Site Seeing: Becoming Resourceful with Your E-mail

If you remember, I mentioned in my last column that I’ve been looking for a new minivan for the Chivvis brood. Well, I am still looking, talking and haggling.

But on a positive note, I think I’ve narrowed it down to a specific dealership. And why? It is due to a mix of two technologies—instant messaging and e-mail.

Going live online
After using Toyota’s “Find a dealer” option, I was sent to a local dealership’s website. While looking at the site, there was a link that said, “Click here to talk to a Sales Rep live.”

So I did. A web browser-based chat application popped up and the next thing you know he’s answering my questions, checking the inventory database, and getting my information to facilitate any offline communication. What was really nice was the fact that he could actually “push” content onto my browser to help me see features, colors, options and pricing.

The “sales rep” was actually an agent of a company whose service is to provide information and pre-qualify potential car buyers. They pass the information onto the dealership itself, and then the sales rep at the dealership follows up with e-mails and so on.

The company, DealerGain, tailors its product to the auto industry. However, companies like FaceTime Communications (www.facetime.com) make use of current instant messaging (IM) technologies to set up live chat customer support systems for organizations. Using their suite of applications, groups such as the Santa Clara County Democrats and companies such as Compaq are able to better involve and service their clients.

We are talking about real-time interaction, one-on-one with the capability of using the individual’s web browser as the end point. No waiting for returned e-mails, no being put on hold. A real person is chatting with you.

In the case of my car shopping experience, the person on the other end of the IM session became almost an advocate with my best interests in mind. Instead of my having to root through all of the pages, he popped up what I wanted to see.

But deploying a solution like FaceTime may be a little bit too much for an agency— whether it is cost or utility. However, this is not to say that the idea is not useful on a smaller scale.

‘IM’ here for you
According to recent statistics, e-mail and instant messaging account for almost the same percentage as voice telephony when it comes to communication. Furthermore, a quarter of communications are instant messaging.

The most widely known and widely used client, America Online’s Instant Messenger (AIM) has more than 50 million users. The number of IM users will continue to grow as Internet connections like Digital Subscriber Lines and cable grow as service providers.

So how hard would it be to apply our own “Live Agent” technology to our own websites? With an IM client, you can pass clickable URLs and quickly answer site visitor questions.

By providing users with a way to automatically and instantly reach you, you create a greater sense of service. And getting their e-mail address and having them fill out an information page will further complement what you started online. Just like my experience with the sales reps and like the stats, it’s all about using the right tools at the right time. It’s a mix of IM and e-mail.

The nice thing is that AIM Client is free—whether you have AOL as a service or not. For providing instant messaging as an option to your website visitors, all you would have to do is provide your screen name and probably a link to “Get AIM” in case they didn’t
have it.

It’s also a great intra-office communication tool. This is especially true for agencies with multiple locations. No long distance, no tying up the phone lines. Plus, since IM is built around a quick response, it works even better than a leaving a voice mail.

The point is that technology is progressing to a point where in some cases, “I’ll send you an e-mail,” is not enough. In earlier days it was “pick up the phone and call my local agent.” Now we have the opportunity to put instant messaging to use to achieve the same level of service for those whose primary mode of communication is a computer.

Instant messaging can only enhance what makes independent agents stand out—the ability to provide personal, one-on-one service quickly and efficiently.