Live chat service is an integral part of any internet based business. When looking for live chat support for your online business, you will go with a service that allows for customization and one that grows with your organization. The best live chat service accommodates the needs and dynamics of your clients and support team. Below are criteria that you can use to help you determine the best support software for your business’s chat needs.
Every visitor to your site has an initial first impression. This is because the design of your website is such that it represents your brand and company. Your website’s design should also be part of the live chat window. The best live chat support software allows online business owners to customize virtually everything on the chat window to conform to their brand and company. These include canned messages, buttons, logo, color scheme and pre-chat survey questions. The host environment should be able to handle both downloadable software and web-based applications. The main difference between the two options is usually price. A live chat option is usually a good bet for a company that aspires to grow its customer base. It also comes with a translation option for international clients.
Another important criterion when choosing live chat support is operator capabilities. It is important to have chat online support that has the necessary features for effective communication with your clients. If your business is a small one, you do not require a software package with numerous features. An application with simple features such as visual and sound alerts, a typing indicator as well as a spell checker, that both the customer and operator understands will be enough.
An effective live chat support should be able to collect vital clients’ information such as the type of browser that they use, client click-through path and their referral website. It is also possible to tell whether the client has visited your website in the recent past, their chat history and any past purchase. This information is important since you get to know pages of your website that are attractive to visitors and those that are not. As you analyze visitor behavior, you can opt to send them a chat invite. However, if the invite is not personalized, it will look more like a pop-up advert than a proactive invite.
Finally but importantly, the live chat support should be easy to use since not everyone is a CSS/JavaScript/HTML master. It should be straightforward to use without the need of prior coding experience.