Table of contents
To pay or not to pay? That is the question! We’ll help you understand just when a paid package might pay off and when it’s not necessary. Not every live chat provider will offer you the free live chat option or must-have tools like a chatbot.
Why is it so?
Many will try to convince you that what is free is not very high in quality. Or that the free version contains only a limited number of features and often crashes. And when you pay nothing for a product, you can’t even complain that it doesn’t work.
At Smartsupp, we see it differently. Our goal was to build live chat software that everyone can use. But not everyone needs a multitude of advanced features.
Free plan: For whom?
When you only perceive chat as a tool for answering customer questions and nothing more, a free live chat is for you.
Or you’re not sure if you want to use this tool at all and decide to try it for a longer than 14 day trial. Are you ok with just a simple customization of the chat box? Do you manage to achieve your sales goals without the help of online tools?
In this case, our Free Package may be enough for you as well.
And by the way, the statements about the free version being of a less quality seem foolish to us. It’s still the same product, right? Only with less features.
What can you find in Smartsupp’s free plan?
Everything a small business needs to communicate effectively with customers. Simple free live chat software forever. It can only be used by one operator, which we believe is really sufficient for a small e-shop.
Check out the features you can get with a free package from Smartsupp.
Shortcut
To make your communication faster, you can set up a shortcut - a canned response that you send with a few clicks. Most often, these are common phrases such as greetings or thank you notes.
Number of websites where you can launch your live chat
No limits here. Your visitors can get personalized support everywhere on your site. Contacting customer support members is a piece of cake - it’s just about clicking the chat widget and starting the chat.
Mobile app
Install our mobile app and chat online with customers from the tram or from your living room. You receive an audio and visual notification for each new message.
It is a super convenient solution for those who don’t want to sit in front of the desk all day. And what’s the best about it is that this feature is totally free.
E-commerce platform integrations
Look no further than Smartsupp’s free chat if you run an e-commerce store and don’t need premium features. Connect your live chat software with your e-shop platform in no time. Check out the integration list.
File-sharing
With a free package, you and your customers can exchange files. Smarstupp enables sending various formats. It isn’t necessary to explain problems in great detail - you can easily send a screenshot or PDFs using a drag-and-drop interface.
Visitor information
A free package provides useful information about visitors, such as:
- name,
- email address,
- location,
- browsing history,
- visit origin,
and more. This information may come in handy if you want to improve your marketing strategy. With all these hints, your offer can be tailored to your visitors based on who they are.
Sound and visual notifications
If you’re a chat operator, you probably know how important it is to answer the chat as soon as possible. Thanks to the robust notification system, you won’t miss a thing.
Contact form
When you are not online, live chat automatically offers visitors an offline form to fill in their details. Of course, you can also be online outside the office, thanks to the mobile app. But with the form, you can get the contact info of the visitors who are genuinely interested in what you’re offering.
Customizable chat window
Set your own photo or company logo and name. Customizable live chat window draws visitors’ attention. Also, when there’s a name of a support team member, a visitor will feel that they are talking to real people, not bots.
Customization features also enable you to adjust it to your website design. When a chat widget looks like an integral part of your website, visitors will be more likely to click and share their concerns.
Help Center
When in doubt, check out the help center and look for the necessary information. Thanks to the Smartsupp intuitive interface, looking for details is a breeze.
Data privacy
Secure live chat software is a must. Using a free Smartsupp live chat, you can have one hundred conversations per month.
For some, it may not sound like a big number, but they’re one hundred possibilities to share sensitive information with a chat agent that needs to be secured.
But Smartsupp covers your back with privacy protection. It is GDPR compliant, which means that all the information is securely stored in the EU.
📰 Check out this blog post to learn more about secure live chat.
Message history
You can access a 14-day conversation history with a free Smartsupp package. History makes it possible to look through past conversations again.
Revisiting the chats is worth the time because you may see the previous inquiries and customers’ needs. Moreover, it helps evaluate if you’ve got the right approach and if your customers get the support they deserve.
You may wonder - is there anything that Smartsupp cannot offer me? Well… there are no free chat rooms, video chat options, and phone support. Instead, our focus is on communication using a chat.
This is our free live chat software. Basic features and nothing else to distract you.
However, if you want to use chat to grow your business, you will also be interested in the paid package. So, are you ready to see what it has to offer?
Who will love the Standard package?
In short, everybody who wants to take their customer communication to the next level. We’ve already written about why it is worth building quality customer care and increasing customer loyalty here.
The standard package is the most popular among our customers. This is because we designed it to meet the needs of small and medium-sized e-shops.
What do you get with the Smartsupp Standard plan?
The Standard plan includes all the features of the unpaid package and a lot more. Which of them is most useful when you want to make a profit? Let’s see.
Advanced customization
First, customization of the chat window is at your fingertips. You can change its size and position on the page and your own text and color that fit your brand. This will make the chat box a natural and inseparable part of your site.
Automatic messages
Engage your customer at the right time - for example when they are returning to you, when they look at the product for a long time, or when you have a sale on a specific item. An automatic message will be sent to your site visitor according to the conditions you set. The message looks to the visitor as if the operator sent it.
The goal is to capture the visitor when they may need your help. If you succeed, you have a great chance of leading them to the checkout. Many Standard package customers increase conversions this way.
📰 You can find more benefits and examples of automatic messages.
Statistics
How do you really know your customer care is good if you don’t measure it anywhere? With the Standard package, you get statistics such as the total number of chats, chat duration, customer satisfaction ratings, and time to the first response.
The benefits of this information are innumerable - you can:
- monitor the progress of your customer support quality,
- meet your business goals,
- plan your strategy,
- offer more personalized engagement,
- build better relationships with customers,
and more. We’ve described the usage of statistics in detail in this article.
Video recordings
You’ll love this tool. Using video recording lets you track website visitors and see how they behave around the website. And that’s what’s best about it, video recordings may really help you with delivering quality customer support.
When customer service representatives observe how users interact with the website, they can understand visitors more. And consequently, it’s much easier to provide more targeted support.
Chatbot
Looking for task automation? Chatbot is the solution. They can take over simple tasks such as answering frequently asked questions or suggesting the right products. You decide who sees the chatbot widget, where, and when it’s displayed.
✨ If you’re opting for paid live chat software, Smartsupp is an excellent choice. ✨
We’re sure that you’ll grow. To make things easier, we’ve got another package for teams that need a higher plan.
Do you work in teams? Chat online with the PRO package
It’s almost the most packed of our packages. 💪🏻 The PRO plan is ideal for teams that want to provide real time support.
Check out the PRO plan features
You get all the features from the Standard package and a few more:
Team functions
It includes enhanced team capabilities and is suitable for companies that have a website in multiple languages or a large customer support department divided into smaller parts (such as complaints, orders, etc.).
Operator groups
You can create separate operator groups based on which country or region they are dedicated to. Each group of operators then communicates only with its customers and can set its own team shortcuts.
Detailed team statistics
Aside from basic statistics, the PRO package gives you stats about each agent. You’ll see metrics such as:
- customer satisfaction rating,
- the response time of the agent,
- the number of answered and missed chats,
and more.
API
With Rest API, it is possible to export conversation history and other data types from Smartsupp to your own systems. Also, you get real-time alerts when something happens, for instance, when someone sends you a message using the contact form.
Looking for a tailored plan for your needs? Try the Ultimate plan
The Ultimate plan is the most packed plan of all. It is an ideal solution for those who are looking for a fully customized approach.
Custom limits
You decide on how many shortcuts, conversation history, or chat conversations you want to have. Of course, these are only examples of capabilities you can expand. Contact Smartsupp’s sales team and discuss your ideas.
Custom number of agents
You can have as many agents as you wish. Feel free to scale your customer support team up as needed without worrying about extra costs. You’ll handle chats like a pro with as many agents as you need.
All advanced features
In this plan, you’ll have all the capabilities that are available in lower plans but more tailored to your needs! So, the advanced chat builder, integration with social platforms (e.g., with Facebook Messenger), and also individual contracts, and payment via wire transfer.
Dedicated Customer Success Manager
It is someone who will help you keep your customers and attract new ones. What’s more, a customer success manager’s job is to guide you on how to close more sales and increase your revenue.
So what do you choose? Paid live chat or a free one?
The most important thing is to ask yourself: “What do I want to achieve with live chat service?” If all you want is to offer customers the ability to communicate with you quickly and efficiently, live chat for free will suffice.
If your answer contains anything about growth, sales increase and customer loyalty building, recheck our price list and reach for our paid live chat software.
You’ll see that it’s worth it! Sign up and try out the plan that seems the best for you! No coding required.
Still confused? Contact us via the chat box in your dashboard and we’ll be happy to get in touch with you. Please note that customer service is included only in paid packages.