LivePerson Gets Into Cyber-Sales
It's like asking “Can I help you?” in cyberspace, but without all of that shoe leather use.
LivePerson (NASDAQ:LPSN), which develops software that makes real-time online customer interaction easier, announced the general availability of a new product that combines real-time communication and online monitoring capabilities to drive higher online sales.
The new LivePerson Sales Edition captures a customer's actions, including Web pages visited and the amount of time spent viewing each page, and provides a vehicle for representatives to engage high-potential customers on an e-commerce Web site in an online sales consultation.
The interaction can begin as soon as a customer enters a site's “front door” (main page). As a customer progresses through the Web site, LivePerson Sales Edition automatically analyzes her page visits, purchase patterns, shopping cart content and other activity.
With all of this information, a retailer using LivePerson Sales Edition can proactively engage a customer in real time to sell additional products and services — in much the same way a consumer would interact with a sales agent in a store or office. A cyber-walking sales rep can, for example, offer a coupon for a specific product, give assistance with product selection or offer a chat with a service representative.
The information generated about each customer can also be used to deploy an automated online marketing campaign with measurable results, LivePerson said.
The solution can also help online retailers who think that that few sales are made directly on their corporate Web sites, the company said. The application combines real-time customer interaction and analytics to help companies turn browsers into buyers and close more deals online at a significantly lower cost than using the phone or going into a store.
At least two companies are already seeing a return-on-investment as a result of implementing LivePerson Sales Edition, the company said. TechnoBrands, which sells a range of consumer electronics and household goods via its TechnoScout.com Web site, says it generates 47 percent of its sales utilizing the LivePerson Sales Edition proactive chat feature. In addition, orders that are placed through proactive chats generate a 25% higher average ticket prices than those without the online talk.
MyFamily.com has also implemented the sales software, New York-based LivePerson added. MyFamily.com has seen its conversion rate through LivePerson average 40 percent. Microsoft's bcentral also uses the LivePerson solution.
LivePerson Sales Edition is delivered to e-tailers via the application-service provider model, eliminating the heavy infrastructure investment normally associated with one-to-one marketing solutions, LivePerson added.
Bob Woods is the managing editor of InstantMessagingPlanet, an Internet.com sister site.
