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If you run a business and are looking for a new tool that offers immediate support and information to your customers, live chat software could be the answer.
Use this guide to help you work out what software could fit the bill for your business. Read on to find out more.
Live chat software helps your business to communicate with customers in real-time through instant messages exchanged via a chat widget on your company website.
Having a live support option can bring customers peace of mind that they're able to contact you easily to arrange purchases or answer any questions. As well as customer service support, a live chat application can be a useful aid to converting leads into paying customers.
mylivechat is a versatile chat solution for your website that allows you to interact with your customers in real-time.
Purechat allows you to quickly set up live chat for your website. Purechat is tailored towards smaller teams.
Livechat is a full service live chat system. It allows for canned responses, tagging rules, transcripts and ratings.
Pros
Cons
When you're comparing providers, the cheapest deal may not be the best option for you. You can expect a greater range of features with more expensive subscription plans and it's up to you to weigh up whether a small extra cost will pay off in the long run. Consider a credit card with no foreign transaction fees to pay for your subscription.
Many live chat providers are based in the US, so, you'll want to be clear on the conversion rates you're offered. The most basic paid-for plans typically start from around USD$12 per agent per month.
Live chat can help your business with a range of functions on your website, helping to solve customer pain points while at the same time offering you the chance to gather some useful marketing information.
We advise you to compare multiple options and keep in mind that the type of software that's best for you ultimately depends on the needs of your company and the specific customer problems you need to solve.
Can I integrate my live chat with any business tools that I already use?
Yes, many providers will let you connect apps such as Google Analytics and Mailchimp to help you streamline your data analytics.
Should I choose Cloud-based or self-hosted software?
Most providers will offer cloud-hosted software, which at its most basic means it's facilitated by the Internet and kept on a third-party server. Self-hosted services are kept 'on-site' using your own company's tech infrastructure. Generally, cloud-based services are chosen more often for a range of factors including its affordability, ease of updates and accessibility.
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