Service with a Smile through Technology: Live Chat for
Non-governmental Organizations
Live chat solutions don’t have
to be confined to web sites with a clearly defined monetizing
model. If you work with an NGO or know someone who does,
you will be surprised to learn how you can seamlessly
provide online social services and referrals through
live chat. Our feature this month presents the proposition
of live chat in a new light where bridges can be built
to share a few moments of joy and happiness.
Executive Summary
Non-profit
organizations around the world are gradually transitioning
into the new millennium in spite of financial odds and
embracing the latest communication technologies, social
networking platforms and traffic measurement systems.
Web 2.0 for this sector has finally arrived:
- An overview of live chat from
a philanthropist’s perspective
- Benefits of deploying live chat
on your NGO’s web site
- Leveraging the technical advantage
Live Chat Now has a Socially
Responsible Mission
Regardless of how intensely
the Internet is hyped by those with or without private
agendas, the Internet is about human beings and not
about machines. If you happen to be a part of a non-governmental
organization with a clearly defined mission and a sense
of deep-rooted purpose, online outreach is something
you have probably considered at one time or another.
Chances are that your NGO already has a web site and
an online newsletter but in the age of Web 2.0 in which
social realities define the web, there are many more
ways in which you can build chemistry between your donors,
advisors, colleagues and most importantly, your beneficiaries--
the community served by your non-profit organization.
Posting to blog comments, subject-specific Wikis, Internet
discussion groups, niche forums and listservs are all
ways of building your community of volunteers, patrons,
supporters and well-wishers. The Internet is designed
to support these initiatives and endeavors whole heartedly
to connect you with your universe. One of the ways in
which direct online communication is facilitated through
technology is live chat which by itself needs no introduction.
We all have probably, at one time or another, interacted
with customer service representatives and technical
support experts through live chat to resolve problems.
Delivering Community Services
through Live Chat
Using live chat on your NGO's
web site is by no means a brainwave worthy of accolades.
Many successful non-profit organizations deliver services
through live chat as an integral part of their overall
service delivery model. NGOs like ifocos.org, idealist.org,
serviceleader.org, peaceday.org an sgr.org use live
chat for effective communication in real time. Live
chat can prove to be a catalyst to build awareness for
the cause you support specially for those online searchers
who arrive on your site through search and are looking
for near-instant responses to their queries.
Ten Benefits of Implementing
a Live Chat Solution on your NGO's Web Site
There
is no limit to how and in what way you can deploy live
chat on your web site to promote your noble purpose.
Here are a few tips and suggestions to consider when
you make a case for chat-based live support within your
non-profit organization:
- Establish communication with
the Internet community in real time
- Launch and operate live, online
Help Lines to address the needs of your target audience
- Preserve complete anonymity
and confidentiality more then a telephone call
- Conduct internal meetings and
discussions even when your participants such as your
board members are not all in the same city as you
- Maintain highly accurate records
of the transactions through chat transcripts
- Convert inquirers into volunteers
through follow-up
- Provide simultaneous service
delivery through multiple chat windows operating at
the same time
- Share your NGO's resources by
serving up URLs, opening new web pages and pointing
to external resources
- Promote your NGO through celebrity
live chat
- Leverage live chat as a powerful
vehicle for fund-raising because of its flexibility
and easy tracking mechanism
Live chat can be easily harnessed
as a means of building consensus and improving the public
perception of your stated mission. As a leader of the
NGO movement, it is time for you to take your online
social message to the next level through live chat without
having to download any new software or install browser
plugins. The chat operators at your non-profit organization
can respond to chat inquiries initiated by chat visitors.
Conversely, they can proactively invite them to chat
by politely extending a chat invitation. Live chat software
allows your site visitors to leave messages for you
that are both cataloged and archived for future access.
You will also notice that your phone costs will begin
to dip when you install live chat on your NGO's web
site.
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