“My dog ate my homework.”

For anyone who went through the United States’ public school system since the 1970s, this should be a very familiar excuse. And it may very well be the same excuse some dealers use to avoid doing their homework of test chatting their prospective chat providers before they buy a chat solution.

Avoid these top 3 excuses and learn why test chatting your potential managed chat provider is crucial to your vendor review process. Read on!

1. The price is right

Would you neglect to test drive your future vehicle if the price was unusually low? Definitely not.

A low-priced vehicle can throw up some red flags like: Has this used car been in any previous accidents? Or, is this some kind of incognito lemon dressed up as a great deal? You wouldn’t let your family ride in a vehicle you didn’t trust, no matter what the price.

And for the same reason, you shouldn’t let your shoppers experience a lower quality chat solution because it was the lowest cost option. It’s just not worth the risk to bypass testing out a chat provider before you buy, just like every shopper should test drive a car to experience the vehicle and all its perks.

Your live chat team is often your online shopper’s first impression of your dealership, so test chatting can help you see first hand the quality of the conversations and how your shoppers will be treated.

Remember: The chat provider you choose to represent your dealership online will be the one to bridge the gap between your online shoppers and you...or maybe burn the bridge completely. When settling for a chat provider because of price, you’ll always get what you pay for!

2. ‘Ain’t nobody got time for that’

When quality chat conversations are had with your online shoppers, your dealership could see 80% of the conversations converted into sales opportunities for your store to follow up on. Or, you could end up with poor quality conversations, and your dealership’s reputation and customer service could tank.

Smart dealerships take 10 minutes out of their day to test chat prospective chat providers. Others, believe in the common misconception that ALL CHAT IS THE SAME. If all chat was the same, there wouldn’t be bad chat conversations like this one and exemplary chat conversations like this one.

Every chat provider has a different approach to how they converse with your shoppers. Make the time to weed through the good, the bad and the ugly so you make an informed decision about who is speaking with your online shoppers and how your dealership is being represented.

3. Everyone uses this provider

Word of mouth is a great way to narrow down live chat providers. It helps speed up the research process, so that you don’t have to read as many online reviews and testimonials for every car dealer chat provider (and oh my are there a lot!).

However, choosing the live chat service a dealership in your 20 group is using is not going to guarantee you the best live chat service. Maybe the deciding factor for another dealership was different from yours, like the provider’s software capabilities or contract options. Maybe that dealership didn’t test chat either!

Nothing will be as effective as test chatting different providers yourself and doing your own research to understand which chat service is right for your store. If your number one priority is your shoppers’ experience with your store (and it should be), you will want to make sure even the most talked about chat providers are living up to the hype.

Note for those who already have live chat:

You should have access to all chat conversation transcripts and leads in order to hold your live chat provider accountable for the conversations they have and the results they provide to your store. Be sure you or someone at your store is receiving AND reading every chat conversation being had on your website.

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Dealers, you want to make sure that every shopper on your website is receiving the same quality of service you give them when they walk onto your lot. The only way to make that informed decision is to test chat. Try it out - you might even get a laugh or two!

Do you need help identifying a professional live chat service that fits the needs of your dealership? Check out our most recent FREE eBook: “Live Chat: White Glove Style”