In this Issue:
New Chat Widget - Proactive Chat is Here!
It's happened to you. You're browsing around a webpage. And suddenly, you're stuck. Confused. Something doesn't make sense and you need help. And just when you're ready to give up and bounce off that site, it happens. A friendly little pop-up chat appears, "How can I help you?" A few moments later, you're satisfied and happy. Your needs met and your questions answered.
That experience you just had is called proactive chat, and it is now available in LibAnswers v2.
Proactive Chat Widget available in LibAnswers v2!
How Does It Work?
- Widget Type - Select the slide-out widget and control where it slides out from. Our recommendation? We <3 the From Bottom-Up widget.
- Set the Delay - Set the timer, in seconds, to determine the amount of time that will elapse before the chat widget displays.
Zhang & Mayer (Proactive Chat Reference April, 2014) recommend 3 minutes! - Start Customizing - Our on-screen click-and-select customizer allows you to build the proactive chat widget of your dreams...with no coding needed. ;)
- Availability - When you're online, your proactive chat is online & ready to work. This way, you're not prompting users for a chat when you're not available to help.
How Can It Help?
The whole purpose of proactive chat is to be, well, more proactive. :) Offer an easy and automated way for folks to ask questions without them having to hunt down where and how.
Of all the things your patrons have questions on, how to ask a question shouldn't be one of them.
Use Proactive Chat To:
- Increase User Engagement - Zhang & Meyer (2014) reported a 3% increase in chat transactions when launching a proactive chat widget tool!
- Embed Help @ Point-of-Need - We all have webpages that are full of important, concept-driven content. Add proactive chat to those 'point-of-need' webpages where you know patrons need you the most.
- Target the Shy Users - We've heard it before, "I'm so sorry to bother you...". With proactive chat, you're targeting those users that are least likely to initiate a reference transaction.
