Released on = July 25, 2006, 6:21 am

Press Release Author = Livechatdir

Industry = Internet & Online

Press Release Summary = As businesses continue to deploy new strategies to get a
bigger piece of the online market share, it is becoming increasingly important to
use the latest marketing innovations in the most effective manner possible.

Press Release Body = Live Chat (aka Live Customer Support) Software is one such
innovation of the recent e-commerce boom that enables businesses to engage their
online visitors into a chat and provides a cost effective platform for proactive
sales and support. Using Live Chat Support on a website can be a boon if used
effectively and in a manner that is visitor friendly. Businesses should keep in mind
the following tips while deploying live chat support on their website:

1. Use a Hosted and Reliable Live Support Vendor. Choosing a cheap or an open source
code solution will eventually get you into trouble for lack of support and/or bugs.
Choose a vendor with a proven track record, reliable support and a big client base.
Most such vendors will he happy to offer you a week\'s trial and help in setting up
the chat system on your website. Paying a small monthly fee is worth the features,
support and reliability you get that you will need to use chat effectively.

2. Place the live chat button at a prominent location on the web page. Be consistent
with where you place the live chat button on your website. This ensures that
returning and new visitors can locate it as easily as they can locate the navigation
on every page of your website. Additionally, you may want to place a live chat
button or text at key \"conversion\" hotspots such as your call to action or sign up
page of your website. This will not only improve visitor confidence, but also
increase your site's conversions.

3. Customize the chat window with the theme of your website. Matching the chat
window and chat button to your site\'s theme can ensure that a visitor does not
terminate a chat on grounds of suspicion of adware or an unwanted popup. Vendors
such as LivePerson and Velaro help you to blend the live chat seamlessly into your
website\'s theme.

4. Prepare the profile of your visitors before training your agents. It's important
to understand your visitors demographic information , what time they come in and
what the best way to talk to them is. There is no hard and fast rule for every chat
that comes in, and an agent must be trained to understan d the individual needs of
every visitor rather than relying on canned messages.

5. Man the website 24/7 with live support agents. Nothing can be more destructive
for your website than having live chat OFFLINE on your website. Use live chat
support only if you have adequate resources to man your website 24/7, or at least at
the time when you get 80% of the traffic. By placing live chat on a website, a
business shows commitment to the visitor that they are available 24/7 for help. Just
ask yourself how you would feel when you are looking for support and the live chat
window forwards you to a contact form! If you do not have resources to setup agents
inhouse, there are cost effective chat call centers such as Livesalesman.com in
India who provide agents 24/7 specifically trained for chat and customized to your
specific business needs.

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About the Author:

This article is written by the editor of Livechatdir.com, a part of Math2Math
Infosys, specializing in e-business development and search engine marketing
solutions. For more information, please visit http://www.livechatdir.com


Web Site = http://www.livechatdir.com

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support@livechatdir.com
1-301-476-0541