I have read all the threads on this forum about live chat systems, but none of them really answered my question. I am pretty much deciding between Stardevelop's Live Help and Crafty Syntax. Stardevelop is about $120, but I like the graphics and support. Crafty Syntax is free, but looks like crap and I hear it is a resource hog. Do any of you have any experience with either of them and know if it is even worth me hiring someone to be on a chat system or waste my time sitting and talking to potential customers?
I just have a link to: Email Google Mail MSN Yahoo Aim Skype myspace facebook twitter (use icons next to these to make it look cool )
You should put a link to your Skype username or other VOIP service account. people are loving this right now & its easy to get started up. BTW Skye is free and probably the best solution out there and you can receive Paypal payment through it as well now.
I was looking more for text live chat to be able to easily monitor it. Though I also thought of a 1800 number. I just feel like putting my IM datails (even Skype) and making people go through the extra step of adding me to their buddy list, etc. would not increase my sales. With the text systems I mentioned I can have a small popup, "Do you want to chat? Yes, No"
I suggest you to try some of free Live Chat and then decide if it wasting your time. www.jbTop.com has a free plan.
well I tried using this online live chat systems, sometimes its good to have that live chats in your site but most of the time it simply wastes your time, I wish you better provide your clients with skype id where they can chat with you directly and keep in touch, Unless you have a big firm and you appoint a person who can handle these things, it is useless.
I have used Kyako Support suite. IF you want a high end solution. I prefer to keep it simple and use skype.
We use ProvideSupport where I work. It's very easy to use and has a ton of features. You should check them out.
Kayako's ticket system is amazing - but their Live Support Script leaves much to be desired. I <3 TrioLive.com - free one user edition if you host it. considering 1 user at liveperson.com is $99 / month I think thats a great value.
Thanks everyone! TrioLive does not seem to be free from what I saw... only a free trial. ProvideSupport is subscription based. I just hate those. Kayako is a bit too expensive and I hate actually talking to people using Skype. Plus there is no real record of the conversation with Skype. Jerry Messenger seems pretty cool, but it is a bit expensive as well. Especially considering the low quality design of their site. Anyways, I was really interested in Stardevelop's Live Help. It is my favorite and nobody even mentioned it. Also nobody mentioned PHPLive which also seems to be big. EDIT: I just talked to Pavel from Jerry Messenger and he seems like a real nice guy. This is the exact reason I love these chat scripts. After talking to him I am more compelled to buy the product. His price is still pretty expensive so I will think about it.
If I had to choose between the two, it would definitely be Star Develop. However, keep in mind that there are more live chat solutions out there. Also, I would not recommend hiring someone to operate the live chat unless you have a decent customer base. I'm actually getting rid of my live chat soon, because it's a waste of money right now, as customers rarely use it.
Thanks for your answer JohnJ. I will continue to look for some other live chat systems until I get my new server next week. Star Develop's is really my favorite so far though. Are you getting rid of the live chat because you are paying someone to be there? I was thinking of having live chat a first and only be logged in on my free time, until I see how effective it is. Do you think that having a live chat system that does not have someone logged in for half or more of the day would be bad?
Thanks for the tip! Just tried it but the demo did not even work on their site. I was unable to either start a chat from the operator's side or from the website visitor's side. I did not even check how much it is, but even if it is free, if their own website demo does not work, I have some serious concerns.
you should hire someone if you have good money. Take a look at hotscripts.com and go demo before finalize anyone.