Hey everyone,

Just a quick note to let you know that we have updated Provide Chat with some improvements to the General Settings.  On the surface it doesn’t look like much has changed but the three new configuration options reveal some great improvements to the software.

Here is a quick overview of the new options:

1. Operator Session Timeout - You can now set the specific time that an operator’s session will last.  This will be helpful for those who might be logged into the software for several hours without much activity and in the past their session would timeout.
2. Operator Response Timeout – Previously this was a default value of 1 minute. You now have control over how long a visitor will wait for an operator to accept their chat before being sent to the unavailable “send an email” screen.
3. Inactive Visitor Removal – Previously this was a default value of 5 minutes. You now have control of this setting as well.  Basically this controls how long a visitor will continue to be displayed in the chat monitor after the visitor has become inactive. A visitor becomes inactive after their chat has ended or they leave your website.

Please take a look and change these settings if neccessary. By default we’ve set them to what we feel are the best recommended values.

Cheers,
Derek

Hi Everyone,

We’ve just released a new feature, Smart Invites. This is an optional feature that you can either enable or disable. When enabled, every visitor on your website will receive an invitation after they have been visiting your site for a predefined period of time or page views. Visitors who have spent a reasonable amount of time on your site are clearly interested in the services or products you’re offering. With Smart Invites you can instantly invite these visitors to chat with you.

The benefit of this feature is you can increase your sales. Visitors are more likely to purchase if you can answer their questions in real time. If you can get your visitor to chat with you the higher the likelihood you have of closing a sale with that visitor.

You can access Smart Invites from your dashboard by going to Settings -> Proactive Chat. This feature is currently in beta but is solid enough to begin using.

To make use of this feature simply set the “Proactive Chat Overall Status” to enabled. Next, select the number of seconds or page views you would like your visitors to be instantly invited to a chat.

Invited visitors can choose to chat with you or simply close the invite and continue browsing your website.

Over the coming weeks we’ll be fine tuning this feature, ironing out any potential bugs, and making the Proactive Chat admin area more user friendly. Additionally, we’ll be adding a Visitor Targeted Invitation feature to the Chat Monitor. This will allow you to individually target specific visitors and invite them to chat with you.

In the mean time, if you have any questions about this feature or discover anything that doesn’t quite work right, please let me know.

Cheers,
Luke

Good news, we’ve just launched a great new feature which makes your Provide Chat even more customizable, Custom Operator Images.

With Custom Operator Images you can upload a unique operator image for each of your customer service agents. For each operator you can now choose to use the default female image, default male image, or your own custom image.

This feature is made available to paid subscriptions only.

Here you can see how you can add a custom operator image using the admin dashboard:

Once you’ve added your own operator image, site visitors will see it in their chat window:

Yes, that’s my photo

And to update you on the latest regarding Proactive Invitations and Smart Invitations, we’re currently working on that feature right now and it should be available for you in the coming days.

In the mean time, if you have any questions about this or anything else Provide Chat please let me know.

Cheers,
Luke Holzken

Hey there,

just wanted to let everyone know that we have just added a new feature that is available to all Basic, Professional and Ultimate accounts.  This feature allows you to upload a custom operator image, so you no longer only have the two default options.  We hope this feature will help you connect better with your website visitors.

This update also included some minor bug fixes and overall performance enhancements as we are always striving to improve the software and thus give you and your website visitors a better experience.

Finally, a word on the upcoming Chat Invite feature.  We are in the final stretch now and expect to launch the beta version to all paid accounts later this week.   You will already see the configuration option for the “Proactive Chat” feature on the Settings menu.  Please watch the blog for an announcement once the feature is fully deployed.

Cheers,

Derek

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to give you a sneak peak on the chat invitation feature that’s currently in development.

This feature is going to be unique in that it will give you two options for inviting your visitors to chat with you, Proactive Invitations and Smart Invitations.

Proactive Inviations: With this feature you’ll be able to individually target a visitor to chat with you. Using your chat monitor you can select a visitor and then click an invite button. The visitor will instantly receive an invitation to chat with you.

Smart Invitations: This will be an optional feature that you can either enable or disable. When enabled, every visitor on your website will receive an invitation after they have been visiting your site for a predefined period of time or page views. Visitors who have spent a reasonable amount of time on your site are clearly interested in the services or products you’re offering. With Smart Invites you can instantly invite these visitors to chat with you.

Below is a screenshot of what an invitation will look like.

We’ll likely be releasing this feature in two stages, with one of the two invitation options being made available first. Chat Invitations  will be available in beta to all accounts in approximately one week.

If you have any questions or suggestions please don’t hesitate to contact me at luke@providechat.com.

All the best,
Luke Holzken

Hello everyone,

Just wanted to let you know that a new feature went live today, and it’s one that you’ll find very useful; Chat Transcripts. Chat Transcripts allows you to view all of your past chats in a simple, easy to use interface.  This is a beta launch, so you can start viewing your previous chats right away and give us your feedback.  Of course, if you encounter an issue or have suggestions for any improvements,  please let us know and we’ll look right into it.

Also, with our policy of launching early and often, Chat Transcripts has been launched as a bare essentials feature. We’ll be adding more functionality in the coming days and weeks, including detailed search functionality. So stay tuned for that and more!

Cheers!
Derek

It’s been two weeks now since Provide Chat was launched and there have already been several sign ups, both paid and free accounts. For those of you who haven’t signed up yet, I thought I would take this time to talk about why using live chat software is so beneficial to your online business.

Here are 5 reasons (I’m sure there are more but this is a good list to start with).

1. Close More Sales
In an age where people can get answers instantly through Google or Wikipedia, people expect their sales questions to be answered instantly too. Live chat software gives your customers answers to their questions on the spot in real-time, which increases their likelyhood of purchasing from you rather than a competitor who takes 24 hours to answer them.

2. Save Money
Live chat saves money because it eliminates the need to maintain an expensive toll-free customer support line. Also, fewer customer service people are needed to answer questions because a person using live chat will be able to work more efficiently. Someone using live chat can handle three or four chats at once, a person on the phone can only handle one conversation at a time.

3. Increased Customer Confidence
If your visitors see a live chat button on your site, they will feel reassured that they will have easy access to a live person, even after the sale has been made. TIP: A live chat button can even be added to your post-sales emails so your customers won’t have to return to your site to access your live support.

4. Hosted, On-Demand Solution
While many live chat options are installed on your server, Provide Chat is hosted on safe, fast, and reliable web servers, so you don’t need to worry about a thing. Updates and upgrades are completely on us. There is nothing to install on your servers, all you need is a web browser and an internet connection.

5. Help Customers at Their Point of Need
Many sales are lost at the point of ordering. Clients become worried about providing personal information during the purchasing process, leading them to abandon your shopping cart. With live support, you can assist them in completing sales by walking them through the process. And with a paid account of Provide Chat you can offer a secure chat between you and your customer.

All Provide Chat paid accounts make use of SSL (which stands for Secure Socket Layer), but what this really means is that messages sent between you and your site visitors will be safe from prying eyes. SSL is the same technology that e-commerce websites and online banking websites use. If sending safe and secure messages between you and your customers is important to you then SSL is what you need.

To get set up with a Provide Chat account that supports SSL you’ll want to check out the pricing page.

And as always, if you have any questions about any of this please feel free to email me at luke@providechat.com.

Best regards,
Luke Holzken

Hello everyone,

Just wanted to post a quick note to let you know about another software update to Provide Chat.  Many of you have requested the ability to see when the other party in a chat is typing, also known as a Typing Indicator.  I’m happy to let you know that this feature has been added to Provide Chat for you and  it is immediately available on all account levels.

In addition to this new feature, this update includes some minor fixes which should continue to improve your experience.  In particular, several issues with Internet Explorer 8 have now been addressed. So if you use IE8,  please let us know how everything is working for you.

Enjoy the last day or so of 2009 and I want to wish you the best for the coming year.  We are looking forward to the many improvements and new features that will be implemented in the new year. Stay tuned!

Cheers!
Derek

Hello everyone,

we hope you are all enjoying the holidays and getting in some rest and relaxation!

Despite partaking heartily in the festivities of the season, we have managed to get in a minor update today which will improve your experience with our software.  One of the main features we have added in this update is the ability to close the chat tabs.  You will now see a little ‘x’ on the active tab which will simply and cleanly close the tab.  Please note that this does not end the chat (use the “End Chat” button for that) and you can re-open the chat you closed by simply clicking again on the specific user in the visitor table.  We also included a couple minor tweaks and fixes in this update which have been noted over the past week since our launch.

As always, we look forward to hearing from you and letting your feedback drive the on-going improvements to Provide Chat.

Cheers!

Derek

Hi everyone,

I would like to take this time to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all of us at Provide Chat.

With our recent launch, 2010 is set to be an exciting year with many new features and updates. These include:
- the ability to invite visitors to chat with you
- a task bar icon that notifies you of new messages
- a message that lets you know when an operator/visitor is typing
- and much more

We hope you enjoy your holiday season, spending time with family and friends, and maybe enjoying a quiet evening in the comfort of your home with loved ones. So until then, I hope ‘Yule’ have a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year!

Best Wishes,
Luke Holzken