactions and business processes can be well-organized. This feature enables marketplaces to choose who can access which features. It helps marketplaces gain greater control over the chat platform.
Use Case Scenario: A buyer with a free-membership wants to connect with a seller over a video chat. Your platform allows only text chat in case of free membership and for him to access the Voice & Video Calling feature, he needs to upgrade his account to a premium membership.
Moreover, marketplaces can choose to only allow the buyers to initiate chat wherein sellers can only respond if a buyer has initiated a chat. This is will help save buyers from intrusive and unnecessary conversations.
Credit Based Deduction Feature
Credit Deduction feature is another prominent feature that allows website owners to deduct credits from seller and buyer accounts when they access a certain chat feature.
Use Case Scenario : A seller will have to buy credits within the website in order to accept payments using bots or send across pictures using file sharing.
This increases in app/website transactions and also allows the website owners generate extra revenue.
Takeaway
Personalization acts as a catalyst that transforms a prospect into a customer and further transforming customers into advocates.
With the advent of chat integration services, customers will feel comfortable shopping online as they get access to the products and services in a highly transparent and fair environment. Marketplace websites are competing for an edge.
A highly personalized and trustworthy experience can be that edge your marketplace website needs to standout and grow ahead of the competition.
Team CometChat
