Problems with availability time?

Many companies do want to interact with online customers and use their feedback, but they lack the personnel or time to do that. It is really important to have the will, anything else can be settled out. If you are one of those, read further and you might get some ideas.

Some companies place the "chat button" on their website, but rarely are available for support. Some of the others adore the concept, but are unable to organize the website support issues because the lack of time or personnel. In any case, you must carry out whatever you start doing and keep your promises to your website visitors. Inconsistency and false information can make your interactions with customers worse.

Although the solution lies in analyzing and using the most of your resources in the situation, here are some starting ideas to help you decide:

• You can place an expert in the field to answer the questions of your website visitors in appointed hours. For example: If you are a website for diet products, you can put expert in nutrition available 2-3 hours per day at stated hours on the website. That would lead to increasing the amount of your website visitors, as well as your credibility and reputation.

• You can state smaller interval of "availability hours" each day, by writing: "Operators are available from 12:00 until 15:00 each day. We are glad to answer any of your personal questions, requirements and doubts".

• If you sell standardized products, you can state availability hours for receiving customized orders from your customers. You can place your sales and technical staff online in appointed hours and inform your current and potential customers about the service.

• Put your current employees to serve online customers while their working time interchangeably. They already know everything about your products and the company and probably don't need additional training. For example: If you have a store, you can setup your shop assistants as receptionists on your website. They can split the support time into smaller intervals and provide support rotating.

• If you already have a phone-support personnel, you can also use them to serve online visitors. They all have the knowledge and availability of new streams of information and can adapt and start almost immediately.

Depending on the situation, these solutions can become very creative. We will be glad to receive some of yours.

Watch your mouth!

Internet users are very autonomous and self-directed people. With this in mind, you will have to echo those character traits and use the right tone of voice to fit with them. You should also be very careful and really watch your mouth while talking with them, since they are just one click away to your competitors.

There is no correct tone of voice and approach towards interacting with website visitors. There are millions of them, and each of them is right for a certain type of website and business. What you can have in mind in all the cases is:


• To master the right tone, try to think about what your potential customer really likes, what is he interested in and what can catch his attention;

• Always be clear and direct while talking with your website visitors (your clients have enormous choice);

• Be fast with providing response. It is better to give partial information immediately than the whole information and be late. Remember: Internet is all about immediacy and people are sick of WWWait - language;

• Filter everything to its core, but be sure to keep the tone that fits with your corporate identity;

• Throw away the dictatorial tone and use more pleasurable and persuasive voice;

• Try to avoid incomprehensible and offensive words;

• Write active sentences and engage visitors - do not use passive sentences. E.g. "You will be informed upon this issue" can be "We will inform you about the prices"

• Strive not to use superlatives and claim that your products are incredible or astonishing. People have had enough of the everyday sales hype;

• In any case: try not to be very persistent and try to oversell - they will surely notice it and they hate talking to sales people.

• Give your website visitors their space and they will be grateful. Dante Alighieri once wrote: "Liberty is the prevention of control by others".