Service with a Smile through Technology: Live Chat for Non-governmental Organizations

Live chat solutions don't have to be confined to web sites with a clearly defined monetizing model. If you work with an NGO or know someone who does, you will be surprised to learn how you can seamlessly provide online social services and referrals through live chat. Our feature this month presents the proposition of live chat in a new light where bridges can be built to share a few moments of joy and happiness.

Executive Summary

Non-profit organizations around the world are gradually transitioning into the new millennium in spite of financial odds and embracing the latest communication technologies, social networking platforms and traffic measurement systems. Web 2.0 for this sector has finally arrived:

• An overview of live chat from a philanthropist's perspective
• Benefits of deploying live chat on your NGO's web site
• Leveraging the technical advantage

Live Chat Now has a Socially Responsible Mission

Regardless of how intensely the Internet is hyped by those with or without private agendas, the Internet is about human beings and not about machines. If you happen to be a part of a non-governmental organization with a clearly defined mission and a sense of deep-rooted purpose, online outreach is something you have probably considered at one time or another. Chances are that your NGO already has a web site and an online newsletter but in the age of Web 2.0 in which social realities define the web, there are many more ways in which you can build chemistry between your donors, advisors, colleagues and most importantly, your beneficiaries-- the community served by your non-profit organization. Posting to blog comments, subject-specific Wikis, Internet discussion groups, niche forums and listservs are all ways of building your community of volunteers, patrons, supporters and well-wishers. The Internet is designed to support these initiatives and endeavors whole heartedly to connect you with your universe. One of the ways in which direct online communication is facilitated through technology is live chat which by itself needs no introduction. We all have probably, at one time or another, interacted with customer service representatives and technical support experts through live chat to resolve problems.

Delivering Community Services through Live Chat

Using live chat on your NGO's web site is by no means a brainwave worthy of accolades. Many successful non-profit organizations deliver services through live chat as an integral part of their overall service delivery model. NGOs like ifocos.org, idealist.org, serviceleader.org, peaceday.org an sgr.org use live chat for effective communication in real time. Live chat can prove to be a catalyst to build awareness for the cause you support specially for those online searchers who arrive on your site through search and are looking for near-instant responses to their queries.

Ten Benefits of Implementing a Live Chat Solution on your NGO's Web Site

There is no limit to how and in what way you can deploy live chat on your web site to promote your noble purpose. Here are a few tips and suggestions to consider when you make a case for chat-based live support within your non-profit organization:

• Establish communication with the Internet community in real time
• Launch and operate live, online Help Lines to address the needs of your target audience
• Preserve complete anonymity and confidentiality more then a telephone call
• Conduct internal meetings and discussions even when your participants such as your board members are not all in the same city as you
• Maintain highly accurate records of the transactions through chat transcripts
• Convert inquirers into volunteers through follow-up
• Provide simultaneous service delivery through multiple chat windows operating at the same time
• Share your NGO's resources by serving up URLs, opening new web pages and pointing to external resources
• Promote your NGO through celebrity live chat
• Leverage live chat as a powerful vehicle for fund-raising because of its flexibility and easy tracking mechanism

Live chat can be easily harnessed as a means of building consensus and improving the public perception of your stated mission. As a leader of the NGO movement, it is time for you to take your online social message to the next level through live chat without having to download any new software or install browser plugins. The chat operators at your non-profit organization can respond to chat inquiries initiated by chat visitors. Conversely, they can proactively invite them to chat by politely extending a chat invitation. Live chat software allows your site visitors to leave messages for you that are both cataloged and archived for future access. You will also notice that your phone costs will begin to dip when you install live chat on your NGO's web site.