Live Chat For Real Estate – Why Outsource?
Considering adding a live chat service to your website to boost real estate sales leads?
If so, there is an endless supply of software vendors and service providers for you to consider. Depending on your lead generation goals and objectives, a managed live chat for real estate service may be more effective and efficient. In this post we will examine the major differences between a managed live chat service vs. a “do it yourself” live chat solution.
So, what is meant by “managed live chat”? Managed live chat is a business practice of transferring day-to-day related live chat operations as a strategic method for improved efficiency (i.e. outsourcing the implementation, execution, management and optimization of your live chat campaign/service to a 3rd party). Let’s address some commonly asked questions for you to consider.
How do I choose the right solution for my real estate website?
This would depend on your objectives and the results that you are trying to achieve. What makes live chat such an effective channel for sales lead generation and customer service is the ability to be available to service your online visitors in real-time. Unlike email, you will need to have a dedicated person (either yourself or a staff member) to be available during key business hours and when your website has the highest website activity – which can vary throughout the day or night. One major aspect to consider is will you be available 8-12 hours a day to be able to respond to live chat inquiries from your real estate website? If not, how much would it cost for you or your office to hire and train a team of in-house operators?
How is a managed live chat service beneficial to your real estate business?
As a busy real estate broker or agent, you’re busy managing clients, listings, contracts, marketing plans, and the list goes on. Although live chat can be a highly valuable website feature for improving lead conversion rates, it is a major endeavour to manage and operate yourself. Not only can it be difficult to understand which solution would work best for your needs and objectives, but implementing and executing an effective live chat for real estate system requires a level of expertise in order to achieve optimum results. Having a managed live chat service provider with expertise in real estate will greatly impact website visitor interaction and conversion rates, and your overall return on investment.
How much does it cost for a managed live chat for real estate service?
Costs can vary from one provider to the next. Quality and expertise are major factors in pricing for managed live chat services. We’ve seen service providers’ quote anywhere from $199-$999 / month for managed services – depending on the features and coverage you are looking for (e.g. 8 hours per day / 24 hours per day). Software-only solutions are significantly less as you will need to only purchase the live chat software license, which can range from $40-$400 / month. But then again, there is the staffing and availability factor involved with a self-managed solution.
We hope this article was helpful in answering some initial questions you may have asked yourself when evaluating a live chat solution for your real estate website. If you would like to learn more about ReadyChat’s managed live chat for real estate services, or have any questions regarding the information above, please feel free to give us a call 1-888-693-0351.