LiveChat, Facebook Connect for More Personal Support

Real-time software and ecommerce analytics provider LiveChat is integrating with Facebook's massive, 750 million-plus user database in an effort to take online support to a whole new level.

By integrating Facebook Connect, LiveChat can present the name, picture and email address for each website visitor, along with any additional data made available from the visitor's Facebook profile. Businesses can know exactly who their online visitors are and what their Likes are, turning these virtual interactions into deeper connections between seller and shopper.

Once a customer signs into LiveChat using their Facebook credentials, they will automatically be recognized by LiveChat on any other website that has the product installed. This creates a network effect and an additional value for merchants using the LiveChat platform.

Ecommerce sites are able to tap into the vast amount of data in Facebook profiles to get to know their shoppers better and tailor the support, shopping and marketing processes to the unique interests and needs of each consumer. Below is an example from LiveChat of how the integration can work for retailers:

A high school football player named John is looking for a new pair of football shoes online. He's undecided about which shoes to buy and an invitation to chat with a support representative pops up. With one click, John logs into LiveChat with his Facebook credentials. The operator he's chatting with can instantly access John's Facebook profile and learn that John plays as wide receiver for his high school team and that he's a short, quick guy. The operator then makes a personalized suggestion for the best shoes for John, along with a discount offer on warm-up gear in John's team colors.

LiveChat starts at $36 per month for a single agent, with discounts available for larger plans. Mobile applications including iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, Android and Windows 7 apps are free for active LiveChat customers.