Click-to-Chat -- Do You Have It?

• Do you have a product site?
• Do you have "Click-to-Chat"?
• How is it working for you?

I almost always use the click-to-chat feature whenever it is offered. I, like most shoppers, am inpatient and if i have questions I want the answer as soon as possible. Service sites can also benefit from this feature, but if you are an eCommerce site selling merchandise...it is essential.

The best I have found so far is http://www.liveperson.com. They offer a lot of great features plus complete reporting tools. If you know anything about Giraffe Communications, we are huge on metrics.

The great thing about live chat is that you can be logged on during business hours and show as available for chat, but if you leave for lunch or log off...the button shows as unavilable. If you want coverage around the clock, you can hire someone to be logged on during the off-hours. If you step away from your computer momentarily, the feature has a ring tone when a user submits a chat. When you hear it, just go back to your computer and click to accept the chat. For large volume sites, more than one chat can be going on at the same time and more than one CSR can be logged on at the same time.

Businesses that I know would benefit from the click-to-chat feature, yet don't seem to be taking advantage of it.

- car dealerships
- retail sites (meijer, walmart, etc)
- pharmacies/pharmacists
- domain/host sites (i.e. godaddy.com, which I love by the way)
- shipping sites (i.e. usps/fedex, ups, etc)

Click to chat offers a way for you to interact with a customer online...before they come into your store or make a purchase. Being able the interact with a user allows a relationship to start, which we know is the key to earning trust. And of course, earning trust earns the sales as well as customer loyalty.

Some business owners choose not to have a website or choose to do very little with it because they feel it is inpersonal and rather do business face-to-face. This is common with car dealerships because you physically have to enter the showroom to buy a car. However, there is A LOT to be said for methods that bring those customers in the door and it is proven by research that websites can bring in business. Think of your website as a passive sales person for your company. Now add the live chat feature and your sales rep has just become a little more aggressive or as we call it in the biz...interactive.

If don't have a live chat feature on your site or have not given it thought, go to www.liveperson.com (or any other provider) and take a look it how it can enhance your business. I highly recommend it!

Thanks and have a great day!

Amy

Comments

[Cheryl]

I love click-to-chats! I have even been knowN to click off a site and do a search for other competitors--looking for one that does offer the feature.

Click to call is a pretty popular and user-friendly feature too.

THANKS!!

[Jon E]

I agree! I was recently looking on a bunch of used car sites and would have loved to click to chat about some of the featured cars, but none of the car sites offered it. I think they are missing the boat on this one.

Jon