Dozens of years ago, when computers were not devices for ordinary people, but factories for big shots, Theodore Levitt, a famous professor from Harvard Business School, said to his students “People don't want quarter-inch drills. They want quarter-inch holes.” Some people thought he was going to lecture about metal-cutting. Today some people may think that this ChatStat review is about the software Nick Matina created a month ago. Well, yes and no. It is going to be mostly about your business needs and perspectives.
Does your business need a new car? Does your company need a new computer? Does your Customer Service need the software called ChatStat? Most probably you do not. What you need is enabling your Customer Service operators respond to online customers’ questions and interact with them with the speed of Internet, thus converting web queries into more loyal customers and site traffic into financial transactions. What you need is real time website traffic analysis, thus immediately knowing how to set your goals and objectives. ChatStat just happens to be a piece of software declaring it can ensure all this. I am going to review its business functionality, without claims to be comprehensive.
It is a new piece of software, a new kid on the block, a new car in the garage. The garage is called live chat support software depot, and long occupied by big software guys like Livehelper, Velaro, LiveChatNow, LiveSiteManager, and a few others. Please do not be misled by the word ‘chat’. Here ‘chatting’ means ‘talking business’, because the software pieces are designed for efficient on-line customer support.
Preparing ChatStat for a test-drive presented quite a problem. The installation procedure was rather a no-brainer. Our computer already had the English version of .NET, Version 2 installed, that is why it did not ask for it. But then, OneKit computer began to download something from the Net, without informing the appalled sysop. Later, it turned out to be a ChatStat update. However, we would really want to know about it before, and have an option to download it or not.
Now, the car is ready. How does it run? Well, this car is slow. Not snail-slow, but somewhat like duck-quick, not more. The buttons do not hasten to react. Some impatient patrons may forgive smaller businesses for being a so retarded, but big companies should not allow such an attitude.
Though this auto is new, the outer look is cheap and leaves quite a lot to be desired. The icon can be virtually lost on a light-colored background. Besides, it is unscalable. Some buttons (like Home on the
screenshot) do not look like buttons at all. The navigation in Preference and Settings is sometimes not logical.
The operators are not Shakespeares, and they do not have to be. In their chats with customers they will certainly use a lot of set-phrases, beginning from ‘Hi, there, can I ask you name?’ and ending with ‘Thank you for your visit, %FirstName%. Your comments were most helpful for us. I hope to see you again on our site in the nearest future.’ Why not providing the operators with a range of editable phrases for talking with customers? It can later develop into a semi-automated talking head, or at least a kind of predictive input system.
Customers want to feel that the company cares for their particular needs, that is why they want a personalized talk. A picture of the operator would not be a big software problem, but it would help a lot to make the talk more personal.
Nick Matina and his team boast a new feature they called MovingGraph™ system. It definitely animates the screen, and also gives some useful info. You can analyze how busy your traffic is, so you can hire two additional operators in the afternoon. The manual promises that MovingGraph™ will also show exit poll data. Well, we must admit he is keeping his promises. Let’s wait for a couple of days, when the next version is due.
That is all, and well, then it also lacks a few important features. If it is an instrument for business communication, it must have some more important marketing tools. We do not talk about psychographic characteristics here, like your customer’s values and lifestyle and all that. But must-haves are measurable demographic features for marketing analysis, like what geographical regions your customers come from, how newcomers locate your site, what keywords they use to search info on your products and services. ChatStat can locate your customer using GEO Locator, but it does not make a statistical analysis of where your customers come from.
Too many drawbacks, you think? Think a bit more. It is a truly unique program, at least by now. It is the first live chat support software for business purposes, which is ready to use and free at the same time. No installation charges, no monthly fees, not a penny. It is Vista-ready, it provides multiple site support, and it comes with FIVE free operator seats per website. For such features you would pay about $100 a month with any other similar software.
However, apart from being free, ChatStat can boast one more competitive advantage—its team. Just like in Formula One races, it is not only the race car which matters, but also the team which develops and services it. ChatStat is very far from being a Ferrari, at least not by now. But its team is real fast. OneKit testers got all the necessary answers, fast and in full. In every forum devoted to online customer service software (www.softpedia.com, www.webhostingtalk.com, www.websitepublisher.net, to name a few) ChatStat CEO Nick Matina and his people were probably the fastest to react to users’ questions. ChatStat team practice what they preach—they are developing software for customer support, and they are excellent in their own customer support. Besides, they are fast in implementing customers’ ideas about how to improve ChatStat.
OneKit.com executive summary: ChatStat is definitely worth trying. I especially recommend it for small and medium businesses which are starting retailing online. This car is not Mercedes-looking, but it is free, and it is ready for an unlimited test-drive. It is not Porsche-fast, but it will deliver you to the destination. It is not Jeep-universal, but it performs all the basic functions, with some extra niceties like VOIP call back, history of visits, and multi-site support. Get ChatStat version 2.0 now before they made it paid. If you do, ChatStat promises to automatically deliver you the next version, which is due this weekend. Your precious time you spend on it will pay back in a very reasonable period.
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Do you need a new device for your new online business, or ChatStat test-drive.
Author: Umberto Oinbarx
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