Be sure you're getting what you pay for

We don't perform tune-ups on cars like we used to, but there are still factory-recommended inspections. Likewise, it's a good idea to give your live chat a checkup to see that it's giving your the performance and ROI you deserve. And it may actually need a tune-up. Whether you prefer to handle your live chat in-house with self-managed live chat software or rely on a third party to ensure you can respond to requests around the clock, it is wise to check on it from time to time. 
Once you decide to pop the hood and perform some diagnostics, you're going to need to have a plan of action. Here are eight touch points for your inspection:

• See what the interface looks like on your website. You NEED the popup proactive invite (really), so ensure it is turned on. How is the color selection of the different icons? Sometimes a choosing colors that have more contrast (as long as they meet OEM standards) can increase click rates. Your invite should not pop up on every page if customer experience is a consideration
• Click through an icon to see if it is working. You don't need to waste time with a full mystery chat because you have the transcripts, but check operator response times and be sure they are actually working
• Ensure your add-ones work. If you are paying for value-added plugins like video chat or coupons or other interactive tools, test them to see if they're operational. THEN look at your data to see if shoppers are actually using them
• Take a look at your transcripts - not just the ones that generally come in with a lead, but get on your management console and check out the ones that DIDN'T generate a lead. See how the conversations are handled by the operators, even if they're on your staff
• How's your mobile? Is the icon working? Is there a popup (there should be)? Does the chat box seem like it was engineered for mobile or a dinosaur remnant of desktop chat? Is it fast?
• Talk to your website provider - see if they have concerns about the chat software slowing down  your page load times and killing your search engine page load ranking
• See what the live chat looks like on your chat vendor's site - are you paying for features the don't even use themselves?
• Double-check your ACTUAL ROI from live chat leads- not just to see how many car sales it generates, but also look back to see that it hasn't cannibalized your normal form lead counts

Live chat may only take up a corner of your digital marketing space, but it is a critical tool that helps generate a boost in QUALITY leads compared to OEM or third-party. Like a performance automobile it is a good idea to get it checked out. The good news is you don't have to pay for a 60k maintenance service to protect your investment.