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Mar 16, 2010 Home > Articles
 
Live Help Software Offers Numerous Customer Support Options
by Joe Taylor Jr., VendorGuru Columnist

Like any enterprise software, live chat systems offer business owners and IT directors a dizzying array of choices. Marketing experts have identified six consistent areas that make the largest impact on a company's live chat system.

 

Cost
Depending on the size of your business, a live chat system could cost anywhere from $50 per month to $100 per corporate user. Many business planners advise company leaders to view the cost of a live chat operation through the same lens as a traditional customer service offering. Reviewing metrics, such as the cost to handle existing support transactions, can help decision makers narrow down a target price range for monthly or annual live support services.

 

Installation
Many live chat systems offer "plug in" options that can be deployed on any website by adding a few lines of code. However, some advanced live chat software tools may require more sophisticated hardware installation and software maintenance. Hosted solutions offer smaller businesses the ability to quickly add live chat systems without worrying about hardware or software. Larger companies and organizations with privacy concerns may prefer to choose live chat systems that run on dedicated servers installed on-site or at secure data centers.

 

Integration
Effective live chat systems should integrate seamlessly with the rest of a company's customer support and service operation. Customers can easily become frustrated if the results of a live chat session are not recorded and accessible to call center agents at a future date. Likewise, live support agents without access to crucial customer or product data can quickly defeat the purpose of adding live chat to a website. To support company-wide best practices, marketing experts recommend empowering live support agents with the same tools and information as traditional customer support representatives.

 

Ease of Use
Of course, a live support system for your business does little good if customers experience frustration during their chat experience. Most marketing experts agree that the most effective live chat systems rely on popular browser standards instead of requiring specific software downloads. Customers typically appreciate the ability to click a button to immediately launch a live chat session. Meanwhile, browser-based live support software affords flexibility among chat agents and other staff members. A company with home-based workers can benefit from systems that require no special downloads. Likewise, browser-based live support systems or tools that require minimal software installations allow corporate users to participate in online support conversations when necessary.

 

Scalability
To prevent installing a live support system that could become outdated within a few years, marketing experts recommend a review of a company's growth patterns and potential. Stable companies with predictable service needs can often choose flat-rate systems, while growing companies can benefit from scalable platforms. The most scalable live chat systems already offer per-user pricing, making it easy to manage costs as a company's needs ebb and flow over time.

 

Special Features
Finally, experts recommend matching special features of live support systems to specific company needs. For instance, technical support services may benefit from live chat software that offers screen-sharing and other diagnostic tools. Retailers may prefer to use live chat services that offer file sharing or URL redirection, allowing support agents to direct customers to an appropriate webpage or product photo.

 

Sources
Adotas

CRM Buyer

Forbes
GulfNews
Inc. Magazine

Marketing Sherpa
Practical E-Commerce
Velaro
Wall Street Journal

 

About the Author
Joe Taylor Jr. is an internal business consultant for a Fortune 500 company, who writes about finance, culture, and design. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Communications from Ithaca College.

 
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