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Hi. I’m Craig. I’m an experienced Senior Software Engineer, Systems Architect and Microsoft Certified Professional with a passion for software development.
I work primarily, but not exclusively, with Microsoft technologies and the .NET / .NET Core frameworks, leading complex and challenging enterprise software development projects to successfully deliver robust, secure, scalable and efficient software solutions, encompassing over 20 years of experience in the field.
I’m passionate about distributed systems design, CQRS and event sourcing and a proponent of domain-driven design to ensure that solutions are laser-focused on solving real business problems. I’m an open source enthusiast and advocate using the best and most appropriate tools available, providing for an effective and pragmatic solution that delivers genuine and quantifiable business value.
Throughout my career I’ve helped numerous businesses of varying sizes in varying industries get their technology investment right and I can do the same for you.
Recent projects include:
+ Successfully delivered large section of an ambitious project to re-engineer a number of monolithic applications to cloud-native, event-driven distributed services for a leading hospitality software provider as part of a company-wide effort to modernise entire software estate including training and mentoring staff on event-driven architecture and distributed system design.
+ Successfully designed & delivered large, global SaaS product to manage and automate music royalty collection and payment for one of the UK’s largest and most demanding independent music publishers including full cloud geo-distribution & redundancy to ensure high availability & reliability for the worldwide client base.
+ Successfully lead project to develop industry leading anti-motor fraud web application and API with advanced OLAP & OLTP system and data warehouse including one of Europe’s largest anti-fraud databases for a Top 40 UK law firm.
+ Successfully lead project to deliver a market-leading, best-of-breed corporate travel management web & desktop-based product suite for a company who, largely as a result of the technology, were later acquired in a multi-million pound deal.
Technologies:
python, javascript/react/html/css graphql sql c++ c java sh perl make linux.. and dozens others from prolog and android down to SoC and assemblers.. But it is much more powerful to make and express domain/task-specific languages on top, then use them.
About: making software for 30+ years on a few continents.. the interesting part is the people. And languages and friendships made in the process. Been everything up to CTO, usually many hats at the same time (last few years – CTO +architect +coder +methodologist +mentor, in startup. Mostly because of the last role). Have my own python course and work-style, mentored a few teams, turned a few people into good programmers-and-persons, consulted a few companies on agile and cultural-health..
So, looking for mentoring a team or more, 20-25h/week, about programming and life, with me there.. or them here (taken outside comfort zone, people do they best.. or worst). Something like playing trainer, within the team and the project.. coding/designing is only the ink of software, made by people, for people.
Article URL: https://www.lumi.com/jobs/lead-product-designer Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24661706 Points: 1 # Comments: 0 The post Lumi (YC W15) is hiring Product Designers to design tools for sustainable packaging appeared first on ROI Credit Builders. The post Lumi (YC W15) is hiring Product Designers to design tools for sustainable packaging appeared first on Automation For Your Email marketing … Continue reading Lumi (YC W15) is hiring Product Designers to design tools for sustainable packaging
We run one of the most popular camping websites in the UK and help millions of people a year plan and book a great camping and glamping holiday, and the booking system which supports it. We are constantly improving our central booking system – Bedful, along with our sales channels cool camping, glampingly, cool places and others so you’ll be working on exciting new features for partners and guests including integrations with other providers and the internals of the booking system. We’re seeing high growth in domestic tourism and are expanding our team.
Due to Coronavirus our office in Shoreditch, London is currently closed, and we’re working remotely for the next 6 months at least, but we hope to return to the office next year. We are looking for applicants with UK residency only.
We deploy new code to production most days and are looking for a software engineer to work at first remotely. Most of our code is written in Go – we’ve been using Go for a few years now and love working with it. Limited experience in Go is not a problem as long as you’re keen to learn and self-motivated. Experience with Go in production is a plus.
Researchers at Womply analyzed 200,000 small businesses in every state, looking at a few dozen industries.
They found that businesses with more than 82 total reviews earn 54 percent more money. It isn’t just about getting reviews either. Businesses achieved moderate to large jumps in revenue from the simplest tasks. Claim your profile on at least four review sites? You earn 58 percent more revenue. Businesses that reply to their reviews 25 percent of the time earn 35 percent more revenue.
Here’s the problem many businesses run into.
They don’t know what they’re doing. Most know how to ask customers for reviews, but they’re unsure how to handle the other important parts of reputation management.
This is why it’s important to get help.
If you have the right reputation management company, you’ll have the help you need to improve your company’s online reputation.
The 5 Top Reputation Management Companies in The World
Here’s a shortlist of some of the best reputation management companies in the world. You can use review sites like Clutch.co, HubSpot Agency Directory, or Sortlist if you’re looking for something more specific in the reputation management industry.
1. NP Digital – Best for Local SEO and Reputation Management
NP Digital is my agency. If you’re familiar with my work, you know that I have a strong background in search engine optimization and digital marketing. I built an agency called Pronet Advertising more than 17 years ago, while I was still in high school.
It’s hard to believe that I’ve been a marketer for more than 20 years! That’s given me a lot of time to learn how reputation management integrates with local search, content marketing, social media marketing, and advertising. I took all of the lessons I’ve learned from the companies I built — Kissmetrics, Crazy Egg, Pronet, Quicksprout, NeilPatel.com, and now NP Digital.
My agency is a little bit different from other agencies.
NP Digital ties all of our work back to revenue. It’s no different with our reputation management campaigns. If you’re going to put a dollar into your campaign, you want two dollars back, right? My agency focuses on driving real business results, so your company continues to grow; our work has to make money for your business.
Reputation X offers proactive and reactive services, but they lean more towards the reactionary side of reputation management.
Proactive reputation management options include — content development (articles, reviews, news, blog posts, ratings, etc.). Reactive reputation management options include takedown services, including — SERP removal, search result suppression, DMCA removals, reputation protection, and content suppression.
Reputation X has more than 15 years of experience in the industry. What’s significant about their service is the fact that they’re comfortable working with organizations and individuals.
“Confidential clients include Heads of State, Politicians, SMBs, Celebrities, Public Relations Agencies (white label), and just regular folks.”
According to their website and marketing materials, they avoid pre-made campaign templates, which are common in the industry. They build each campaign from scratch, which makes sense when you realize that their service starts at $10,000. As expensive as their services are, they’re not for everyone.
“The Reputation X client acceptance process is unique. Prospective new clients must be approved not only by management but by team members as well. That means many never become clients. In addition, prospective customers whose reputation management problems seem too tough to overcome are always informed of the fact. Alternatives are clearly explained, even if they never become a client.”
They’re pretty picky about the clients they choose and the work they accept.
3. Thrive – Best for Small Business Review Management
Thrive is a full-service agency that offers reputation management and reputation repair services. Thrive offers reputation management and repair services on their website; take a closer look at their website, and you’ll find that they’re really focused on the online review side of things.
If you’re looking for a reputation management firm with the legal and takedown chops to protect your business Thrive isn’t the reputation management company for you. If you’re looking for an agency that can generate a huge amount of reviews, Thrive may be a good fit. If you’re looking for an agency that’s oriented around small businesses, winning new customers over or burying negative press Thrive is a great place to start.
Thrive offers most of the services a full-service agency provides. If you’re looking for a Jack of all trades, their agency has experience in several areas; this works especially well for inexperienced small business clients who need help with multiple services.
Reputation Rhino specializes in online reputation management; they serve small- and midsize businesses and individuals. Since then, they’ve expanded to create a range of brand management and internet marketing services that they offer to companies and individuals.
All of the services they now offer — SEO, PPC, Social media, Web development — they’re all geared around their reputation management services.
They offer reputation management and repair services; One thing that’s surprising about their business is the fact that they’re able to remove negative reviews from online review sites like Glassdoor, Ripoff Report, Google Images, and more.
Their agency is small but so is the price; campaign pricing starts at $1,000.
5. Reputation Defense Network – Best for Reputation Management Specialist
The Reputation Defense Network specializes in one thing: Content removal. They focus their attention on deleting negative or malicious content, protecting client brand reputation, and identifying anonymous hackers, defamers, and attackers. They also include proactive reputation management services, but their focus is geared around takedowns.
“Reputation Defense Network is one of the fastest-growing Internet Content Removal companies in the US. We are the only company to offer guarantees on all of our work. We are not an SEO or marketing firm disguised as a reputation management company. Our focus is your reputation, nothing else.”
They use their 27-point removal audit to remove negative content permanently. They focus first on removal, then suppression. One thing that makes their value proposition unique is the fact that they offer cyber investigation services.
If you’re looking for a reputation management company with a significant amount of firepower and legal muscle, the Reputation Defense Network is a good fit. Their services are perfect for high-stakes reputation management — the kind that includes blackmail, fraud, defamation, etc.
They provide performance guarantees on all of their work: “you don’t pay until we provide you with a favorable result.”
That’s $0 upfront, 100 percent (permanent) content removal with an average turnaround time of 72 hours. If you’re in a competitive industry and you’re dealing with confidential, high-stakes information, this agency is a good fit. The majority of their clients are growing, mid-market firms in the $10M to $1B range.
They serve clients in the following industries:
Business services
Healthcare and medical
Education
4 Characteristics That Make a Great Reputation Management Company
When you’re vetting an agency, you’ll want to find a company that displays the right characteristics. The last thing you want is to choose a reputation management company that makes your reputation worse. When you’re searching for the right agency, here are some attributes to keep in mind.
1. Their agency approach is proactive and reactive
The industry has matured quite a bit since reputation management of the 90s. Back then, agencies were focused on simply burying negative content. That’s still doable, but it’s much easier to guide the conversation from the start.
Asking customers to share their feedback via online reviews. Creating, claiming, and optimizing your review profiles; responding to customer feedback, these are all proactive methods you can use to improve your reputation. Deleting or burying toxic, inaccurate, or misleading content, sending out legal takedown notices, and working with law enforcement are reactive strategies.
You need both, but these strategies don’t provide a complete picture of online reputation management campaigns on their own.
2. They focus on building relationships
Old-school campaigns are focused primarily on silencing critics, enemies, and opponents. New-school agencies still have those skills if they need them, but they choose to focus their attention on building relationships with customers.
Helping you take care of your customers
Requesting reviews from customers
Building reviews up on the right platforms
Generating publicity and increasing visibility
Responding to unfair attacks
If you’ve made a mistake, they’ll help you earn a fresh start
You need an agency that understands both sides of reputation management.
3. They realize reputation management is ongoing
This doesn’t mean that your agency is trying to lock you into an unnecessary contract. Customers feel reviews older than three months are irrelevant. Agencies realize customers want to see consistent proof that you’re still performing well.
Reputation and reviews, they decay over time.
Your agency should provide you with an ongoing service that’s optional; they should provide you with the people, processes, and tools you need to manage your reputation well. They should have a team in place to manage outreach with customers, publications, and press.
4. They’re local search experts
Your reputation management agency should have experience in running and managing local search campaigns.
You want this because local searches are growing 50 percent faster than mobile search. As far as Google is concerned, online reviews are part of the local ranking factors that determine your rank and performance.
When it comes to local search, your reputation management company should have expert-level knowledge. They should know how to increase search engine and social media visibility. The easier it is for them to integrate local search, the better your reputation management campaigns will perform.
What To Expect From a Great Reputation Management Company
Here’s a shortlist of the things you should expect from your agency.
They’ll show you the plan ahead of time: Your agency will provide you with an A to Z plan, outlining the macro and micro level components of your campaign. You should know exactly what you’re getting into — what your campaign costs, what their goals are, how long it will take to reach those goals and the reports they’ll provide.
Openness and complete transparency: Your agency should answer all of your questions and concerns; this isn’t optional or negotiable. Your agency isn’t writing copy or designing a website. They’re working with your reputation, so the impact on your business is huge. You need to know exactly what they’re doing and how they’re doing it.
Consistent communication: Your agency should provide you with constant communication, feedback, and reporting. You’ll need to provide them with the decision-makers and influencers who need to be part of the conversation.
You should see evidence of this before you sign on the dotted line. If agencies hide behind proprietary software or secret processes, you’ll want to walk away.
Conclusion
Reputation management is easier when you have the right company behind you. Many businesses don’t know what they’re doing. Most know how to ask customers for reviews, but they’re unsure how to handle the important aspects of reputation management.
If you feel the same way, it may be a good idea to get help.
Businesses that handle reputation management will see consistently large jumps in revenue. Completing simple tasks — claiming your review management profiles, responding to customers online, and requesting reviews — good reputation management leads to more revenue.
Use our guide to find the reputation management companies that are right for your business. Set your values, expectations, and needs ahead of time, and you’ll find choosing the right company is easy.
Disclosure: This content is reader-supported, which means if you click on some of our links that we may earn a commission.
Live chat has quickly become an integral part of customer service in the digital era.
When a customer or website visitor has a question, complaint, or needs some other type of assistance, they expect to reach your brand via live chat.
In addition to the improved customer experience, live chat is also more efficient for your support team. Service reps can’t field more than one phone call simultaneously, but they can handle multiple live chat conversations at the same time.
Overall, live chat is fast, effective, and more cost-efficient than any other type of customer communication. In terms of consumer preferences, it ranks higher than phone, email, and social media. Every website needs to have live chat.
With that said, there are dozens of different live chat solutions available on the market today. Which one is the best for you and your website? Continue below for my in-depth analysis.
As you’re comparing different live chat options, there are certain feature sets and considerations that must be evaluated. I’ll break these factors down in greater detail, so you have a better understanding of what to look for.
Number of Agents
How big is your support team?
There’s a big difference between businesses with 5, 50, and 500 agents. Most plans will have some limitations on how many support reps can access the software. Other plans will have minimum seat requirements as well.
It’s also important for you to look down the road as your company grows. Is it easy to add new agents to your plan at scale? Make sure you’re not locked into a plan that restricts your scalability.
Use Cases
Why exactly are you in the market for live chat software?
Sure, there are plenty of general-purpose options out there. But some software is designed to accommodate specific needs and goals. For example, there is live chat software for lead qualification, live chat software for customer engagement, and live chat software for customer support.
These are just a few of many examples that should be taken into consideration.
Omnichannel Support
If you’ve got customers reaching out to your brand on different channels, you want to make sure that the software seamlessly integrates with those third-party systems.
For example, you could potentially manage conversations from your website and conversations from Facebook Messenger within the same live chat software. Your service reps can handle everything from a single dashboard, instead of switching screens and being forced to use different platforms.
Automation
Automation is arguably the most crucial and desirable feature of live chat software. It speeds up service requests significantly, and it’s a cost-effective way to provide assistance 24/7/365.
Chatbots don’t take lunch breaks or sick days. They work nights, weekends, and holidays. So if a website visitor has a question at 2:00 AM on a Saturday, it can potentially be resolved with a self-service chatbot.
For businesses with multiple departments, chatbots and live chat software can automatically route messages to the right representative. Questions about returns would be sent directly to a support rep, while questions about new products would be routed to a sales rep.
Extras and Bonus Features
Aside from the core live chat software tools, each software will offer additional features with different plans. Not all of these will be a deal-breaker, but it’s helpful to have if you’re going to take advantage of these offerings.
I’m referring to features like CRM integrations, chat history, custom widgets, admin monitoring, helpdesk features, HIPAA-compliance, calendar integrations, appointment scheduling, etc.
The Different Types of Live Chat Software
At its core, live chat software is essentially real-time messaging on a website between a visitor and brand representative from a chatbox on the corner of the page. But within this broad classification, live chat can be segmented into three main categories.
Chatbots
Chatbots use AI technology and automation to solve problems. In many cases, customer inquiries can be resolved without any human interaction if you add chatbots to your website.
It’s also common for sites to use chatbots initially, before ultimately routing the conversation to a support representative. Chatbots can help qualify the visitor and ultimately get the inquiry resolved faster.
Chatbots typically won’t come standard with basic live chat software plans. These are usually offered as an add-on. Don’t let the price of chatbots scare you away from using them. Over the long-term, it’s much cheaper to use bots than paying for human labor.
Live Chat For Sales
There are lots of great sales-specific live chat solutions out there. This type of live chat software will include built-in CRM tools (or integrate with the CRM you’re already using), lead qualification features, and customer engagement tools.
Your sales agents will have a much easier time closing leads if you’re leveraging live chat software built for sales.
Customer Support Software
Live chat is a common component of helpdesk software. Lots of customer service software on the market will have features for things like ticket support and team collaboration, but the best ones will also include live chat.
Not every live chat software is built specifically for customer support. So if this is the primary feature that you’re looking for, make sure you choose a solution with those helpdesk features and support tools.
#1 – Zendesk Review — Best For Customer Engagement
Zendesk is a versatile live chat software trusted by 200,000+ businesses worldwide. They have solutions for sales, support, and customer engagement.
One of the reasons why Zendesk ranks so high on my list is because of its simplicity. The software is easy to use, and you can deploy it within hours of signing up.
Zendesk is used by some big names and industry leaders, like Shopify, Slack, Uber, Venmo, and more. Here are some of the top reasons why I recommend it:
Reach out to customers with proactive engagement before they land on your site
Powerful analytics customer satisfaction, agent performance, and other KPIs
Omnichannel support with email, social, phone, and live chat
Self-service and knowledge base tools in 40+ languages
AI suggestions and machine learning from context clues
Zendesk Chat starts at $14 per agent per month.
But I recommend the Zendesk Support Suite. This package comes with features for chat, support, messaging, and voice, starting at $89 per month. It’s also worth noting that Zendesk has a Sales Suite to consider as well.
Try any Zendesk plan free for 30 days.
#2 – JivoChat Review — Best Cross-Platform Live Chat Software
JivoChat is branded as an all-in-one business messaging solution. It allows you to communicate with customers via phone, email, social, and of course, live chat—all from a single platform.
It seamlessly integrates with popular tools and services that you’re already using, like Slack, Weebly, WordPress, Wix, Pipedrive, Zapier, Shopify, and more.
More than 284,000 websites worldwide rely on JivoChat for their live chat needs, making it one of the most popular solutions on the market today. Here’s a quick overview and explanation of why the software is so popular:
Compatible with Facebook, WhatsApp, Apple Business Chat, Telegram, Email, etc.
All customer communication is managed from a single window
The live chat widget works on every device, browser, and operating system
It’s customizable and has the ability to be translated into 20 different languages
Automatic proactive messages based on custom triggers
CRM integrations and visitor’s information (like location and click source)
Chat logs and reports between customers and agents
JivoChat offers unlimited chats and websites on every plan, including the free version.
The software and its basic features are free for your first five agents. Pricing starts at $13 per month per agent, which gives you access to all of JivoChat’s features. Try it free for 14 days.
#3 – Pure Chat Review — The Best Live Chat Features
Pure Chat is an excellent live chat solution for small and medium-sized teams.
Compared to other solutions on the market today, Pure Chat is one of the most feature-rich live chat tools that you’ll come across. Even better, all of these features are included with every plan.
Let’s take a closer look at Pure Chat’s extensive feature list:
Unlimited chats
Advanced widget customization
Security roles (for admins, operators, power users)
Chat notifications
Canned responses
File transfers
Trigger-based actions
Real-time analytics and visitor tracking
There are two different Pure Chat plans for you to choose from—Growth and Pro. These start at $39 and $79 per month, respectively. The Growth plan comes with four users, and the Pro plan comes with ten. Additional users cost extra.
For most businesses, I’d recommend the Pro plan. It gives you the ability to remove Pure Chat’s branding from your widget, and you can use it on an unlimited number of websites.
Try either of these Pure Chat plans free for 30 days to access all of the features.
#4 – Intercom Review — The Best For Lead Qualifications
Intercom is branded as a “conversational relationship platform.” It’s a clever way to say it helps you build customer relationships through messaging and live chat.
The software is trusted by 30,000+ companies across the globe, including Microsoft, IBM, Udemy, and Sotheby’s.
What makes Intercom so great? Let’s take a closer look at the software highlights:
Boost site conversions with targeted messages, bots, and real-time chat
Onboard, activate, and re-engage customers with outbound communication
Proactive support tools and self-help features
Manage customer interactions across all channels from a single dashboard
250+ integrations out-of-the-box and APIs for custom integrations
The software starts at $39 per month for basic live chat and outbound messaging features.
To take advantage of automation and managing lead qualifications at scale, I recommend the Accelerate plan. It starts at $499 per month and includes ten seats. This comes with awesome features like custom bots, team inboxes, and more.
Try Intercom for free with a 14-day trial.
#5 – LiveChat Review — The Most Versatile Live Chat Software
With a brand name like LiveChat, it’s no surprise to see this software rank so high on my list. This tool is trusted by 30,000+ businesses in over 150 countries, including names like PayPal, McDonald’s, Adobe, and Mercedes-Benz.
The software is used for online chat, multichannel support, lead generation, online surveys, in-app support, net promoter score, and more—making it one of the most versatile solutions on the market today.
Here’s a brief overview of the features, benefits, and noteworthy highlights of LiveChat:
Add product cards to live chat conversations
Use custom forms and AI chatbots to qualify your leads
Automatically track sales and KPIs to monitor the effectiveness
Automatic agent routing
Automatic ticket creation
Segment visitors based on their behavior on your site
LiveChat is easy to use and set up as well. Plans start at $16 per agent per month, and you can try it free for 14 days; no credit card required.
#6 – Acquire Review — Best Live Chat Software For Chatbots
Acquire isn’t the most popular live chat software on the market today. But it’s still trusted by large organizations like Lexus, Audi, the US Air Force, Discover, and more. It’s an all-in-one solution for omnichannel support, knowledge base, video chat, VoIP phone, and more.
For those of you looking to add the most advanced chatbots to your website, Acquire is my top recommendation.
Let’s take a closer look at what makes Acquire stand out from the crowd:
Automate routine questions with AI chatbots
Sync your knowledge base articles with chatbots
Route chats to human agents when bots can’t provide a solution
No coding needed or developers required to deploy bots
Manage all email, social, live chat, and other channels from a single inbox
Team collaboration tools
Co-browsing software for troubleshooting with on-page markups
Video chat with customers
Another reason why I like Acquire is because the company provides exceptional customer support. It’s a growing brand, but their team is still available to accommodate your needs, 24/7.
Pricing is not available online. Contact the Acquire sales team for more information.
#7 – Smartsupp Review — Best For Monitoring Visitor Behavior
Smartsupp is another live chat software with omnichannel capabilities. The solution is used by over 425,000 websites.
It’s a great way to increase customer loyalty, drive conversions, and improve engagement with live chat and bots.
Smartsupp has one of the most unique features of all live chat software on the market today. It has built-in video recordings that give your agents a deeper understanding of how each visitor is moving around on your site. This gives you agents the ability to discover where people are getting lost, so they can provide better support.
You’ll also benefit from top features like:
Out-of-the-box integrations and APIs
Analytics and customer satisfaction ratings
Create personalized automated messages with smart rules
Communicate with customers while on the go from Smartsupp’s mobile app
Web dashboard with analytics about customers
Customize the look and colors of chat box
Add personalized photos to support agent names in the chat widget
For smaller websites with basic needs, Smartsupp is free forever for your first three agents. Paid plans start at $10 per month.
You can try Smartsupp today by creating a free account.
Summary
There are lots of great live chat solutions available. But the seven recommended in this guide are definitely my favorite.
Which one is the best option for your website?
Be sure to follow the methodology I outlined earlier in this guide. This will make it much easier for you to narrow down your options.
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