Online consultants on the company's website

Not all of us have seen such a function as an online consultant or assistant on various websites. Some people find this functionality useful, convenient, and even necessary to increase the efficiency of working with clients. Many other obviously commercial sites have no such functionality.

When working with clients, I also often come across online consultants on the company's website, but more often I don’t see them. Of course, I have to study the features of this solution, the effectiveness of their application in various cases, as well as technical solutions, including integrating the chat online consultant with different systems.

And now I want to talk about what online assistants are, about their features depending on the choice of program and organizational methods of work, and also to find out how much this tool helps in working with clients and whether it performs any other marketing functions.
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My clients often ask me about this, similar questions often come through email or feedback from people who come to me for advice as an expert. I hope that this article will help all people interested in the work of online consultants. sort out. what it is, how to choose and apply the online consultant service correctly, in what cases it will be effective and what resources will be needed to organize its work.

What is online consultants

Online helpers are special software solutions that allow a site visitor to get quick feedback from company employees.

A visitor on any site can contact the company using different methods:

• Fill out the form on the site;
• Call or request a call back;
• Write an email;
• Chat in an online assistant.

There are many online consultant services that provide site owners with an appropriate software solution. I also studied many of them - JivoSite, ZOHO SalesIQ, Intercomp and many others. All they share the main function - the provision of quick feedback to the client.

Why do we need online helpers

Chat with an online consultant is set to achieve the following goals:

1. Providing quick feedback to potential customers. Quality service helps to increase the number of customers and increase the amount of the average bill;
2. Leadoherence (lead capture). To communicate with the consultant, the site visitor leaves his data - email, telephone. Those. There is a collection of information about potential customers for subsequent work with them, the so-called lead capture.
3. Display of promotional materials. In the online chat window, you can show not only an offer to contact a consultant and ask your question, but also various advertising materials, for example, a banner with a notification about the promotion, after clicking on which the user will be directed to the thematic page, etc. Also in the online chat, you can insert a window with a mini-survey and collect the views of visitors on the subject of interest.

There are other ways to use the chat online assistant, but they are much better able to cope with other systems. That is why I will speak here only about the basic variants of the work of this software solution.

In fact, even capturing leads and displaying advertisements for an online consultant is a minor opportunity. All these things can be realized without installing an online chat. That is why the most important thing in this software product is the possibility of quick and comfortable chatting with a consultant.

How it works:

1. A program script of the selected online chat is installed on the site.
2. Under certain conditions set by the site owner, a chat form pops up, where the visitor can enter some of their data and ask the consultant a question.
3. The consultant in the chat window answers the visitor's questions, helps to make a choice, etc.

How it works for users, you all probably know. For the site owner, it is important to choose a chat service, install the code, configure it in one way or another, and most importantly, respond to user requests in a timely manner.

How the online assistant chat works

Above, I already wrote that there are many service providers of the “online site consultant” service. All of them offer turnkey solutions, usually consisting of several parts:

1. Script for the site. A small fragment of the finished code, which is copied in the online chat provider system, to the site where the service will work. This script is responsible for the interaction of the system with the online assistant.
2. A SAAS system or (in rare cases) a software product installed on its own server, from where the main work is carried out. The appearance of the online chat, the rules of its appearance and display are configured from this system, correspondence with site visitors is being conducted, information on leads is collected.
3. The window of communication with the user online assistant. The displayed window “online chat” on the pages of the site with which the user interacts.

Algorithms for online helpers

One of the most important parameters of any online consultant is the algorithm for opening the chat window and displaying information in the window before the start of a dialogue. For unknown reasons, our compatriots most often either ignore the possibilities offered by this algorithm or use them incorrectly, thereby scaring visitors.

Options for opening a chat window and selecting content:

1. A few minutes after the user navigates to the page , regardless of the source of the transition and other factors. The most popular option implies that the user has stayed on the page, which means that he is interested in something and may have questions. We all regularly come across such “helpers” on the websites of online stores.
2. The user has visited at least X pages of the site . Only after that the online consultant window opens with a continuation to ask a question. The solution is relatively unobtrusive and practical. Reminders of the opportunity to ask a question are received by those who have shown a clear interest in the project.
3. Transfer from a specific source. To open a chat window with a consultant that contains certain materials or connects in case of a request with a specific specialist, the source of the transition is monitored. These can be single-page advertizing pages with some actions, contextual advertisements, banners or articles on external resources. This is especially convenient if the site works with different directions, and in each case a special approach and its own specialist are needed.
4. User authorization or lack thereof. For some reason, this parameter is rarely tracked on the Runet, although in reality both the answers to the questions and the advertising proposals will differ markedly for regular customers (logged in user) and for those who are most likely on the project for the first time (anonymous / unauthorized visitor) .
5. Online chat on the transition from the email-list. We have so far this tool is not very developed, and in the United States and Europe is actively used. There is a link “Ask a question” or “Contact a consultant” in the email list, after which the visitor enters the site, on the page with the advertised goods or services, and immediately opens a chat window in which the user is waiting for a consultant ready for answers to questions about promotions or follow-up from an email.

Online Assistant and CRM System

The online consulting service can be used separately from any other systems, with the exception of the site, or it can be integrated with other software products, for example, for automated lead registration. Most often, the online assistant is integrated with the CRM system, i.e. with the main tool of the sales department and a place to store all information about leads and customers.

What data is downloaded from the online assistant database to the CRM system:

1. Email, phone, name of the potential client (lead);
2. Time to visit the site and the time of contacting the assistant;
3. Where the visitor came from;
4. How much time spent on the site and what pages viewed.
5. The number of visits to the site, with any breaks;
6. What page was the user at the time of contacting the consultant;
7. The text of correspondence with the consultant.

In addition, some services of the online assistant have the function of capturing and storing customer contact information even if the visitor indicated this information on the website outside the online chat contact form, for example, during registration. news subscription or in the checkout window. In this case, the lead contacts also fall into the online assistant database and can be transferred to the CRM system.

Benefits of integration:

1. No need to manually enter the data in the CRM-system and errors associated with the human factor.
2. More complete information is automatically transmitted in comparison with the usual list of information specified manually.

As a result, the manager is able to take into account maximum information when working with a client, taking into account his interests and needs. And the manager receives summary data, on the basis of which it is possible to determine which pages bring in more leads, which products are more in demand, which sources and suggestions are most effective for attracting customers and other information useful for the job.

Common customization errors

Often, from a helpful assistant, an online consulting service on a site becomes a pest that annoys visitors. In most cases, the causes are errors made during setup:

1. The chat window is too large or uncomfortable . A window with advertising, a continuation to ask a question, as well as a window of active correspondence with a consultant should be located so as not to close important information: useful content on the page, menu items or company contact details.
2. Mobile version of the chat in full screen . It is also a common mistake, which consists in setting up a neat and attentive chat for large computer monitors, but forgetting to display it on mobile devices. As a result, the chat window that opens with a consultant on a smartphone or tablet may take up all or most of the screen. Often, even the button "close" is beyond the reach of the user. In this case, you risk losing the majority of visitors from mobile devices.
3. Large clickable supplier logo online chat. The logos of the developers of online consulting services and links to their websites are present in almost all online consulting online chat rooms by default. Some services, in the first place, free of charge require that their link in the window remain, but even they agree to the small text at the bottom of the screen. A large and bright logo is better to replace with something of your own. Otherwise, users simply by a random click will regularly leave your site.

Solution options: B2B or B2C

Personally, I prefer to use the chat online assistant to work with B2C clients, i.e. to attract and help retail customers. But I have seen cases when the same tool was used to work with wholesale customers (B2B). Practice shows that in the field of wholesale sales online assistant receives a supporting role, this tool is used extremely rarely or not used at all.

As is known, in the case of large purchases in an organization, the process of ordering, approvals, paperwork, and shipment takes more than one day. And in most cases, people involved in the procurement on behalf of the company are well aware of this. And because they are not shy to introduce themselves, leave your contact details. All this saves time in subsequent discussions about the possibility of ordering and deliveries. B2B clients tend to send and receive written inquiries, compare business offers and price lists from different suppliers, etc. They rarely need quick help here and now. And if this happens, they prefer to talk by voice on the phone.

When selling in the field of B2C chat online consultant on the contrary becomes a popular tool that helps you quickly, conveniently and efficiently serve customers.

Convenient help service "in the corner of the screen" helps:

• preserve the anonymity of those who are particularly concerned about the possibility of receiving "spam" on the phone,
• save on telephone calls, first of all, it is important when roaming and international communication,
• You can avoid problems of dialing or long waiting for a callback, because consultants in online chat rooms respond relatively quickly, some of the answers can even be automated (ready-made templates are used), and one person can correspond with several customers at once, which is impossible with voice communication.

In B2C sales, online consultants help determine the choice of goods, determine the delivery option, solve problems encountered by some users at the payment stage, give other hints and tips. Here, this assistant serves as a helpful, but unobtrusive sales assistant, which is always a plus in retail.

Choosing an online service assistant

Today, there are really a lot of ready-made solutions that can be quickly connected to the site. And I don’t see any point in advising any one, especially since I myself choose different products in different cases. It is important when choosing to pay special attention to the following parameters:

1. Integration with one or another solution. For example, if you have a WordPress site and the selected online assistant does not have ready-made plug-ins for quick integration, you should look for an alternative solution. Engaging in integration “manually” is long and expensive, and therefore does not make sense. It is better to choose a product that you even connect without the help of a programmer with the help of a guide on the system’s website in a few minutes.
2. Appearance. Chat online consultant should look stylish, modern, optimally fit into the design of your site as a "button", as well as in expanded form. Otherwise, it will look, to put it mildly, inappropriate, which will not in the best way affect your image. Best of all, if the chat elements have flexible settings, in this case it will be easiest to organically "fit" it into your design.
3. The presence / absence of the developer logo . If you can disable the developer logo, you will start losing customers who will accidentally switch to a service provider. It is better to choose products and tariffs where you can disable the logo.
4. The possibility of integration with the CRM-system . When working with potential clients via online chat, as with any other leads, it is important to save information from where the client came from (source of referral), what was interested in, what questions he asked in the chat, what contact details he left. This will help your own reporting service provider chat, but if you are working with a CRM-system or plan to standardize and optimize sales, be sure to check the possibility of such integration.

At the same time, it is important to understand that the online consulting service is not a full-fledged lead capture generator, even though they are so often tried to advertise them. Also, this tool will not be able to attract more visitors to the site or increase the flow of customers on its own.

What resources are needed to work

Many site owners naively think that you can choose the appropriate version of an online consultant, connect the code to the site and everything will work “by itself”. In fact, separate resources are required for the online consultant service:

• Technical settings. After connecting the code on the site various problems may appear:
  
  • The chat window is displayed incorrectly, closes important information, opens in the mobile version on full screen, etc.
  • Online chat does not work at all because of the restrictions set in the site or hosting settings.
  • Integration with a CRM system or an accounting program is necessary, and there are no ready-made APIs for exchanging data with these systems or their configuration is too complicated for users.
  
  In all these cases, you will need the help of a technician when setting up the correct work of an online assistant. Consultants.
• Consultants. It is not enough to set up the system, for effective work of the chat with an online consultant it is necessary that the company constantly keeps in touch with people ready to answer the user's question. If your chat will only open ads or offer to send a request with the promise to respond by mail “soon”, they will be extremely rare to use it. Moreover, users are annoyed if the request form appears, and nobody answers the questions. Therefore, it is very important to determine who will work as a consultant and at what time, and plan this resource.

Advantages and disadvantages

Like any tool, an online consultant also has its advantages and disadvantages. In this case, the same functions can be both a plus and a minus, depending on the implementation or perception of the person.

Popup chat window. A small button may be displayed and a window will open offering to ask a question immediately or after a certain time:

• A plus. The man thought, he had questions or difficulties. A window appears where you can quickly get the answer you need. It's comfortable.
• Minus. The opening pop-up windows are often annoying to people, especially if their design is somewhat doubtful. For example, the appearance of a photo of a girl in a bathing suit or some incomprehensible, unrelated to the theme of the site image in the online consultant window will cause, rather, a negative because of irrelevance. Also, people do not like too bright colors, flashy inscriptions, etc. If the consultant will cause a negative reaction, most likely, the potential client will leave the site without a purchase.

Segmentation of user interest. The service allows you to track the page on which the visitor is located at the time of contact:

• A plus. With proper organization of work, the visitor immediately contacts the specialist on the desired issue. For example, depending on the category of products being viewed, different consultants will be connected to the online chat, each of whom is responsible for their own product group. If a person asks a consultant a question from the “For Developers” page, then a technical specialist will probably help him.
• Minus. On the other hand, to organize a truly convenient online consultation with the involvement of specialists on various issues, you need a fairly extensive staff who will be ready at any time to connect and patiently answer emerging questions.

Ease of communication. A compact online chat with a consultant opens in a corner of the screen, does not interfere with viewing information on the page, while you can ask clarifying questions and get the information that will help you make a decision about buying or cooperating.

• A plus. Online assistant is always "at hand". As soon as a question arises, a person can quickly get an answer to it, which is convenient for users.
• Minus. When emailing or filling out a feedback form, company employees receive a volunteer email from a potential client. When sending a letter by mail, you can see the sender's email, and when filling out the feedback form, people are sensitive to contacts, as they are waiting for a reply to this mail. When communicating via an online assistant, emails often indicate fictitious; the visitor does not need it to get answers to questions. And they treat him dismissively or consciously strive to remain anonymous until a certain stage. This reduces the marketing value of the online consultant, because the company loses the ability to collect contact information of potential customers.

An online assistant chat is nothing more than a tool that helps customers answer their questions. And work as a marketing tool, i.e. It can only increase sales if it combines the following factors:

1. The site itself is of high quality, intelligently optimized (relevant to the queries by which users find it), convenient, informative.
2. The online consultant service is not just “connected”, but the company does work as sellers who are ready to quickly answer questions, sell goods and services, including using chat, work for the result.

At the same time, like any other tool, online chat can both help in processing (not attracting) customers and customers, and so do harm. Therefore, it requires caution in use, constant attention, analysis of efficiency and timely adjustments, taking into account feedback from visitors.