Netop recently announced that it had updated its Live Guide online chat software. The Web-based solution makes it easier for companies to offer support to online customers and arrives just in time for the holiday season, when support calls will likely reach their highest volume of the year.
Birkerod, Denmark-based Netop provides various remote access solutions that are designed to reduce support costs. These include remote control solutions that allow IT staff to troubleshoot problems remotely and online chat solutions that allow live interaction between customer and support staff.
Live Guide is a SaaS (News - Alert) solution that comes in two forms: Live Guide Basic and Live Guide; the latter being the more deluxe of the two plans.
The basic plan supports text-based chat, social media and email, workflow, multi-language spell-check and prepared responses for common questions.
The deluxe plan will have everything the basic plan offers plus audio and video chat; proactive chat, which can invite a website visitor to enter a question after being on a page for a set time; enterprise security, and surveys.
Those interested in Live Guide can go to Netop’s Website for a free trial. Since it is a SaaS solution, there is no installation required, so it can be up and running in a short time.
Research conducted recently by Log-Me-In found that online chatting was the third most popular method globally for customers to contact retailers. About 17 percent of 4,700 people surveyed preferred this channel of support. It trailed email communication (53 percent) and phone calls (23 percent).
As multi-channel customer support continues to gain popularity, companies like Netop are well-positioned to profit from it. Technology has made it easier for customers to get support through channels other than in-person visits and phone calls, and as the aforementioned survey shows, more than two-thirds of customers prefer other channels of support.
As a result, any retailer that is behind in this technology will be at a disadvantage with its competitors. If they all offer more or less the same products and services, only the companies with the best customer experience will prevail in the long run.
Edited by Maurice Nagle