A lot of website owners balk at the idea of offering a Live Help service to their clients. Most sofware comes with a monthly price tag, and this can often make it seem like an unnecessary expense. However, the reality is that the benfits of Live Help will invariably cover your investment several times over. Here are 9 reasons why:

1. It creates an instant rapport with clients

Interacting with customers in real time is a great way to establish trust. Live Help creates an immediate bond and sense of loyalty in the client because it allows you to convey your personality in a way that autoresponders and emails never will.

If you can charm a client over the course of a 2 minute chat your site will hold a distinct advantage over the more anonymous websites of your competitors.

2. It generates customer loyalty.

Once people feel that they have gotten to know you as a person they are much more likely to turn into repeat buyers. You will often find that customers often come back to chat after a sale just to say hello and thankyou!

3. It improves response time.

It's normal for potential clients to have some kind of query before buying and Live Help allows you to respond to questions in a instant. Bear in mind that it only takes one unanswered doubt in a customer's mind to kill a sale and it only takes a second for them to leave your website. It really doesn't matter how quick you reply to your emails, with your competitors only a few clicks away by the time you've written one it could be too late

4.It frees up your resources

Live Help is simply less time consuming than email. Which means you have more time free for improving and expanding your business.

5.It creates an aura of professionalism

It's true that a large number of people never use Live Help services, but the simple effect of having an icon present should not be underestimated. It's reassuring to see one even on a sub-conscious level because it suggests seriousness and sophistication. It also shows that help is available if needed and that the website is run by real people!

6. It helps improve efficiency of website.

Most services provide visitor tracking with their Live Help packages and this can be just as valuable as the chat function itself. When you're able to trace customers' progress around your site in real time it helps you to identify user patterns, isolate under performing pages and improve the functionality of your site.

7. It aids keyword research

Most services provide detailed information about the search terms your customers have used in finding your site, as well as identifying the referring urls. The internet is a fast moving place and traffic trends can change on a daily, even hourly basis. Unless you check your web statistics every five minutes, it's easy to be caught out.

8. It provides pro-active options.

These usually comes as an optional extra in Live Help packages, but if you decide to use them they can be a powerful tool. One common function, for example, is the ability for you to initiate a chat with a visitor, as well as the other way around. So if you see that someone has been dawdling on a checkout page for a long period of time you can make contact yourself and ask if they require any help. This is ideal for snagging uncertain customers who maybe on the verge of abandoning your site.

9. It animates your website

Not only for the customer, who has the option of instant personal contact, but for you the webmaster. Running a website can often feel like a somewhat anonymous endeavor. Web-stats may provide us with relevent data, and of course emails do allow us to interact with our clients. But with Live Help you witness everything as it happens. Your previously invisible customers suddenly become visible. Your once silent site suddenly starts to talk to you. This can be hugely satisfying and encouraging on a psychological level, particularly on days when actual sales are slow!