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.

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.

The availability of the internet almost everywhere through the use of wireless and mobile connectivity makes virtually all consumers consult the internet for information on how to solve their problems. When it comes to important services, time strapped consumers often go online to find the best possible solution to their problems and the widest possible range of good options. In case of critical needs, such as health, legal or accountancy services, people look for options on which they have the utmost confident and often rely on word-of-mouth because of their lack of trust and the high risk involved. Such is also the case with Law firms and their websites. A person with a legal problem to solve is most likely to go to the local law firm suggested by friends or family, however, when there is limited time and access, or the absence of good references, the internet is usually where they end up looking.

When it comes to legal services, nothing can be as important to a defendant as finding the firm that will provide assurance and promise the best and quickest possible solution, and in which the person will have complete confidence. People often put their property, freedom and even their lives at stake and must be assured that their trust will not be betrayed. But how can you get customer to trust your services? The answer is simple, live interaction.

Research all over the world has shown that interaction is the key to building confidence and trust. People nowadays trust the words of an actual person over the text on a computer screen, and interacting with potential clients on your law services website will help not only give clients the confidence they need but also speed up their processes and reduce anxiety.

When a potential client comes online, the most important factor is how soon they are connected with legal experts directly. While live chat agents are usually not qualified to give legal advice due to laws in almost all states, they are the first contact that a troubled client can directly speak to, within seconds of their landing on the webpage. This direct interaction not only helps reduce stress immediately, but enables the agents to qualify the visitor and then connect them with an expert within minutes, either directly via live-chat or by gathering contact information, generating a lead and then forwarding it to the law firm directly for a subject oriented follow up.

Consider a visitor landing on a webpage to look for advice regarding a DUI case or to fight a traffic ticket. Such visitors are first cordially greeted and then connected to a sympathetic and helpful chat agent. This agent seeks to reduce the anxiety that the visitor is experiencing by listening to their problem attentively and then forwarding the case to the expert within the law firm who specialized in such cases.

Web Greeter introducing Live customer support services in UK. We have been on the World Wide Web since 2002 and we have already ventured into the unknown realms of the Middle East, UAE being our most important undertaking.

Now we have decided to dare ascent in the Great Britain itself- the land of learned and educated.

The notion of live chat for website is still young and we have been doing what we could, to help the idea grow and expand and inculcate the b2c commerce within it. The hoi polloi now has begun to realize the importance of an efficient customer service support. The austere concepts of customer support and relationship management cannot be used to deal with ecommerce services and cannot be broadened without adding an element of caprice, and thinking audaciously.

If everyone would have considered the current system as canonical, there would never have been any inventions. That is what we believe in, and what we are planning to do in UK. Although in UK online customer support is not an idea unheard of, but we plan to customize it according to what we believe in. We are planning to go into every that place where we have not been before. We have shun the fear of the unknown, and UK is our first step into that world.

To increase online sales, we don’t believe in resorting to lowly tactics. In order to increase website sales, work will have to be done on the website too, hence our SEO services. This is in addition to our basic sales services. This will be a golden opportunity for all those who want to increase website sales as well as customer allegiance. To increase your sales, you are liable to do anything.

E-sources state UK as the most active ecommerce consumer. It did not need much work to increase sales. This is natural too, since UK is the land of Oxford and Cambridge, and where the internet was actually invented.

Where the developing world is still on the verge of many markets, UK is where the actual knowledge began. The concept of market places, with pleasant faced salesmen and jesters to draw the crowds and attend to them; every age has had its own ways of maintaining customer traffic and loyalty. UK is where one can see every business in action. With 61% households having access to the internet, and more than 2 billion pounds being spent per annum on internet marketing, it is not a wonder we see every business in business there. Entities like online sales actually make a difference here. The customers trust the sites even more if they know that they can chat live regarding anything they need to know. Even we want to be live in support because we have witnessed the turnout with live support.

UK, also known as the land of miserable grey weather, also experiences immediate boost in the sales on a rainy day, which is like almost every other day.

Live Admins takes pleasure in preparing our web greeters according to the article they will be marketing. Our specially trained greeters will be presenting a translucent crossing point to your consumers and will be delivering an incessant 24×7 access to live help right on your web site in the way you want it to be projected. You will be having live chat for website that will be offering efficient customer service.

The population of UK is already well aware of the concept of buying online. In ecommerce services UK is not new. We only plan to take that to an all new level of experience. We want to give your customer something to remember us by. We want to create a bond. We want to get etched into their memories for good.

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