Live Chat Software come in all shapes and sizes and some offer better features than others while others marketability is the budget, some even offering it for free. In most cases, all Live Chat companies showcase their Live Support software features on their websites and if you have ever gone through them once you considered offering Live Chat as an option to your online visitors you come across the term “Proactive Chat”.

Doing sales for in the Live Chat industry and throwing this “Proactive Chat” feature in my pitch, believe me in most cases I could see that they were confused and I think I have been asked once or twice “Is there other kinds?” Well the short answer is yes there is and that’s what this blog post is about.

Let’s explain how initiating a Live Chat actually works. In most sites that provide Live Support there is a button (usually with picture of a person with a head phone, although it is not understood why this has become a standard).Web visitors seeking support of any kind whether customer service, technical or sales click on this button and a chat is initiated with a representative of the company.  This just explained is what is called in the Live Chat industry a “Passive Chat” and this is the norm.

Proactive Chat on the other hand is simply the ability to actively initiate or invite website visitors to have a chat with the representative of the company; think of it of more like Greeters in a large departmental store.

I have been to a few forums where this feature was discussed and I was actually surprised at the reaction of hearing about it, it has gained notoriety amongst web visitors as spamming. That being said, it actually depends on how it is being used. Nobody likes a pushy sales person and if that is exactly what Live Chat is being used for in those companies, well all I’ll say about that is, they are not doing a good job. Proactive Chat done well however is a whole different ball game. Statistics also show that proactive chat actually increases the number of sales leads (in WebGreeter’s case we have had go upto 5 times the number) as compared to when the Live chat is in the passive mode, which website owners cannot ignore. However a balance has to be achieved as to how it is to be used. For example, if everybody is “greeted” who just landed on the website, it can cause a higher bounce rate, but put a delay in there for say 40 seconds, you know that these people are looking for some kind of information that your Live Chat Support team can definitely help with.

Having been in in the Live Chat business for just under a decade now, we have had the opportunity to work with a lot of clients over the years, but what is surprising is how many people have approached us saying “I saw your service on another website” and thought it was “interesting” or “cool” without knowing what it is that we do or what it entails and that’s fine. But the “tougher” customers were those that tended to confuse our Live Chat Service  comparing us to Live Chat Software out there.

In this post, we will try to clarify the difference between live chat software and live chat services

Live Chat Software

Live Chat Software is self explanatory; a software that you can install on your computer and with simple modification of your website you can see who comes to your site and chat with them. You have a choice of either doing it proactively, that is, invite them to chat with you or you can wait till someone clicks on the button that says “Live Chat” or “Live Support etc. There is a number of Live Chat Software using a number of technologies including Java, .NET PHP or Flash and some even utilizing FLEX technology. It can cost you as low as $9/month to anywhere in the $100 range, with the more expensive ones giving you more features while others are free. It all depends on the functionality that you think suits your needs.

Live Chat Service

Live Chat Service or Live Support Service although in general usage are alternately called “Live Chat Software” but it is a “Service” at the end. These services are available to you by providers who have the human resources and technology to be supporting your website visitors on your behalf. In essence, the Live Chat feature is outsourced. Live Chat Operators in those services would be well trained in the customer service and sales functions assisting your website visitors and most services are available 24/7. The Services would be the one providing the resources as well as the technology to be used on your website to support your Live Chat initiative. You do not have to worry about hiring, training, customizing or worry about whether it would work on your website, it all falls on the Live Chat Service. More costly than Live Chat Software, but Services rightly priced would actually reduce any need of hiring in-house or worry about what happens when you or your staff is not in the office.

In the previous blog, we tried to give a little introduction about Live Chat or Live Support and how it can benefit online businesses no matter how big or how small.

In this post, we are going to explain how exactly Live Chat works in the back-end. It looks like a simple process where a visitor is greeted or they click on a Live Chat button, you chat with the Live Support Operator, you get your questions or inquiries answered, finish the chat and that’s that.

Have you ever thought how it works? In fact let’s add a few more questions to clarify the very broad question asked:

• How does the Live Chat Software know that a visitor is on your website?
• How does the Live Chat application know which agent to route the visitor to, once the visitor decides that they are willing to speak to a Live Chat agent?
• What happens to the chat conversation once it ends?

Lets answer these questions one by one and we can tell you what we here at WebGreeter do this.

To answer the first question on how the software would know when a visitor appears is simple; Script! Our system uses a combination of JavaScript and ASP.NET technologies to alert the system once a visitor lands on any one of the pages on our website. Technically savvy website owners would know what we are talking about here, website analytics script works in almost the same fashion.

Having alerted the system that a visitor has come to our website, we use the Proactive Chat feature i.e. a chat window would pop-up on the visitors end with our custom greeting saying “Hi, I’m ABC, thank you for visiting our website. How can I help you?” However we do this after a delay. Why? This allows us to speak only to those visitors that are interested in what we have to say on our website. People who come on our website by mistake or don’t like what they see make a decision within the first 10 to 20 seconds.

During that delayed pop-up our Live Chat Software identifies agents on the back-end that are not currently in chats or have room for more chats. This helps maximizing efficiency of the chat system that we follow so as not to over burden those agents who are currently in chats or have fulfilled their quota for maximum simultaneous chats. This is part of the Routing system which also can prioritize agents in accordance to language.

After having spoken to the agent the visitors just ends the conversation and leaves, but the agent’s job is not done yet. An email application automatically opens up where all the details regarding the chat is fulfilled and sent to the personnel required to take care of whatever is needed. For example, say you are on a car dealership website that utilizes a Live Chat Service or software. You want to know when you can schedule 10,000 mile service for your car. The agent would take the request down along with any pertinent information like when would be the best time to reach you or which time frame would best suit your for your car’s service. Once you leave the Live Chat Operator fills all this information in the email application and sends it over to the service department of the dealership who would be contacting you to confirm the best time schedule. If the department is closed at that particular time its  no problem they would have that request in their email inbox, taking care of it as soon as they see it.

This is just a very simplified overview of how Live Chat Support works on websites. If you have any questions or comments please use the comments fields to do so, your feedback is always welcome.

You’ve been to websites before where they have a nifty little button that says “Live Support” or “Chat with us now” or some other call to action, right? Have you ever clicked on one of those buttons?

Well, what happens is, when that button is clicked a chat box opens up, somewhat similar to any of the run-of-the-mill instant messaging platforms like Google Talk, Yahoo Messenger or MSN Messenger, with a greeting and also giving you name of a person who asks if there is any way they can help. What makes this different, is that the other person who would be chatting with you is not a friend from your friends list, these are actual representatives of the website or company who are available for you real-time so that they can help you with inquiries, complaints, questions etc. They’d help you navigate, answer questions, recomment products and pretty much help you with everything you need from company or website that you are looking into.

This, is Live Chat and what you just experienced is not a new phenomenon either. 500 Fortune companies like Dell and IBM also utilize Live Chat as an online Customer Service medium as an extension of their customer service efforts. Ever tried going through websites where you are looking for say, replacement parts for your PC or laptops? It can definitely be daunting, after which you chose to either use a contact form on the manufacturer’s websites or perhaps call the toll free number. Imagine having those answers from someone representing the company with the click of a button! That is the power of Live Chat or Live Support.

Live Chat also known as Live Support or Live Help has been used for online sales  too, primarily for lead generation. Imagine this scenario if you will.

Research indicates that 97% of web visitors who land on a website leave without performing a “favorable” action.

A favorable action can be anything from contacting the company via an email form or perhaps calling the toll free number shown on the website. Now imagine, out of every1000 visitors that enter those websites only 30 would do what was just mentioned, and thats only if websites show what the visitor needed along with other factors to contribute to websites looking good and ranking higher in search engines. Everything said and done 3% of visitors is considered to be a good number to for lead generation from websites. Our own research at WebGreeter showed us that by utilizing Live Chat the lead generation number has gone up to 5 times that number. Those Live Chat Operators would be taking down visitor’s names, phone numbers and any relevant information so they can direct them to someone in the company who can give them the answer.

The above two examples are just some of the ways that Live Chat has proved itself as having practical business application to website owners. Different industries are also utilizing this option quite heavily especially auto dealerships and lawyer offices who have websites. Off-the-shelf Live Chat Software are available now that can be installed by website owners with maximum ease. However for web owners who do not have the time or human resources to man those software quite a few outsourced Live Chat Service Providers are also available who train and resource Live Chat Operators for those websites and at the end of it all help increase their bottom line cost effectively!

Interaction is the most important tool to build confidence in potential clients and customers. When it comes to important services such as healthcare, accountancy or legal services, client confidence is the cornerstone of success. Nowhere is this more relevant than in the legal services industry. Civil suits of a common type, such as DUIs and Traffic tickets are the most common issues faced by the majority of new clients looking for legal representation. Those accused of minor crimes, and even more serious ones, seek a lawyer’s advice even before they make a statement to the police, which is the prudent thing to do. It is therefore necessary to provide them information quickly and connect them with a legal worker as soon as possible.

Live chat helps lawyers generate better business and provide sterling services to customers who visit their websites. Chat agents, although not qualified to provide direct legal advice, can provide various services which make a big impression with worried and often panicking visitors. Chat agents provide many advantages to the law firm through the various actions they can take to help customers on their way to reliable representation and advice. Some of the major types of services and advantages they can deliver are discussed below.

Legal representation is easier for defendants to reach

Defendants can now simply connect to the website using a laptop or cell phone. This ease of access will allow even those still waiting for processing at a police station to contact a lawyer through the chat agents or gain critical information about their rights, something which everyone does not know.

Chat agents can qualify visitors

Agents on the website can pay careful attention, access the precise legal needs of a potential client and qualify them. This way, it will be documented what the visitor’s situation is and what their immediate and long term needs are.

Chat agents can provide direction and links to information on the website

While agents are not permitted to convey legal advice, they can direct the customer to legal advice and FAQs already present on the law firm’s website. The visitor seeking basic information such answers to questions about their legal rights, state laws relating to their problem, possible incarceration and penalties set by the state in such cases as well as the right course of action for them to take at the moment in time. Visitors will not have to search for this information, as it can be pushed directly to their web browser.

Chat agents can check schedules and make appointments

Chat agents can provide an online reception service by checking the availability of the lawyers working for the firm and then assisting visitors by referring them to the specialist in the firm and setting appointments for them if needed.

Chat agents can generate leads for the firm

Gathering contact information is the most critical part of the chat agent’s job. The first priority for an agent is to reduce visitor anxiety and then get their e-mail address or phone number so that a qualified legal professional can contact them and talk to them directly with as little delay as possible.

Chat agents can connect visitors with specialists

Top end live chat software solutions come complete with the ability to transfer chat conversations to other agents if necessary. In this way, an agent can also potentially qualify visitors and then transfer the chat to the relevant professionals in real time. Professionals using the software from their own offices or homes can connect to the website through the internet. Agents will transfer chats to them and they can provide direct preliminary legal advice. Transcripts of chats can also be saved to ensure reliable record keeping. In this way, visitors are connected with legal advice even faster.

Chat agents come for a fraction of the cost of other customer services setups

A live chat has a major advantage in terms of cost. Where phone setups and contact centers cost a large amount of initial investment and a large team of phone agents, costing even more in salaries and benefits, not to mention insurance, a live chat setup requires a single user, a simple computer, an internet connection and a software installation. Moreover, one live chat agent can handle the workload of up to eight phone agents at the same time. Chatting is easily multitasked, and agents can serve several times as many customers alone at the same time than a whole team of phone agents would manage within the same time period.