What Are Real-Time Features And Why Does Your Site Need Them?

Converting visitors into customers is all about engagement and a huge part of this happens in the now; making real-time features a must have for websites.

What Are Real-Time Features

By inserting real-time functions into your online platform – whether it’s a web resource or an application – you become a friend of your audience.

Being able to communicate and better understand what your audience needs allows you to give each customer exactly what they wanted. However, in order to that you first need to figure out what those features truly are.

What real-time features really refer to

Many features are more static in nature, for instance, user profiles. The audience simply fills them in, and they won’t change much. When dealing with real-time functionalities, it’s an entirely different story…

Such functions are influenced by every change which to some extent concerns a certain customer.

 

To put it simpler, when a web resource or an app is stuffed with real-time functionalities, it actually manages to provide users with the most individualized content monitoring the latest info on those customers. Such features are designed to be flexible and adaptive.

To help better illustrate what I’m talking about, we can classify all real-time functions by these characterization:

  • the ability to target a certain customer by means of his personal records or individual wants and needs;
  • the use of changing and evolving information;
  • having an alive, updating and dynamic nature.

What it takes to get real-time functionalities integrated into an m-service or a website:

  • analysis of data on every client;
  • close communication with users via all possible channels, both, mobile and web ones;
  • highly effective data protection, since you’re managing users’ private info.

Now that we can classify real-time features and functions, let’s take a look at key features websites rely on.

Indispensable real-time functionalities

We’d like to define the key real-time features which every site and each app must-have.

#1. Support service

What could be more critical than to assist your users, helping them solve any issues! The below-mentioned reasons emphasize the importance of supporting your audience:

  • Poor users’ satisfaction. Any company has its highs and lows, so something might go wrong, and customers’ satisfaction could worsen. Real-time features shall help you respond here in the best efficient way to assist your customers.
  • Feedback response. Of course, you’ll receive positive reviews as well, which are also critical to be responded actively. Your audience will be happy to feel appreciated.
  • Support with the website navigation. Obviously, the interface – no matter, if it’s a web site or a mobile service – has to be customer-oriented. Still, in some cases, users might struggle with finding what they need. Be prepared to answer their questions without delay.

Customer Support Instruments:

  • Online chatting. The mentioned tool is for responding to customers’ questions in the fastest possible way. 24/7 support could be easily provided by means of chatbots. Such programs will answer simple questions applying built-in algorithms. When dealing with non-standard and more complicated questions, chatbots could deliver users’ requests for managers to reply.
  • Various communication channels. Your audience needs the possibility to get in touch with you through other means of communication as well, say, Viber, emails, Skype, and the like.
  • Frequently Asked Questions. As a matter of fact, F.A.Q. the section isn’t a real-time function, however, such an option deserves to be implemented, since it considerably assists customers in finding answers to their questions.

#2. Push notification

Why not remind your clients of your web resource keeping them posted on the latest updates? Let’s see what exactly you could communicate to your audience via push notifications:

  • your business news, like, current sales and special deals, the next delivery of new products, etc.;
  • relevant discounts. It’s a win-win approach to elaborate loyalty program considering your users’ preferences;
  • individual offers. You could inform a client when an item from his/her Wishlist is on sale;
  • That option is applicable for those who have physical facilities in addition to a web resource. If it’s your case, you could invite customers to visit your place when they’re in that area.

#3. Product recommendations

When it comes to selling or up-selling products online, product recommendations are in high demand. The idea is to foresee what your user is looking for and to offer him/her that item. Here the secret of success lies at using certain strategies to ensure accurate anticipation, so we advise you to monitor the following:

  • Purchasing history. After analyzing what your audience bought, you’ll identify their interests and preferences.
  • Visited pages. Today’s real-time technologies open wide opportunities, and the ability to determine what pages your customers were visiting – no matter, if they bought something or not – is one of them. Use it to your advantage! You could offer your users something similar at the lower price.
  • Supplements to the purchases. That’s a wise strategy to offer the clients certain items that would perfectly supplement the products they buy. For instance, when a user chooses a certain shampoo to buy, you could offer a shower gel to purchase as well.

#4. Current status of orders

Real-time account and order status is an essential and valuable functions. And, frankly, the live status of orders is even more crucial than it seems. The audience prefers to know the stage of an order made. It’s in your power to provide your clients with what they want.

Orders could be at such stages:

  • in process;
  • received;
  • packaged;
  • sent;
  • in transit;

#5. Data analysis

Accurate data collection and its further analyses play a crucial role in certain service demand and success. The below-mentioned options are only a few of multiple sources to gather the information on customers:

  • data from users’ profiles. It means that the implementation of various fields shall be thoroughly considered to include every essential detail;
  • social media. Such information is truly valuable. Moreover, the possibility to register via social networks will surely be appreciated by your audience. As a general rule, people express themselves sincerely on social media, thus, such platforms represent a precious wealth of information. That’s a truly win-win situation when you collect all data required, and your customers don’t have to fill in numerous endless fields to provide you with that info.
  • online behavior. Why not check how your clients behave in the digital world? Do you know what pages they browse and what items they prefer? That’s the right attitude to figure out which goods you could advise them and what kind of notifications would be useful.

After having collected the data, the task is to reach proper conclusions. Fortunately, modern technologies provide a great selection of diverse instruments for accurate analytics. Simply choose a convenient solution for your business.

The time has come to identify what exactly your online platform can get when being stuffed with real-time features.

Real-time functions advantages

real-time functions

The main benefits of implementing real-time functionalities into a web platform or a mobile application are increased customer engagement, increased sales and longer customer life-cycle:

  • Personalizing the content. You define what your audience is looking for and deliver them personalized services;
  • Enhancing users’ experience. By providing personalized services you assist your clients with solving their issues, thus, they enjoy better experience using your platform;
  • Increasing sales volumes. The happier users are, the more they’ll purchase, then your sales grow rapidly;
  • Building stronger brand recognition. Application of real-time parameters encourages customers to memorize your platform much better and quicker, that irrevocably leads to an increase in your brand awareness;
  • Expanding client base. Everything mentioned earlier shall certainly broaden the database of your users;
  • Following current tendencies. It’s undoubtedly essential for every market to move with the times, and real-time features shall do so for your digital business.

Well, hopefully, now you see in what way real-time functions influence apps and web resources, and you realize how you could enjoy their benefits.

So, will you upgrade your platform integrating real-time tools into it? It’s your decision to make now.