Online Chat: Engaging Your Visitors Through the New Offerchat Dashboard
The Offerchat dashboard is the web based control panel of the live chat widget you added on your site. This is where the online chat magic of customer engagement and live chat support happens, and where you can do other cool stuff such as customizing the widget, managing your account, and adding live chat agents.
We have been continuously improving the web based dashboard to be as complete and satisfying for users as possible. The dashboard for online chat currently being used is version 3.
Accessing the New Dashboard
To access the Offerchat dashboard and start chatting with your site visitors and customers, go to https://www.offerchat.com/login and login with your email and password.
The dashboard view is the first screen you’ll meet right after successfully logging in. Here you will find important updates at a glance such as visitor metrics of the week, live chat updates, website profiles, and more.
Tip: Take the tour to familiarize yourself with the different sections, icons, and menus of the dashboard interface. See where each doorway leads to!
How to Start Chatting
Perhaps the three most important sections of the dashboard view at this point wherein you’re eager to interact with customers are the Status Indicator, the Notification icon, and the Website list.
Go online
Keep an eye on the status indicator found at the uppermost right hand corner of your screen in the blue bar at the top. This blue bar at the top of the dashboard is the global navigation bar where all the important menus are located. It’s always present even when the view of the screen switches or changes.
Green means you’re online. Click the status indicator to toggle your status to away (during breaks) or offline. You can always see menus to account settings of to signout from your account.
Note: Your status in the dashboard will reflect in the live chat widget on your site. If you’re away or offline, visitors won’t be queued to you. If there are no other agents available, the widget will automatically switch to an offline form.
You’ve got chats!
The Notifications icon is also located on the global navigation bar at the top. It’s found on the left, next to the Home icon.
Websites in your plate
Account owners and administrators will see all websites added to the account in a list below the Offerchat logo in the dashboard. Live chat agents or operators on the other hand will see just the websites assigned to them, that is, websites whose visitors can engage in chat with them.
When a website is grayed out, like the one on the screenshot above, it means the site is selected. Clicking a website will switch the dashboard view to the chat interface. Here you can monitor active visitors (currently engaging in a chat with you), site visitors, and other agents available. The notification icon still stays at the top and will display a red bubble with the number of new chat messages received and unread.
Getting to Know the Active Chat Window
Click any visitor to change the screen to an individual chat window where you can chat one-to-one with that visitor. This view is the active chat window. Here you will see various chat functions.
Top bar holds information
At the top of the screen, just below the blue bar, is information pertaining to the visitor such as the visitor label or name, location, and browser being used at the top. Click “more info” right next to the browser icons and you’ll see the page in the website the visitor is on, the chat timer and the visitor’s IP address.
Use the Transfer chat button to transfer the customer, along with the entire chat session, to another agent available who can better assist the customer.
Tip: You can change the generic “visitor-xxxx” label provided by the system to the visitor’s real name. Just hover your mouse above it and as soon as the pointer changes into a hand, click the label. You can then edit and type the visitor’s real name. Click the checkmark right beside it to save the information. The system will remember this visitor as the name you saved and displays that name when that person returns to your site so that you can immediately recognize a returning customer instead of just a random visitor number.
Every time a chat session is done, click X across the Transfer chat button at the top to properly end the chat and stop the chat timer.
The center stage where all the action happens
At the center is displayed the chat conversation happening. Below that, where it says “Enter your message” is the reply box. This is the focus part of the active chat window where interaction happens.
At the right of the screen is the Saved Responses portion. Click a saved response and the reply box will be automatically filled out, ready to be sent. It saves you a lot of time especially for frequently asked questions and giving opening and closing greetings. You can save a new response from this window or search for a particular response using a keyword.
How did it go?
Tell us about your chat experience using Offerchat live chat and the new dashboard. For questions and requests for support, click the intercom button represented by the ? button in the bottom right of your dashboard screen. Or you can email [email protected] or chat with us through the website. You can also browse the Knowledge Base for ready answers and solutions. We always encourage new users to get the most out of Offerchat!
Beta time is crunch time for us in making the online chat tool better and stronger so don’t hesitate with giving us your thoughts on the tool. Happy chatting! We hope that Offerchat will be your partner in building a solid relationship with your customers.
Cheby writes about live chat insights, customer service, e-commerce & conversions, online marketing and everything in between. She connects you to Offerchat through the written word. Offerchat is a web based live chat app for websites perfect for on-page interaction with visiting online shoppers on your site. Access the client chat panel, stay online and respond to customer chats in real time - anytime, anywhere!
