The Anonymity of Live Chat Software

The recent controversy surrounding Facebook and its privacy edicts in which millions questioned Facebook's right to manipulate confidential information for commercial gain, finally answered a number of questions we, as architects of online ventures, had about the broad subject of customer relationship management in general and customer privacy in particular.

Bottom line conclusion? The popularity of Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and the explosive growth of social media not withstanding, customers don't like their privacy compromised by any stretch of the imagination. All said and done, we, as individuals, both singly and collectively, are private folks who choose not to share our personal information with others unless there is a genuine and legitimate reason to do so. This is perhaps one of the top five reasons why live chat software has become not just popular but also ubiquitous in such a short span of time.

A New Take on Anonymous Live Chat

We have briefly visited this subject in the past in an entirely different world in which social media-intensive online customer engagement had just appeared on the cyber horizon. Today, burning issues such as customer retention, customer loyalty and customer acquisition loom large and have the same importance and foothold as marketing and online sales. It goes without saying that the universal acceptance of live chat software as a potent customer satisfaction vehicle has brought to the forefront the numerous ways in which live support interactions on websites continue to remain private. However, there are a few proactive steps your live chat operators should take just to make sure they don't ruffle any customer feathers and rub online visitors the wrong way. Here are a few winning tips on how to maintain an already private relationship even more private, build trust, generate long-term loyalty, and eventually transform website visits into concrete sales.

Protect the Customer's e-mail Address

If your live chat operators happen to be offline for a few moments while they attend an important sales meeting or go out for lunch, the most optimum measure to pursue is to transfer the live chat responsibility to a colleague so that the bases remain covered at all times. There are going to be occasions, however, when this will not be possible. When site visitors arrive on your website and notice that you are offline, they will invariably consider the option of leaving an offline message for you. This e-mail address should not be used to send unsolicited e-mail messages on a continuous basis. We recommend that you initially send a polite e-mail message to your website visitors and give them the option of a one-click-opt-out. You can also use the services of a company called SafeUnsubscribe to manage unsubscription. Exercise the same judgment if your pre-chat form calls for an e-mail address.

The Digital Privacy Divide

Your live chat operators should be instructed not to solicit personal information during a chat session. Let us say that they need to "stick to the script" and remain focused on their primary responsibility of providing premium quality live chat service to their website visitors.

Direct Access to Confidential Financial Customer Data

Many leading live chat software applications, like ours, interface directly and seamlessly with CRM platforms such as SalesForce and SugarCRM. to mention only a few. This interface provides live chat operators direct access to confidential customer data which they traditionally did not possess. Provide leadership and guidance to your live chat operators by instructing them about the privacy statutes of your country and the penalties associated with violations.

In an online environment in which the entire planet has gone digital, no data is sacrosanct and no one is anonymous any more. As custodians of valuable information about your customers, it is incumbent upon you to protect the data and ensure at all times that the data you gather never falls into the wrong hands thus building more loyalty, more trust and eventually a new level of online business success.