This question is really for both providers who offer Live Chat through their website and consumers.

For providers, do you proactively start live chat sessions with visitors to your site?

For consumers, what do you think about a provider proactively starting a session with you?

Any input is appreciated.

As a providor I do not proactively start live chat sessions because as a consumer I believe that they are uncalled for.

I personally wouldn't proactively talk to visitors on the site. Think about when you are buying a car, some people perfer to not be bugged by the sales person until they find the car that they want. At that point, they contact the sales person. If you make your Live Chat button visible and inviting, the customers will come to you. :-D

When using live chat I would not normally open a chat with the visitor unless I could see a problem, ie they had run through the signup process twice already and were running through it again. In these situation it is best to open a chat and ask them if they need help with anything.

As a consumer, I can't stand the chats popping up when I am browsing a website but even worse is when they popup as soon as you hit the website and haven't even looked around yet.

No matter what you do though, there will be people who would prefer for you to open a chat and there will be others who would rather you didn't, so you can't win either way.

Any time a chat window opens on a site I'm on, I leave the site immediately.

Any time a chat window opens on a site I'm on, I leave the site immediately.


I agree 100%

I Would Just HAve A FLashy Button that is inviting. They Will Click On It if They need Help

Yup :) As long as it is easy to find where to get live help, the user will use as needed.

As a consumer, I would not like a company contacting me as soon as I hit the site...sounds desperate!

When using live chat I would not normally open a chat with the visitor unless I could see a problem, ie they had run through the signup process twice already and were running through it again. In these situation it is best to open a chat and ask them if they need help with anything.

I completey agree with that. I only invite them to chat if they are visiting a few pages back and forth, or something strange looking.

When I am on a website and I see a proactive invatation, if there a close option I do that right away. I hate it, when after to decline a chat, and they keep popping up. I purchased from a website once, and I literealy had to email them to get it to stop because every part of the control panel... proactive city :D.

Nobody likes a pushy sales person. That is why live chat should be there as an option should a consumer need any help (and when I am a consumer I do find it can be very useful), but I do not think forcing it upon a customer without them initially looking at the service/products you offer on your site, and allowing them to make up their own mind, is really necessary.