After conducting a survey on the effectiveness of live chat technology, Bravestorm (News - Alert), makers of BoldChat, announced a set of best practices for e-tailers to help improve live chat effectiveness.

The survey polled more than 250 online shoppers.

Based on the survey results, Bravestorn suggests some simple ways for e-tailers to increase sales conversions. For example they should make chat available on every page, pay attention to pages with high-value items, make offers in combination with proactive chat invitations, publish wait times for each communication mechanism, remind callers who have phoned #800 numbers that live chat is available, and publish testimonials from live chat users.

"We weren't surprised to see some of these best practices emerging from the research, but it is great confirmation from the shopper's perspective," stated Bravestorm President and CEO Steve Castro-Miller in a press release. "We work with customers on a daily basis to help them make the most of their live chat technology. Over time, we see patterns among our most successful customers. The survey findings have reinforced what we experience with our customers and we're now sharing these best practices so that other retailers can reap the benefits, as well.

Dreams Inc. is one fo the many e-commerce merchants using BoldChat on its Website.

"This was clearly a win-win solution as we provided an improved customer experience, and, at the same time, increased our conversion rate,” said Kevin Bates, president of e-commerce and retail divisions, in the release. “Making a purchase is often a spur of the moment decision, and if that moment is lost, so is the sale."

The proactive chat invitation feature is used by Canadian electronics retailer The Source.

The solution is also used by Appliance Zone, an online retailer of appliance parts in the U.S.

"Live chat is the primary means we use to communicate with our shoppers and you'll find it all over our site," stated Jim Allen, CEO of ApplianceZone.com.