Question

Topic: E-Marketing

Live Chat... Yay Or Nay?

Posted by Jessica_Castro on 7/1/2008 at 10:40 AM ET 500 Points
My company specializes in DNA testing and since that industry doesn't have what you would consider repeat customers our focus must be on what my boss calls "new fish".

We have a strong e-marketing presence and we get significant traffic on our web pages, but few result in action. Our conversions are moderate but not great. I have found a lot of companies have featured live chat as an option. I think this might help out our industry for the added discretion and the ability to track where customers came from. The problem is my company thinks this could result in a liability in case someone writes inaccurate information. To me it is no different than a phone call so I'm not worried. It just adds discretion for the customer so they don't blab their personal life on the phone in front of their colleagues.

Do you think this live chat is worth the fight or a waste of my time?
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RESPONSES

  • Posted by Frank Hurtte on 7/1/2008 at 10:47 AM Accepted
    Several of my clients (technology and automation focused companies) have instituted live chat to great benefit.

    It has a some strong value in that a single person can often handle as many as 5 or 6 live chats simultaneously. And, we have discovered that those in the 20-30 demographic are more comfortable using live chat than phone.

    The management teams of these clients often had to be convinced by their younger workers. Guys in their 40's and 50's don't use IM messaging.
  • Posted by Jessica_Castro on 7/1/2008 at 10:55 AM Author
    My main problem is the infamous "Legal Liability" train, what if I type something inaccurate and we get sued?

    I don't know how to convince them that if that hasn't happened on the phone yet, it really isn't going to happen in a chat.
  • Posted on 7/1/2008 at 11:05 AM Member
    Perhaps management feels a typed response leaves evidence of what was said and a phone call does not, unless it's recorded.

    If management has set rules for what can be said on the phone, then this can be applied for chat. I'm not sure what can be said that could be used to sue you though.

    All in all, we use live chat and like it. The company we use guarantees a 15% increase in sales using their service or you can get a refund. You get 60 days. Here is the link, https://tinyurl.com/2wqoah
  • Posted by Jessica_Castro on 7/1/2008 at 11:13 AM Author
    Well we already have team that can add it and one of the problems is that they had it on their site in the past and they said no one would use it, but that was the past. People are more online than ever and I feel it would definitely increase our sales....

    I have already started preparing a "script" so that they can see the kind of response that would be given with each question and if they don't like it we can change it. I also think this could be given to new people if we train them and side step the liability worry they have.
  • Posted by Jessica_Castro on 7/1/2008 at 11:33 AM Author
    I'm not sure what sterling is...and I don't think that would really work for us at all. The average person spends very little time browsing our site (understandable considering the taboo nature of it) so I can almost guarantee they wouldn't tune into a radio station broadcasting it. Although we are about to begin putting testimonials as our hold music...Thanks for the input though....
  • Posted by Jessica_Castro on 7/1/2008 at 1:04 PM Author
    The problem with a group...is people tend to shy away from the discussion about infidelity and alleged paternity. I already attempted the "social network" thing and started a group which was a massive failure because in short most people would prefer not to be identified with a paternity test. But I could definitely try that with our other tests for Immigration, and adoption. Thanks for the input.
  • Posted by melissa.paulik on 7/1/2008 at 1:04 PM Accepted
    I would be less worried about the liability issue than the security issue. You should work with IT to make sure that your customers aren't a potential target for miuse of their personal information if they share it via live chat.

    That being said, I think live chat is a great option. (With deference to Frank, guys in their forties and fifties in my business use IM all the time. But then, I've spent my career in software so maybe we're different.)

    To get live chat accepted within the organization I wouldn't make a big deal out of it. I would describe it as making sure you are communicating with the customer they way they want to be communicated with. There is no doubt that the younger generations would prefer to use the chat function instead of picking up the phone.

    There are obviously mistakes to avoid as well. One software company I worked with implemented live chat but unfortunately, the person they chose to monitor the live chat was hardly ever at her desk. Clearly that was a recipe for failure.

    I tried to live chat with a hotel the other day to see if I could get a copy of my bill. I sent a chat a couple of times and no one responded. Again, not good!

    I use live chat frequently with various software applications. Make sure the people who are responding on your end know what they are talking about and use proper etiquette. Just like email, the etiquette for chatting and phone conversations is different. And, it's not like chatting with your buddy on IM.

    Finally, although you can have multiple chat sessions going at once, that isn't the expectation of the customer. they want a 1:1 conversation. You need to make sure that your staffing allows you to manage the number of chats being managed simultaneously so that your customers at least feel like they are getting your full attention.

    All the best!

    Melissa
  • Posted by Jessica_Castro on 7/1/2008 at 1:40 PM Author
    Thank you so much Melissa!

    I am definitely going to use your response as evidence that yes chat can be useful and that we can be aware of what to avoid.

    Thanks all for the prompt responses!
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