Online consultants on the company website / Trinion company blog

All of us have repeatedly seen on various sites such a function as an online consultant or assistant. Some consider this functionality useful, convenient and even necessary for increasing the efficiency of work with clients. Many other clearly commercial sites have no such functionality.

When working with clients, I also often encounter online consultants on the company's website, but even more often I do not 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 the integration of online consultant chat with different systems.

And now I want to talk about what online helpers are, about their features depending on the choice of software and organizational methods of work, and also to find out how this tool helps in working with clients and whether it performs any other marketing functions.

My clients often ask me about this, similar questions often come through e-mail or feedback from people who turn to me for advice as an expert. I hope this article helps all people who are interested in online consultants. understand. what it is, how to choose and apply the service of an online consultant, in which cases it will be effective and what resources will be required to organize its work.

What are online consultants

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

A visitor on any site can contact the company in various ways:

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

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

Why do you need online helpers

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

1. Providing prompt feedback with potential customers. High-quality service helps to increase the number of customers and increase the average check amount;
2. Lidogenesis (lead capture). To contact the consultant, the site visitor leaves his data - email, phone. Those. There is a collection of information about potential customers for subsequent work with them, the so-called lead capture.
3. Display advertising 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 action, by clicking on which the user will be directed to a thematic page, etc. You can also insert a window with a mini-survey into online chat and collect the opinions of visitors on a matter of interest.

There are other options for using online assistant chat, but other systems do much better. Therefore, I will only talk here about the main options for the work of this software solution.

In fact, even capturing leads and displaying ads for an online consultant are secondary opportunities. All these things can be implemented without installing online chat. But because all the same, the most important thing in this software product is the ability to quickly and comfortably chat with a consultant.

How it works:

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

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

How online assistant chat works

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

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

Algorithms for online helpers

One of the most important parameters of the work of any online consultant is the algorithm for opening the chat window and displaying information in the window before the dialogue starts. For unknown reasons, our compatriots most often either ignore the opportunities that this algorithm provides, or use them incorrectly, thereby scaring away visitors.

Options for opening a chat window and selecting content:

1. A few minutes after the user goes to the page , regardless of the source of the transition and other factors. The most popular option, implies that the user was delayed on the page, which means that he is interested in something and he may have questions. With such "helpers" we all regularly come across on the sites of online stores.
2. The user visited at least X pages of the site . Only after that the window of the online consultant opens with the continuation of the question. The solution is relatively unobtrusive and practical. A reminder about the opportunity to ask a question is received by those who have shown a clear interest in the project.
3. Transition from a specific source. To open a chat window with a consultant containing specific materials or connecting in case of a request with a specific specialist, the source of the transition is tracked. It can be advertising single-page “landing pages” with some promotions, contextual advertising announcements, banners or articles on external resources. This is especially convenient if the site works in different directions, and in each case you need a special approach and your own specialist.
4. User authorization or lack thereof. For some reason, this parameter is rarely tracked on the Russian Internet, although in fact, the answers to questions and advertising offers will differ markedly for regular customers (logged in user) and for those who are most likely to be on a project for the first time (anonymous / unauthorized visitor) .
5. Online chat on the transition from the email newsletter. We have so far this tool is not too developed, and in the US and Europe is actively used. In the email newsletter there is a link “Ask a Question” or “Contact a Consultant”, after which the visitor is on the site, on the page with the advertised goods or services, and the chat window immediately opens, in which the consultant is waiting for the user, ready for answers questions about the promotion or the continuation from the email.

Online Assistant and CRM System

The online consulting service can be used separately from any other systems, with the exception of the site, and 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 the 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 customer (lead);
2. The time of access to the site and the time of contacting the assistant;
3. Where did the visitor come from;
4. How much time I spent on the site and what pages I looked at.
5. The number of visits to the site, with what interruptions;
6. On which page was the user at the time of contacting the consultant;
7. Text of correspondence with a consultant.

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

Integration Benefits:

1. No need to manually enter lead data into the CRM system and human error.
2. Automatically transmitted more complete information in comparison with the usual list of information specified manually.

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

Common Setup Errors

Often, from a useful assistant, an online consulting service on a site becomes a pest that annoys visitors. In most cases, the cause is errors made during configuration:

1. The chat window is too large or awkward . A window with advertising, a continuation to ask a question, as well as a window of active correspondence with a consultant should be positioned so as not to hide important information: useful content on the page, menu items or company contact information.
2. Mobile version of the chat in full screen . Also a common mistake is that chat is set up carefully and carefully for large computer monitors, and they forget about displaying on mobile devices. As a result, the chat window that opens with a consultant on a smartphone or tablet can occupy all or most of the screen. Often, even the close button is out of reach of the user. In this case, you risk losing the majority of visitors from mobile devices.
3. Large clickable logo of an online chat provider. Logos of developers of online consulting services and links to their sites are present in almost all online consulting chats by default. Some services, primarily free ones, require that their link remain in the window, but even they agree to a 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 randomly leave your site regularly.

Solution Options: B2B or B2C

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

As you know, in the case of large purchases in the organization, the process of ordering, approvals, paperwork, shipment takes more than one day. And in most cases, people engaged in procurement on behalf of the company understand this very well. Therefore, they are not shy about introducing themselves, leaving their contact details. All this saves time during subsequent discussions of the possibility of ordering and deliveries. B2B customers tend to send and receive written requests, compare commercial offers and price lists from different suppliers, etc. They rarely need quick help here and now. And if this happens, they prefer to speak on the phone in a voice.

When selling in the B2C sphere, on-line chat of an online consultant, on the contrary, becomes a popular tool that helps to quickly, conveniently and efficiently serve customers.

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

• keep anonymity to those who especially worry about the possibility of receiving "spam" on the phone,
• to save on telephone calls, first of all, it is important when roaming and international calls,
• to avoid the problem of dialing or long waiting for a call back, because consultants in online chats respond relatively quickly, some of the answers can even be automated (ready-made templates are used), and one person can chat 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 that some users have at the payment stage, and give other tips and advice. Here, this assistant fulfills the role of a helpful, but at the same time unobtrusive sales assistant, which is always a plus in retail.

Choosing an online assistant service

Today, there are really a lot of ready-made solutions that can be quickly connected to the site. And I don’t see any reason to advise 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. The presence of integration with a particular solution. For example, if you have a WordPress site, and the selected online assistant does not have ready-made plugins for quick integration, you should look for an alternative solution. Engaging in “manual” integration is long and expensive, and therefore does not make sense. It’s better to choose a product that you even connect using the manual on the system’s website with the help of a programmer in a few minutes.
2. Appearance. Chat of an online consultant should look stylish, modern, optimally fit into the design of your site both in the form of a “button” and in expanded form. Otherwise, it will look, to put it mildly, inappropriate, which will not affect your image in the best way. 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 logo of the developer . If you can disable the developer’s logo, you will begin to lose customers who accidentally switch to the service provider. It is better to choose products and tariffs where you can turn off the logo.
4. The ability to integrate with a CRM system . When working with potential clients through online chat, as with any other leads, it is important to keep information about where the client came from (referral source), what he was interested in, what questions he asked in the chat, what contact information he left. The own reporting of the chat provider service will help with this, 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 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 by itself.

What resources are needed to work

Many website owners naively think that you can choose the appropriate option for an online consultant, connect the code to the site and everything will work “on its own”. In fact, for the service of an online consultant, certain resources are required:

• Technical settings. After connecting the code on the site, various problems may appear:
  
  • The chat window does not display correctly, closes important information, opens in the mobile version in full screen, etc.
  • Online chat does not work at all because of the established prohibitions in the settings of the site or hosting.
  • Integration with a CRM system or accounting program is required, 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 technical specialist in setting up the correct operation of the online assistant.
• Consultants. It’s not enough to set up the system, for the chat to work effectively with an online consultant it is necessary that the company is constantly in touch with people who are ready to answer the user's question. If only an advertisement or an offer to send a request with a promise to reply by mail “in the near future” will be opened in your chat, they will be extremely rare to use it. Moreover, users are annoyed if a request form appears, and no one answers questions. Therefore, it is very important to determine who and at what time will work as a consultant, and to plan this resource.

Advantages and disadvantages

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

Chat popup. A small button may be displayed and a window will open asking you 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 right answer. It's comfortable.
• Minus. Pop-ups that open often annoy people, especially if their design is somewhat dubious. For example, the appearance of a girl’s photo in a swimsuit or some incomprehensible picture that doesn’t relate to the theme of the site in the window of an online consultant will most likely cause a negative due to inappropriate. Also, people do not like too bright colors, flashy inscriptions, etc. If the consultant provokes 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 necessary issue. For example, depending on the category of products viewed, different consultants will be connected to the online chat, each of which is responsible for their own group of products. If a person asks a question to a consultant from the "For Developers" page, then most likely a technical specialist will be able to help him.
• Minus. On the other hand, to organize a really convenient online consultation with specialists on various issues, you need a fairly extensive staff of employees who will be ready at any time to connect and patiently answer questions.

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

• A plus. An online assistant is always at hand. As soon as a question arose, a person can quickly get an answer to it, which is convenient for users.
• Minus. When correspondence by e-mail or filling out a feedback form, company employees receive a voluntarily provided email to 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 careful about the contacts, since they expect an answer to this mail. When communicating through an online assistant email often indicate a fictitious one, the visitor does not need it to receive answers to questions. And they treat him scornfully or consciously strive to remain anonymous until some stage. This reduces the marketing value of the online consultant, because the company is deprived of the opportunity to collect contact information of some potential customers.

Online Assistant Chat is nothing more than a tool that helps shoppers answer their questions. And work as a marketing tool, i.e. It can help increase sales only if a combination of the following factors occurs:

1. The site itself is of high quality, competently optimized (relevant to the requests for which users find it), convenient, informative.
2. The online consultant service is not just “hanging” connected, but sellers really work from the company’s side, ready to promptly answer questions, sell goods and services, including via chat, to work on the result.

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