Chat page for businesses

lastusername

Wanted to run an idea past you all - it's an online chat page for businesses.

REALLY simple and this is how it would work:

1) Signup and get your own unique username / URL (e.g. chatpage.com/jonescars).

2) Add this link to your chat page anywhere you wish - on your website (no more chat popups, potentially annoying your site visitors), on your social media channels, in your email signature, etc. Create multiple pages you can assign to staff members, and so on.

3) That's it! There would also be the option to embed the chat page within your site, in addition to adding the link to your homepage, contact page, etc.

It would pretty much be one link you can share with anyone to chat with them.

Of course, it would be professionally branded, you could add your logo, reference past chats, etc.

Thoughts? Obviously there are multiple ways of chatting with customers these days, but I think this concept brings a lot of benefits and would be super-easy to use, regardless of how tech-savvy you are. And it offers advantages over 'regular' live / online chat (some of which are listed above).

I also have an *awesome* domain name for this! Always a bonus

jimmii

Hard to really see your usp? What were you thinking of charging for this? A well designed pop up is handy because it only pops up when needed and doesn't take up screen space when it's not needed.

jmcc

What problem does it solve?

How does it make money?

How long before it makes a profit?

Does it have any competitors?

Regards...jmcc

lastusername

Thanks guys, fair points I've considered myself.

As for what problem it solves, there is no burning problem here - it's more about ease of use for less tech savvy users who may not be using live chat yet, or who feel it's a bit complicated.

The idea is literally just a page where you can participate in chats with customers or whoever you wish, and this is much simpler than the usual live chat solutions which have a tonne of integrations and which may not appeal to a less tech savvy user or small business owner.

In addition, live chat only works on your website, whereas this would be a page / link you can share on social media, in an email newsletter, etc. Then, it's also tied to your email so you can respond anytime.

Whether the above is compelling enough, I am not sure! I did have another angle for this which is more oriented towards feedback than regular online chat. This idea is more that again you have your own page, but it's somewhere people can send you feedback and suggestions, and you can mark the feedback as private or public (public so that it serves as a resource for readers and also to encourage them to leave feedback).

It's actually something I would use myself as I send emails to my list on a regular basis and would like a way for people to leave feedback on the content. I've noticed that people tend not to send a direct reply, but might be more likely to leave feedback in a form or on a page. But it could also work for business owners who want to collect feedback in a really simple, on the fly way. For example, if you own a cafe, restaurant or shop, your chat page link could appear on a till receipt, business card, flyer, or even in-store on a blackboard

The link would bring the customer / user to a page where they can submit feedback and also possibly rate their experience as well. It would go straight to you, you could reply instantly to the feedback giver, and for many reasons this would be clearly different from public channels like TripAdvisor, Yelp, etc.

Thoughts?

jimmii

Most small businesses don't have time for a live chat so then it just becomes an email conversation. People like integrated chat/email options as then they know they are definitely contacting the right person.

I think these are fine as an add on to something else but it seems to be missing the core thing that brings people to the site to start using the features. For example if yelp introduced similar then I could see a bit of usage for it but even with their visitor numbers I would imagine it wouldn't be that popular.

lastusername

jimmii wrote: »

Most small businesses don't have time for a live chat so then it just becomes an email conversation. People like integrated chat/email options as then they know they are definitely contacting the right person.

Yeah that's the thing. Bigger companies will have the staff and people to monitor it, but smaller businesses just won't.

jimmii wrote: »

I think these are fine as an add on to something else but it seems to be missing the core thing that brings people to the site to start using the features. For example if yelp introduced similar then I could see a bit of usage for it but even with their visitor numbers I would imagine it wouldn't be that popular.

Well the feedback idea is all about tapping into your existing traffic / customer base. So if you have a website or blog that gets decent traffic, you could place the link anywhere on your site, or in the footer of your emails.

If you have a business, your link can go anywhere a customer would see it. That'd range from a menu to a receipt to a blackboard on the wall really. Most people won't bother creating a Yelp account to leave a review, but it is much quicker opening page and tapping in some feedback, especially if there is an incentive involved (provided by the vendor / business).

jimmii

So you have anonymous feedback? That normally goes wrong too easy for people just spam it if the barriers to leaving feedback are low. People are trying to make the internet more accountable not less.

People also like to try avoid going to a 3rd party url that's one of the reasons why the integrated options are preferred right now.

Theres something there but I just think there needs to be more reason to use it.

L.Jenkins

I know Slack solves that problem and the popup chat windows for Wordpress sites are a dime a dozen. As one other poster asked, how does your solution solve the problem? How or why is it unique?

The last time I added chat functionality to a site for business/client interaction, I looked for the cheapest/free solution available that did the job I needed.

lastusername

L.Jenkins wrote: »

I know Slack solves that problem and the popup chat windows for Wordpress sites are a dime a dozen. As one other poster asked, how does your solution solve the problem? How or why is it unique?

The last time I added chat functionality to a site for business/client interaction, I looked for the cheapest/free solution available that did the job I needed.

Yeah the feedback is as expected, I was thinking much the same myself! Having a chat page is not much different or even better than a chat pop up, and anyone who wants live chat is probably using something already is what I figure.

One difference though is that if you have a chat page, you can link to it from anywhere, something you can't do with a chat pop up on a website obviously. But do people need it? Not sure.

Think I am just looking for a great product for my killer domain name! I'm interested in this area so I'll keep thinking about it for a while anyway! The feedback angle is probably more than well served too, and if someone wants to give feedback there are myriad places for them to leave it...

Axwell

Slack is more used as a team communication tool within companies than for chat with customers/clients. Intercom is the one that most sites tend to be using right now in that area, op worth having a look at their offerings and see if it triggers any other ideas.

Not sure i see the need for what you are describing,I get you can have a chat page but if i can go to your website and there is a chat pop up its no big deal for me to just do that. Its just enough of a reason to use it as it is, feedback being an option is again something that there are plenty of ways to do.

Maybe branch out a bit from those 2 ideas and see if you can come up with other uses for it and something else might jump out at you.

lastusername

Ok...interesting update! I've found out that another startup doing the same thing (always room for others, remember ) have quite a few businesses using their service.

It's also interesting that the guy mentions some of the exact same reasons I have for why someone would use this over pop-up live chat:

-A dedicated, nicely designed page that provides a more personal place to connect and focus on the conversation (also much easier than trying to type into a small box on mobile especially)

-A place to return too (more of a 'home' for the conversation).

And again, in line with the last point, you can't link to a chat box from anywhere and everywhere, unlike a dedicated link to your chat page / URL.

Also, no code to add, no plugins or having to ask or pay your web developer to help with it - sign up in about 60 seconds!

So I do think it's worth exploring further, especially as the market is unlimited (how many new businesses and websites come online every day!).

If the above is something I believe to be true, then there are going to be plenty of businesses out of this unlimited pool who are bound to agree If they prefer a pop up, then fine, but I am thinking there is lots of room for both, and it's up to the business to choose...