We have over 25 button styles, 4 text options, 8 color options, and 2 background choices which means there are over 1,600 combinations.  Wow, that’s a bunch of buttons.  But, here’s the thing; none of these might be right for your website.  Luckily, most systems like BoldChat and BoldCCM enable you to customize the button.  Here are 4 situations that definitely warrant a custom chat button:

Situation #1: To make the chat button stand out: When you want to draw attention to the fact that you are ready to engage your website visitors in a live discussion, you don’t want to hide your chat button.  In fact, you may want to do what the Orlando Magic does on its season ticket page and make the chat button the most prominent image there.

(click to enlarge)

Situation #2: To make the chat button blend in: ReStockIt.com wants to make it easy for customers to engage them at any point on their site.  As such, they make access to live chat a simple text link, place it high on their page, and place it on every page. It’s hard not for us to like this idea because it’s what we do on BoldChat.com.

(click to enlarge)

Situation #3: To maintain a consistent brand experience: When you manage a powerful and respected brand, you want live chat to be an extension of that brand.  Live chat can create a deep connection with customers and prospects so it’s important to encapsulate that connection with a consistent look and feel.  Corel clearly understands this as their chat button is exceptionally loyal to the visual tenants of their brand.

(click to enlarge)

Situation #4: To specify hours of chat availability: Even if your agents aren’t available, a customized chat button can act as an advertisement, encouraging visitors to return when chat is back online.  Cosmetics company e.l.f. offers live consultations with professional make-up artists during the hours of 10-5.  Their chat button is prominently displayed and informative.

(click to enlarge)

First, despite the economy that surrounds us, we’re growing.  And, as we continue to grow, continue to win business from large preeminent brands, and continue to be relied on by media and analysts as experts in our field, we needed to establish a corporate presence beyond the brand names of the products we sell. Though many know us as “BoldChat”, that is simply one of the brands we manage.

Secondly, our growth has been fueled by two types of customers – small to mid-sized entrepreneurial businesses and significant enterprise engagements.  As such, the feature sets each of these customers require has changed over time.  We needed to react and build offerings appropriate for each.

For these reasons, and others, we have enacted the following:

1. We’ve changed the name of our company to Bold Software, LLC and launched a corporate website at www.BoldSoft.com.   Our new name is descriptive at the same time it pays homage to the heritage of our flagship brand.  Bold Software has a clean aesthetic and this blog now wears its look.
2. We announced a new BoldChat product called BoldChat Premier.  This offering is our most robust chat-only product and is tailor made for businesses that intend a significant live chat operation.
3. We launched BoldCCM for enterprises that require a consolidated suite of website communication tools.  From one interface, companies can manage live chat, click to call, inbound email management, and more.  Two new suites are sold under the BoldCCM name and the Enterprise version includes a new remote control capability.

The changes we’ve made mark an important milestone for Bold Software.  As ambassadors of live chat, click to call, and other website communication technologies, we now have a corporate, brand, and product architecture that allows us to advance a mission begun more than six years ago.  We create software that empowers websites to optimize their performance and we offer it for the greatest value in the industry.

Oprah is. President Barack Obama is. Martha Stewart is. Same with Shaquille O’Neal and John Mayer. Zappos.com CEO, Tony Hseih, entrepreneur Mark Cuban and AOL co-founder, Steve Case are all tweeting away too… and that’s barely scratching the surface of the popular microblogging service’s users.

But Twitter isn’t just for the rich, famous and successful. There are 6 million users currently signed up with the service and, according to predictions by eMarketer, that number could double by the end of 2009.

Twitter is also not just for individuals. More and more businesses are tweeting, to varying degrees of success. Should your business jump on the Twitter bandwagon? Signing up for an account may seem simple enough (it’s easy and free), but the question I often hear is “then what?”

Here are a few tips for navigating the Twitter landscape as a business:

1. Pay attention. Twitter is a virtual focus group that never stops. Leverage the Twitter Search feature to keep tabs on what people are saying about your brand, your industry, your competitors, your products and your services.
2. Talk to your customers. Companies like Comcast, Starbucks and Whole Foods are using Twitter as a way to reach new customers, address customer service issues and provide an additional channel of communication outside the usual phone/email/live chat paradigm.
3. Discover sales opportunities. Take what you’ve learned from tip #1 and start following people who are twittering about what is relevant to your business. Reply to them if it’s appropriate. Many users treat Twitter as their own personal search engine and if they’re asking the Twitterverse which live chat service they should evaluate for their business, you can bet I’m replying back and telling them to check out BoldChat. The response has been positive thus far.
4. Don’t spam – engage. Twitter users don’t want to follow someone who only posts links to their website every day. And it’s unlikely that you’ll get many followers if you’re not following anyone else back. Twitter is based on reciprocation. It’s about participation and conversation. So go ahead and post news and links to information that you think your followers might find interesting, but make sure you’re talking to them too.
5. Be human. Part of Twitter’s appeal is the ability follow users without requiring approval. For many, it’s a much more intimate way to connect with celebrities, enterpreneurs and brands than has ever been possible before. Don’t forget that while you are representing your business, your followers want to know more about the people behind the Twitter username. So post TwitPics of your team, talk about office outings and show your personality.
6. Follow us. Ok, so this isn’t really a tip, but we would be honored to have you follow BoldChat on Twitter. We’ll even follow back.

I’m currently reading The Origin of Brands by Al and Laura Ries. I’m only on page 95, but already I’ve noticed that the Ries family continues in the same way they began with The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding:

• The father/daughter team isn’t afraid to take a contrarian position – they pretty much claim that ‘technology convergence’ is a wide-eyed dream without a prayer of living up to expectations.
• They explore the ridiculous outcomes inherent in the blind pursuit of such dreams. They discuss interactive gas pumps, interactive pianos, interactive clothing, interactive paper, and even, interactive toilets.
• Inside their fully warranted railings against such marketing-stupidity, are gems of knowledge.

One example is the simplistic, yet powerful idea that “[t]he primary objective of a branding program is always the mind of the prospect. The mind comes first, the market follows where the mind leads.”

I’ve always believed that if you find yourself in the business of changing minds, you should quit – it’s usually a really good sign that your product or service isn’t fulfilling a real market need. Al and Laura, however, aren’t advocating that branding programs change minds, just that they carve out a little space in them to occupy. So, how do you do that?

The answer is simple, really; you do it through consistent communication. Can live chat play a role here? You betcha. Not only can live chat windows and buttons be customized to carry consistent brand imagery, but live chat facilitates actual communications with a spokesperson for your brand. The opportunity to engage website visitors in real-time interactions is really the opportunity to affect the mind of your prospect and solidify your positioning in their mind.