What is Proactive Chat?

Proactive chat is the ability to target a website visitor and then, using visual cues and coordinated sound effects, to deliberately invite that visitor to engage in a live chat interaction. The invitation can be an image or a small chat window with a custom message that says, for example, "Questions? I'm available for chat!"

Invitations can be made manually - with the user determining which invitation to send and to which visitor - or automatically through the implementation of one or more rules.

BoldChat has been a leader in proactive chat for years. If you aren't using it, you're missing conversations, leads, and conversions.

Mobile Proactive Invitations

With BoldChat, you can create a unique set of proactive chat rules tailored for mobile visitors. When the invitation fires, a specialized invitation tailored for the mobile experience is issued. Learn More about Mobile Proactive invites.

Manual or Rules Based, Which is Better?

Consider several factors before embarking on an invitation strategy. For smaller websites with less traffic, sending invitations manually has several advantages including the ability to track progress in real-time and make immediate changes based on that feedback.

Websites with larger number of visitors generally benefit from the power of BoldChat's proactive rules engine which automatically issues invites based on predefined website visitor behavior.

Learn more about our Proactive Chat feature in the Sales/Marketing feature section.

Follow Visitor Browsing

A passive co-browsing technology that lets agents follow along as website visitors move from page to page. Besides the page the visitor is currently on, agents can see the page they entered on, were referred by, and if a chat was launched, then agents can see the chat-launch URL as well. This Auto Browser functionality additionally works through secure URLs and is particularly helpful for websites that are content-heavy.

Control of Hours Available

You only want to publicize live chat interactions when there are real people available to accept them. Use the manual or auto-away feature to control chat buttons and proactive invites based on agent availability. Business hour override control is also available allowing you to automate when chat is online.

Searchable Canned Messages

A searchable knowledge base is easy to construct and increases agent responsiveness. Messages can include links, images, font treatments, and personalization variables like the chat agent name. Access to the messaging knowledge base occurs through folderization, hot keys, or keyword searching.

Chat/Visitor History

Nothing is more frustrating to a customer than having to explain their issue over and over again. Agents can avoid this problem with instant access to a customer's entire visit and chat contact history. The agent will quickly be up to speed and able to take the issue to resolution. Read more about Chat/Visitor History.

Supervisor Tools

Chat supervisors have what they need to help manage agents and maximize operational efficiency. Watching and/or joining ongoing chats is enhanced by the ability to initiate one-on-one discussions with agents. Supervisors can also control the routing of incoming chats, feature permissioning, and skill group creation.

SLA Reporting

Service level reporting can be done against chat answered time, unanswered time, and chat duration. Organizations can set desired SLAs and then report on performance. Results are broken down into standard time increments.

Predictive Canned Messaging

Our Adaptive Messaging™ algorithm automatically searches the canned message repository based on the real-time conversation occuring between the agent and the website visitor. Read more about Adaptive Messaging™.

Dashboard

A single screen shows a top down view of the entire website communcation operation. With text and graphic displays supervisors can determine at a glance if chat, email, and remote assist queues are being handled optimally.

Email & Tickets

Manage internal tasks, customer follow-up, operations projects, or billing inquiries using BoldChat's integrated ticketing. Tickets can be automatically distributed and assigned according to established workflows and chats, calls, emails, and SMS texts can be related to tickets as well. The email management functionality in BoldChat Enterprise works because it supports a collaborative approach to email management. Emails aren't just simple messages, they are pieces of work - sometimes complex work - that need to be managed to resolution. Read more about Email Management.

Multiple Domains

From a single interface you can easily manage inbound communications from multiple website properties. Each website can have its own unique chat buttons and windows in order to maintain brand aesthetics across your sites.

Chat WIndows

BoldChat offers two types of chat windows which can be used concurrently on your website.  The pop-up style window is an independent interface distinct from your website so that chatters can easily multi-task between accomplishing something on your site and carrying on a conversation with an agent.  The layered window is essentially embedded into the page keeping the conversation front and center.  The layered window is exceptionally suited for mobile live chat deployments. Both styles of window can be set to detect the end user’s browser language and, if it’s a supported language, will automatically render the window elements in that language.  Supported languages besides English are French, German, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, or Brazilian Portuguese.

Window Customizations

BoldChat windows are entirely HTML-based, which means you have complete control over them. No BoldChat branding need appear, and because you can access the entire window code from the client application, significant customizations can be made. BoldChat’s pop-out windows, by default, are mobile-aware so they function and appear cleanly across mobile devices. Learn more about mobile-aware windows. You have similar aesthetic controls over BoldChat’s Layered Windows as well; easily change colors, transparency settings, and more.  Beyond the out-of-the-box supported languages mentioned above, customers can also customize the window into other languages as well.

Note Font Size Change: BoldChat windows meet Section 508 accessibility standards (otherwise known as Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973) meaning that our windows are compliant for respondents with disabilities.

Chat Buttons

A complete gallery with hundreds of button variations is available from the BoldChat client application but - should you wish - you can easily specify your own images as well.

Floating Chat Buttons

Floating chat buttons allow you to deploy live chat without impacting the layout or design aesthetics of your existing website. Buttons can be chosen from a gallery or you can use your own. Floating chat buttons can optionally "scroll-out" to reveal further graphics and messaging. Try ours at the left.

Configurations

Nearly every element of BoldChat is configurable. The layout of the agent interface can be widely customized as can the foldering and composition of all canned messages. We offer the most hands-on proactive chat engine in the industry. The invitations themselves and an unlimited set of rules are all under your control. Read more about Proactive Chat.

Administrators have robust options inside the BoldChat system as well. From scheduling reports to sophisticated conversion tracking to chat routing, BoldChat administrators can control everything.

Pre Chat Survey

Optionally, you can enable a form to collect information from the visitor before a chat begins. You can ask for one or more of the following: name, email, phone, and initial question.

Offline Email Form

If you're not available to chat (due to business hours or spikes in volume) a form can be optionally served requesting that the visitor provide their email so that an agent can follow up.

Remain in Chat Prompt

If the user attempts to close the chat (perhaps erroneously by clicking on the standard upper right hand "X" in the chat window) an alert can be issued confirming that the user wishes to exit the chat.

Email & Auto-Email Transcripts

Visitors can input their email address and at the chat's conclusion, the entire transcript is sent. Chat transcripts include additional data including time and date stamping. All chat transcripts can be set to automatically be sent to an email address of your choosing as well.

Post Chat Survey

BoldChat supports further quality analysis using a post interaction surveying capability. A simple form is presented after an interaction and the categories are editable.

The results of post chat surveys appear in individual chat history.

Post Chat Wrap Up

Supervisors can control workflow by enforcing post chat behavior. Optionally, agents can be made to fill in certain fields before the chat session closes.

In Queue Messages

A series of pre-defined messages can be set up in advance to be shown to visitors waiting in queue. Visitors enjoy knowing their place in line and messaging can be delivered if wait times exceed thresholds.

Post Chat Operator Survey

Add additional control to your post chat wrap up by requiring operators to complete a mandatory survey prior to closing a chat. Supervisors can customize the survey with required and/or optional fields that include drop-down, radio buttons, and single or multi-line text.