Sites are not proactive and often fail to ask for the sale

CHICAGO, IL & AGOURA HILLS, CA – April 9, 2008 -- inQ, a pioneering ChatCommerce company, introduced today the launching of Human Interaction (HI) Metrics™, and associated findings from a survey inQ commissioned with the e-tailing group that assessed how 31 retailers and telcos that offer chat on their respective websites use the technology to sell.

As a leader in the newly emerging field of incorporating human selling skills in a web sales environment, inQ (www.inq.com), has created the HI Metrics™ or Human Interaction Metrics™. Christophe Cremault, senior vice president of marketing at inQ, said: “We determined key dimensions of human interactions with online shoppers that are critical to inQ’s customers’ or live chat’s success. We wanted to measure to what degree these dimensions have been adopted across the industry, and commissioned the e-tailing group to conduct a survey.”

“One of the most surprising –and disappointing— findings when I conducted these chats  was how seldom a chat culminated in the agent asking for the sale,” said Lauren Freedman, president of e-tailing group. Freedman added, “When a consumer is engaged in a live chat, the merchant should be opportunistic and when appropriate ask for the sale. You wouldn’t expect to visit a retail store and not have the associate encourage you to buy the merchandise you had just tested or tried on. Not doing so is missing an enormous opportunity and in today’s retail climate getting the sale is imperative.”

2008 HI Metrics Key Findings

Here are the HI dimensions measured for non-inQ sites and key findings from the e-tailing group:

1. Chat is not located to sell.
88% have chat on customer service pages while only 42% offer it on product pages

2. Too-low usage of proactive chat.
Only 15% leverage this technology

3. Offering alternative or better products occurs too infrequently.
Average rating of rating 1.7 out of 5

4. Insufficient encouragement to buy.
The 2.7 out of 5 score means a substantial number of potential sales are ignored

5. Unacceptable response time.
39 seconds average is below par, especially when half the sites surveyed connect in 3 seconds or less

6. Near-perfect customer service.
With 1 exception, everybody did a great or excellent job at answering the initial question

7. Technology works (mostly):
With a couple of exceptions that required (unsuccessful) downloads, the technology does not seem to be any issue

 

Survey Methodology

inQ asked the e-tailing group, a research firm based in Chicago, to survey the industry and measure inQ’s HI Metrics across the e-tailing group’s Top 100 that did offer chat. Some 31 retailer and telco websites were surveyed. (Five of the 31 selected employ chat commerce service by inQ.) The survey measured a series of Human Interaction (HI) dimensions and compared them between inQ clients and non-inQ sites. inQ’s goal was also to suggest preliminary benchmarks based on its own experience.

More information

For a complete copy of the HI Metrics report, or to learn how inQ’s HI Metrics differ from the industry at large, please email Lisa deSouza at ldesouza@inq.com.

ABOUT E-TAILING GROUP

In 1994, Lauren Freedman leveraged her 15 year retail and catalog career and passion for merchandising to found the e-tailing group, inc. The firm’s mission was, and continues to be, providing strategic and e-commerce solutions to online merchants as well as businesses targeting that market. The e-tailing group provides research and consulting to companies engaged in E-Commerce; Online merchandising; Multi-channel retailing; Category-specific selling strategies; and Industry benchmarks.

ABOUT INQ

With chatCommerce, inQ is the world leader in pay-for-performance, fully outsourced chat solutions. chatCommerce humanizes the online experience by engaging with targeted online shoppers and replicates a quality in-store experience. By utilizing state-of-the-art proprietary technology as well as trained and experienced online sales representatives, inQ offers solutions that are completely customized to meet its clients’ specific needs. Fortune 500 clients have seen increases of overall online revenue by as much as 30% in 90 days. inQ works with companies in the telecom, cable, retail, travel, media, and financial services industries. More information can be found by visiting www.inq.com.

Media Contacts:
Michael Krems of KremsPR for inQ
krems@kremspr.com
805.496.8166
Cell: 650.759.7133

Lauren Freedman, president, the e-tailing group
lf@e-tailing.com
773-975-7280

-By Don Davis

Summary: Knowing how and when to invite a customer to chat and which customers to chat with can turn live chat from a customer service convenience into a sales-generating tool.

Quote: "One reason for chat’s effectiveness is that a chat agent can use the live connection to a customer to send links to web pages, something a phone agent can’t do."

Link: http://www.internetretailer.com/article.asp?id=25539

Live Talk Helps Track Consumer Behavior, Adds Personal Touch -By Raymund Flandez

Summary: Small online retailers are chatting up customers to get them to stick around on a site longer and buy something, mimicking the personalized attention that can give retailers an edge in the bricks-and-mortar world.

Quote: WhiteFence.com expects to double its revenue this year to between $18 million and $20 million, due in part, to the use of the [inQ] chat technology, says Jeff Wagoner, the companys chief operations officer.

Link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119793347072635305.html

Vonage UK Selects Californias inQ to Heighten The Vonage Online Shopping Experience

Agoura Hills, Calif., and London, UK, Nov. 26, 2007 -- In a reversal of the typical American outsourcing story in which U.S.-based organizations look overseas to find solutions, Vonage UK, the pioneering internet phone company, announced today a major deal with ChatCommerce expert inQ in California to re-create a high quality in-store shopping experience online and boost sales.

When inQs ChatCommerce services are operational, visitors to the Vonage site (www.vonage.co.uk) will be able to take part in live online chats with real Vonage representatives. Certain visitors to the Vonage site (www.vonage.co.uk) will be identified by a set of predetermined rules (for example those who spend too long on a page or jump back and forth between two/three pages) and automatically contacted by a Vonage representative in the form of a pop up chat box. Rules will be constantly monitored and optimized and the result for the Vonage customer will be a high quality, personalized sales experience just as they would get in a shop.

All aspects of the ChatCommerce service will be managed under one roof by inQ: the software, web analytics and live agents who provide the human touch. This will lead to more accountability for Vonage and a more responsive and efficient experience for their online customers.

Vonage UK Marketing Director Vincent Potier said, At Vonage we pride ourselves on innovation and delivering excellence across online responsiveness, quality control and customer experience. So when we discovered fellow internet trailblazer, inQ, we seized the opportunity to bring their new ground-breaking technology and approach to the UK.

Potier added, We believe the partnership will bring the human touch to our customers experience, give them the assistance they need to make the right purchase and ultimately lead to a dramatic uplift in our sales. We are yet again leading the way with this fully integrated approach to ChatCommerce and suspect many more will follow in our footsteps.

inQ CEO Bernard Louvat said: We have made great strides in the European markets and are excited to have Vonage UK as one of the first clients. We share a passion for innovation and we look forward to sharing our expertise to help Vonage leverage the online channel to increase sales and lower its cost per acquisition.

The terms of the work agreement have not been publicized, but inQ traditionally works on a pay-for-performance basis.

About Vonage UK
Vonage UK is a subsidiary of Vonage Holdings Corp., traded on the NYSE under the symbol VG. Vonage is a pioneer in the Internet phone industry. In the UK, the award winning Vonage service is sold on the Vonage UK website and through national retailers PC World, Currys, Currys Digital, Comet, and Staples. For more information about Vonages services and products, please visit www.vonage.co.uk. Vonage is a registered trademark of Vonage Marketing, a subsidiary of Vonage Holdings Corp.

Last month Vonage announced it had appointed Profero Performance as its digital agency. In addition, in October, Ambition Communications became its new PR agency signifying a new era in Vonage marketing activity.

About inQ
inQ is the world leader in outsourced live chat solutions. Its live chat solution humanizes the online experience by engaging with targeted online shoppers and replicates a quality in-store experience. By utilizing state-of-the-art proprietary technology as well as trained and experienced online sales representatives, inQ offers solutions that are completely customized to meet its client's specific needs and that can increase clients' overall online revenue as much as 30% in 90 days. inQ works with companies in the telecom, cable, retail, travel, media, and financial services industries. More information can be found by visiting www.inQ.com.

Media Contact:
Michael Krems of KremsPR for inQ
krems@kremspr.com
805.496.8166
Cell: 650.759.7133

Agoura Hills' inQ provides virtual sales help to online stores By Allison Bruce

Summary: By blending technology, trained agents and a soft-sell approach, inQ is a pioneer in this new form of online sales, Live Web chats. When this virtual sales force is added to clients web sites, independent research show a 20% sales increases in 3 months. These results fuel inQs growth: revenue tripled in 2007 and is expected to double in 2008.

Quote: Agents are the companys most valuable asset, said Rick Hoefert, general manager and executive vice president of operations and clients services. I dont think anything replaces human interaction, he said.

Link: http://www.venturacountystar.com/news/2007/oct/09/the-new-soft-sell/

Live Chat Solutions Company Secures Series D Financing

LOS ANGELES, Aug. 13, 2007 - inQ, the world leader in outsourced online live chat sales solutions, today announced the closing of $5 million Series D round of funding led by Emergence Capital with other existing investors Partech International, Dolphin Equity Partners, and Hudson Ventures also participating.

"A recently released Forrester Consulting study commissioned by inQ that showed inQ helping a Fortune 100 company improve its online sales 20% in just 90 days is just one of many data points underlining the validity of inQ's value proposition and performance in the marketplace," said Jason Green, General Partner at Emergence Capital. "inQ successfully fuses software technology, savvy sales agents, with zero risk and performance-based pricing to help larger companies with a Web presence monetize their traffic. inQ is a bold example of cutting-edge e-commerce, and we're excited about backing such a results-oriented company."

Vincent Worms, Managing Partner and Co-Founder at Partech International added, "We are seeing major organizations adopt inQ, not only for its innovative approach to increasing online sales, but also for its effectiveness. And inQ delivers a level of consumer satisfaction inQ's clients are seldom experiencing in any other channel."

inQ President & CEO Bernard Louvat, commented, "This new funding represents a vote of confidence in inQ's abilities to successfully win and service business from Fortune 1000 companies that want the most direct means to improving online sales."

About inQ
inQ is the world leader in outsourced live chat solutions. Our live chat solution humanizes the online experience by engaging with targeted online shoppers and replicates a quality in-store experience. By utilizing state-of-the-art proprietary technology as well as trained and experienced online sales representatives, inQ offers solutions that are completely customized to meet the client's specific needs and that can increase clients' overall online revenue as much as 30% in 90 days. inQ pricing is performance based. inQ is working with companies in the telecom, cable, retail, travel, media , and financial services industries. More information can be found by visiting www.inQ.com

About Emergence Capital Partners
Emergence Capital Partners is a leading, west coast, early and growth-stage venture capital firm focused on Technology-Enabled Services ("TES") investing. Our mission is to help build market leading, technology-enabled service businesses in partnership with great entrepreneurs and teams. Our partners have funded and helped build over 30 TES companies such as Salesforce.com, DoubleClick, aQuantive, WebTV, AskJeeves, and SuccessFactors among others - more than any other early-stage venture firm. Having assessed thousands of companies in the TES sector, Emergence has developed significant expertise and resources focused on the critical factors of success in this market. Our focus and team-based approach allow us to create unique value for our service-based portfolio companies. For more information please visit www.emcap.com.

About Partech International
Founded in 1982, Partech International is a leading global venture capital firm with $850M under management and offices in the U.S., Europe and Israel. Partech invests exclusively in Information Technology and the firm's internationally integrated team of investing partners work together closely to find the most innovative companies demonstrating high return potential and disruptive technologies in the Software & Internet, Communications & Components and Healthcare IT sectors. Partech has a unique 20+ year track record assisting its portfolio companies to become global market leaders. To learn more go to www.partechvc.com.

About Dolphin Equity Partners
Dolphin Equity Partners specializes in investments in private communications companies operating in the U.S. and abroad. Located in New York, Dolphin currently manages over $340 million in capital. Dolphin seeks to obtain significant equity positions in early and expansion stage companies with the potential for substantial growth in new or emerging communications technologies, software and services. Since 1998, Dolphin has been shaping the future of communications through highly selective investing, and through the strategic direction they provide to the management of their portfolio companies. For more information please visit www.dolphinequity.com.

About Hudson Ventures
Hudson Ventures is an early-stage venture capital fund focusing on enterprise software & services, new media, wireless and security technologies, with an emphasis on financial services and online marketing technologies. Hudson Ventures manages over $170 million and since its formation in 1996 has invested in over 40 technology companies, most of which are located in the northeast between Massachusetts and Virginia. Hudson's partners have decades of operating experience and are actively involved in their portfolio companies' operations. Some of Hudson's successful exits include: Guardent (sold to Verisign), webMethods (IPO), Pathlight Technologies (sold to Advanced Digital Information Corp.), i-Traffic (sold to Agency.com), and TechRx (sold to NDC Health). For more information please visit www.hudsonventures.com.

Contact:
Michael Krems of KremsPR for inQ
krems@kremspr.com
cell: 650.759.7133

Independent Research Firm: 'chatCommerce' Service From inQ Increases Fortune 500 Company's Online Sales 20% in 90 Days

AGOURA HILLS, CA, Aug. 7, 2007 - While talk is cheap, chat is turning out to be rather valuable when it comes to increasing online sales. A new study commissioned by inQ and conducted by industry analyst firm Forrester Consulting shows that "chatCommerce" from Agoura Hills, Calif.-based inQ -- which provides online conversion services using live chat to engage with targeted online shoppers to replicate a quality in-store experience - is helping an inQ client increase online sales.

inQ has developed targeting technology that allows real-time profiling of Web site visitors to determine who is showing a purchase intent but is in need of live assistance to complete the purchase online. inQ chatCommerce is a turnkey solution leveraging inQ live chat on-demand software, sales and care agents, and professional services including customer experience design, program launch and ongoing program optimization, quality assurance, and compliance programs.

The Forrester Consulting study examined the usage of inQ chatCommerce by a Fortune 500 company that contracted with inQ in Q3 2006 and immediately saw a lift in online conversion for two large-volume order flows. The baseline conversion rate for the larger of the two order flows was 19.3%. In the first 30 days, the conversion rate with chatCommerce increased over the baseline rate by 12%. In 60 days, the conversion rate increased by 16%, and within 90 days, the conversion rate had increased by 20%.

A month after chatCommerce was launched, the Fortune 500 company turned off chat to make a change in prices for its bundled services and during the two-week dark period, the conversion rate for the two order flows returned to the baseline rate.

For just one of the order flows, chatCommerce from inQ resulted in 1,275 new customers per month, or 15,300 incremental customers per year.

"Based on these findings, companies looking to implement online chat solution can see the opportunity for increased conversion of online visitors to buyers by implementing chatCommerce" the Forrester Consulting report titled, The Total Economic Impact Of inQ chatCommerce, articulated. "Using the TEI framework, many companies may find the potential for a compelling business case to make such an investment."

According to the study, Forrester Consulting calculated a three-year risk-adjusted ROI of 192% with inQ chatCommerce. In the Fortune 500 company case chronicled by Forrester Consulting, the main costs of investing in inQ chatCommerce were planning and implementation costs, managed services fees, administration costs and acquisition costs. Forrester Consulting estimated the company's three-year risk-adjusted costs totaled $8,105,429, but the total benefits realized were $23,653,693 - yielding a total net benefits of $15,548,263.

The customer interviewed in the Forrester Consulting study reported that 'a surprising number' of visitors to the provider's Web site who engaged in inQ's chatCommerce took time to write in about their positive chat experience.

How inQ ChatCommerce Works

inQ has developed targeting technology that allows real-time profiling of Web site visitors to determine who is showing a purchase intent but is in need of live assistance to complete the purchase online. The profiling engine is fed with Web session data and CRM data and determines whom to engage and the optimal point in time to do so in the session. The engine gets its cues from many different behavioral characteristics and patterns and specific business rules are often developed in partnership with the client leveraging Web analytics data, client knowledge of site, and customer buying behaviors. At the appropriate time, such as when a business rule requirement is met by an online visitor, the system triggers a proactive chat manned by a highly trained agent based at inQ's headquarters in Agoura Hills, Calif., who is ready to provide assistance to qualified potential buyers.

Examples of some of the simpler business rules that can be used include: Number of visits to site; number of pages browsed; returning to same page X number of times; length of time inactive on a page or within a form-fill; customer clicks "Back" within a form-fill process; customer exits the browser; or specific errors made on a particular form.

inQ charges a customer only for those online visitors who are converted to actual buyers via chatCommerce; there is a modest start-up fee that varies depending upon the complexity of customer requirements.

"inQ chatCommerce fuses innovative chat software technology with the human touch of well-trained U.S-based agents with sales and customer relations management savvy," says inQ President & CEO Bernard Louvat. "We were very pleased, but not surprised, that our chatCommerce service was viewed by the interviewed customer in the Forrester Consulting study to be a low-risk, winning approach to boost online sales."

About inQ

Founded in 1999, California-based inQ is the world leader in outsourced live chat solutions that humanize the online experience by engaging with targeted online shoppers and replicates a quality in-store experience. By utilizing highly sophisticated proprietary technology as well as trained and experienced online sales representatives, inQ offers solutions that are completely customized to meet the client's specific needs and then can increase clients' overall online revenue as much as 30% in 90 days. With a set-up fee ranging from between $25,000 and $75,000, subsequently inQ pricing is performance based. inQ is working with companies in the telecom, cable, retail, travel, media , and financial services industries. More information can be found by visiting www.inQ.com.

Contact:
Michael Krems of KremsPR for inQ
krems@kremspr.com
cell: 650.759.7133

Live Chat Solutions Company Secures Series C Financing

LOS ANGELES, December 18, 2006 –
inQ, the world leader in outsourced online live chat sales solutions, today announced the closing of $7.75 million Series C round of funding led by new investors Emergence Capital and Partech International, as well as from existing investors Dolphin Equity Partners, Hudson Ventures and Vertrue. As part of the funding, both Jason Green of Emergence Capital and Vincent Worms of Partech International will join inQ’s Board of Directors.

“inQ is delivering remarkable results for their customers and is being rapidly adopted by the leading consumer brands in the world,” said Jason Green, general partner at Emergence Capital. “inQ has an opportunity to help companies with a Web presence monetize their traffic with no upfront commitment, zero risk and performance based pricing. inQ is on track to become a very significant player in the world of e-commerce, and we are thrilled to be partnering with this exciting team and opportunity."

Bernard Louvat, president and CEO of inQ, commented, “This new funding will help enhance our leading-edge live chat and chat-to-phone technology platform, as well as our outsourced online sales operations infrastructure to increase our leadership position within the rapidly growing pro-active live chat solutions market. Our fully outsourced three-tiered live chat sales solution makes for a very successful partnership with our Fortune 1000 clients. Our performance based pricing aligns us with our clients’ interests and takes the risk out of the implementation for them, while maximizing their revenue impact.”

”For an interactive marketer, driving sales is no longer simply a function of driving traffic to your e-commerce site,” said Vincent Worms, co-founder and managing partner of Partech International. “Marketers increasingly rely on companies, like inQ, to efficiently convert the prospective customers visiting their site. The inQ technology helps marketers recognize promising leads on a Website and provide them with the assistance they need to complete a purchase. The results have been impressive: marketers consistently see in excess of 20 percent revenue lift after implementing inQ’s service.”

About inQ
Founded in 1999, inQ is the world leader in outsourced live chat solutions. Our live chat solution humanizes the online experience by engaging with targeted online shoppers and replicates a quality in-store experience. By utilizing state-of-the-art proprietary technology as well as trained and experienced online sales representatives, inQ offers solutions that are completely customized to meet the client’s specific needs and than can increase clients’ overall online revenue as much as 30% in 90 days. inQ pricing is performance based. inQ is working with companies in the telecom, cable, retail, travel, media , and financial services industries. More information can be found by visiting www.inQ.com

About Emergence Capital Partners
Emergence Capital Partners is a leading, west coast, early and growth-stage venture capital firm focused on Technology-Enabled Services ("TES") investing. Our mission is to help build market leading, technology-enabled service businesses in partnership with great entrepreneurs and teams. Our partners have funded and helped build over 30 TES companies such as Salesforce.com, DoubleClick, aQuantive, WebTV, AskJeeves, and SuccessFactors among others - more than any other early-stage venture firm. Having assessed thousands of companies in the TES sector, Emergence has developed significant expertise and resources focused on the critical factors of success in this market. Our focus and team-based approach allow us to create unique value for our service-based portfolio companies. For more information please visit www.emcap.com.

About Partech International
Founded in 1982, Partech International is a leading global venture capital firm with $850M under management and offices in the U.S., Europe and Israel. Partech invests exclusively in Information Technology and the firm's internationally integrated team of investing partners work together closely to find the most innovative companies demonstrating high return potential and disruptive technologies in the Software & Internet, Communications & Components and Healthcare IT sectors. Partech has a unique 20+ year track record assisting its portfolio companies to become global market leaders. To learn more go to www.partechvc.com.

About Dolphin Equity Partners
Dolphin Equity Partners specializes in investments in private communications companies operating in the U.S. and abroad. Located in New York, Dolphin currently manages over $340 million in capital. Dolphin seeks to obtain significant equity positions in early and expansion stage companies with the potential for substantial growth in new or emerging communications technologies, software and services. Since 1998, Dolphin has been shaping the future of communications through highly selective investing, and through the strategic direction they provide to the management of their portfolio companies. For more information please visit www.dolphinequity.com.

About Hudson Ventures
Hudson Ventures is an early-stage venture capital fund focusing on enterprise software & services, new media, wireless and security technologies, with an emphasis on financial services and online marketing technologies. Hudson Ventures manages over $170 million and since its formation in 1996 has invested in over 40 technology companies, most of which are located in the northeast between Massachusetts and Virginia. Hudson's partners have decades of operating experience and are actively involved in their portfolio companies' operations. Some of Hudson's successful exits include: Guardent (sold to Verisign), webMethods (IPO), Pathlight Technologies (sold to Advanced Digital Information Corp.), i-Traffic (sold to Agency.com), and TechRx (sold to NDC Health). For more information please visit www.hudsonventures.com.

About Vertrue
Headquartered in Stamford, Conn., Vertrue Incorporated (Nasdaq: VTRU) is a category leader in both membership and loyalty programs, bringing value direct to consumers through an array of benefits in healthcare, discounts, security and personals. With broad online and offline distribution capabilities, Vertrue offers its corporate client partners effective tools to enhance market presence, strengthen customer affinity and generate additional value. For more information pleased visit www.vertrue.com.

Media Inquiries
Denise Welch
Dotted Line Communications
p. 617.269.5969
Denise@dottedlinecomm.com

Steve Kaufman
New Venture Communications
408-436-0774
skaufman@newventurecom.com

SUMMARY:
As hair product (think help for baldness) maker Kevis discovered last year, radio ads drive a lot of traffic to your Web site. But, what if you absolutely need to get consumers on the phone to close the deal?
Driving site traffic to phone is not so easy. Discover how Kevis cracked the challenge with live chat offers that are aggressive, without being annoying. Yes, includes results data:

CHALLENGE:
So, you've got a European drug-free product that can reverse hair loss. And it works so well your US company president (who comes from a family full of baldies) can show off his before-and-after headshots with pride.
Only problem -- your brand name isn't famous yet in America. And, unlike the entrenched US competition, you can't afford to advertise on TV.
To get the word out about Kevis Rejuvenation Programs, Director of Marketing Drew Noel put 75% of his budget into off-peak radio ads and 25% into paid search ads with Google and inQ.
Every single ad had to pay for itself in incoming converted sales. "We go for direct ROI measurement -- always." Brand building would be a side benefit.
For radio tracking purposes, Noel's team set up more than 50 different toll-free numbers. Each was assigned to a different station. "We have spreadsheet after spreadsheet of tracking tables per station, per spot, ROI per day, ROI per week."
Kevis' in-house call center was located in the Beverly Hills office and staffed with trained, intelligent and enthusiastic reps. (Noel notes actors who rep for him between jobs make the best reps.) So, conversion rates for incoming calls was fairly high.
However, Noel began to notice that instead of calling in, many radio spot listeners were going to the Web. "We see a direct correlation between radio play and Internet traffic generated from those geographic areas." However, because Kevis' programs were complex and individually tailored, most required interaction with a live rep. In fact, only a small selection of supplementary products was available via ecommerce.
What do you do when you have a room full of fabulous reps standing by to convert calls that don't come?

CAMPAIGN:
Obviously Noel asked his site designers to make the 800 number very prominent on every page of the site. (Link to screenshots below.) But moving visitors from Web to another channel proved tougher than expected. "Very few people will call the phone number."
Noel needed to push phone interaction more proactively.
Last September his team launched a new test initiative -- live chat. The program was far more aggressive than the typical live chat offer icon most online marketers test.
Instead, the team created a floating DIV overlay (looks like a pop-up but isn't blocked by most pop blockers) opened chat box that appeared on Kevis' home page the instant a visitor arrived. First the empty chat box appeared, then as though someone live was chatting with you via instant messaging, over the next 30 seconds, the following script scrolled onto the chat screen:

===
Jessica says: Hi! I'm a LIVE online agent with Kevis. We're conducting a brief 2 question survey and to thank you for your time you'll receive a free hair loss consultation.

Just let me know you are there.

Jessica says: Just type HI or HELLO in the space below and I'll be right with you.

===

Visitors could choose to interact with "Jessica" (staffed by whatever call center rep was available at that moment), or to close the box and surf the site on their own. A second identical chat request box appeared on several of the secondary site pages - and "Take the Kevis Survey" was one of the main offers on the home page.

The goal with visitors who did interact with Jessica was to quickly qualify them as prospects and then move them onto the phone to begin the program customizing process. Reps tried to answer every chat reaction within 2-3 seconds (12 seconds was the absolute maximum wait time.)

If the visitor truly wanted to stay on the site instead, the rep could use the chat technology to guide them through the swathes of scientific and technical information deeper in.

On the days and hours when Kevis reps were not available, the chat functionality was erased completely from the visible site. (Nothing's more mom 'n' pop than a chat button that's "currently unavailable.")

RESULTS:
"I worried about bombarding visitors with this chat box," notes Noel. However, it's been a big success -- in fact so much so that now Noel is revamping his budget for far more direct-to-site search marketing.
Turns out 15% of site visitors on average will start chatting with Jessica. 28% of these chatters will then in turn give Jessica their number so they can speak on the phone. (Consumers in this situation prefer being called to calling.)
Then 12% of these conversations turn into ongoing Kevis program customers -- a fairly high close rate.
Visitors who call the 800# posted on the site or fill out other site forms deeper into the site tend to have an even higher conversion rate -- averaging 60%. Noel assumes this is because they have used the site's information to educate themselves prior to the call. (After all, you can't fit visuals and clinical trial info into a radio ad.)
However, this data doesn't mean that Noel will stop the live chat. He believes the live chat serves the large demographic with short attention spans who want quick info NOW. They might not act without the chat invite.
The phone number and forms deeper in serve the part of the public who want to browse for a longer time before contacting the company. There are far fewer of these people. You need to mingle both in your pipeline for healthy sales.

Article from Marketing Sherpa

This morning, my interview is with Bernard Louvat. Bernard Louvat is CEO of Agoura Hills-based InQ (www.inq.com), and is a serial entrepreneur I've spoken to before about his companies. InQ developing a service that helps e-commerce operators close more sales and help ease the online purchase process through online chat. I thought I'd catch up with Bernard and hear about his latest firm.

Ben Kuo: What is InQ about?

Bernard Louvat: Basically we are a technology based service company providing turnkey online sales and marketing solutions to increase e-commerce revenues. We provide people on websites to sell product and services via instant messaging. We charge on cost per acquisition, not cost per lead, and offer a proven ROI solution to increase online revenue by more than 20 percent in the Fortune 500, in less than 30 days. Our services provide 20 to 1 revenue to acquisition cost, which is typically three times lower than the phone channel for our clients. Our solution has been has been adopted by industry leaders – including telcos, and companies such as Cendant and AOL. We focus on market segments that use sales people offline – retail, telecom, cable, financial services, travel, B2b, and healthcare.

BK: So you provide live people in a call center for your services?

BL: Our value proposition consists of three parts – a technology platform, which we bring to the table to manage the chat interaction, a hosted platform, and we operate a contact center with 55 reps in Los Angeles, that we train in cooperation with our clients on their products and services. We manage all the staffing and productivity. We also have a professional services group to work with design their online sales program. We are very metrics intensive and proactively launch our chat, and determine in real time on our web site a customer's behavior in a session or through previous data passed to us from our clients. For example, we may use business rules that are time-based – for example, if a customer is on a particular page for more than one or two minutes, we launch a chat, or if a customer had a predetermined traffic pattern on a site—for example, went from a specific page to another page, which will trigger a chat. Our information is collected via analytics software, and we help design business rules. We engage the customers by asking discovery questions, pitching services, and also bring them down to the order page. We walk them to the bottom of the funnel, and help them select products or services, or help them with a difficult sale. We've had terrific results from a conversaion standpoint, and have the capacity to increase online sales and increase the topline by twenty to twenty five percent. We have twenty clients, four of them Fortune 500, and the other are public companies. We also work with smaller online e-commerce sites that do around 20 to 25 million in online sales.
BK: It would seem this business is fairly labor intensive. How do you handle that?
BL: As we ramp up, where labor really scales is in the contact center. Our contact center is in LA, and in the next 3 months will open one up offshore. We will scale the labor offshore, while keeping on every client project a few reps in LA. The local representatives are key success factors for us is integration of our integration, management our contact center, and designing and optimizing campaigns. We're the only end to end solution that offers better execution than in-house solutions. We've competed against in-house execution using our live-chat license software, with vastly superior results.

BK: You've been at a few firms before InQ—I believe the last firm was Evolution Robotics. How'd you end up at InQ, and why did you join the firm?

BL: I was at Evolution Robotics, I worked with Bill Gross to start Evolution Robotics, which provides intelligent software solutions for the retail industry. There's a very strong team there now to develop that business, and I was looking at a business which was closer to my background in retail. Before technology, I started the Disney Store in France, and Office Depot in France, and for the last nine years in SoCal I worked in ecommerce at CitySearch and with my startup, BizBuyer. I found out about InQ by accident, as I knew the chairman, Dennis Cagan, who convinced me to look at the company. It also helps that InQ is seven minutes from home. I saw the opportunity to bring online the same types of sales interaction I had developed offline in my stores, where I was hiring and training sales people to approach consumers, pitch products/services/clothes with effectiveness. When you shop online, in product categories where you require some sales assistance –not commodity items like books and CDs--the abandonment in shopping carts is huge, because people get stuck. They spend time selecting a product or service and for some reason don't get over the finish line. We proactively and reactively engage those customers, helping them to buy, and increase performance. This has worked well in a number of verticals, and a number of clients from large to small.

BK: How is the company funded—who is backing the firm and where are you on funding?

BL: We're very bullish on the market. We're close to profitability, and want to accelerate our growth with a venture round of seven to ten million. Our two original VC funds are Hudson and Dolphin, and we want to bring in a Tier 1 California VC to lead the round. The round will provide growth capital to ramp the sales team and technology teams and there's lots we want to do on technology platform. Most of the websites out there that use sales people offline can use us on their website to increase their sales. We need the sales power to reach those websites. This will be our Series C, and will probably be our last round.

BK: You're a serial CEO, it seems like this is now your thing?

BL: Yes, I love it. Each time you do another startup you want more and more—how to make the next one successful, putting things together, building teams, and looking at new market opportunities. This one is a big one. The ROI is here and proven, ecommerce is still growing really fast, and e-commerce has bumped into a wall at the conversion level. This solution can unlock the next level of conversion and productivity.

BK: As someone who's done this several times, how do you make a company successful?

BL: I was reading your interview with Jim Armstrong last week—and have known Jim for years. In fact I was in his office two weeks ago pitching the deal. I liked his comment from his mentor at Austin—about investing in a idea early and way early. I've learned that the timing is the toughest thing to determine, particularly at the beginning. A business idea often makes lots of sense, but the toughest thing to figure out is if the market is ready now or not. I often encourage entrepreneurs to think hard about that. Talk to prospective clients and customers to see if this is something they want to buy now. The other thing is the simpler the idea, the better. An idea you can explain to someone if you are raising money or pitching for a sales, if it makes sense, is probably a good business idea. It's not if it takes time to explain, or is convoluted and complex. People have short attention spans, and are bombarded with companies to invest in or products to buy. Your business must resonate and make sense quickly with the buyer. Picking the right business idea for a opportunity is step 1. If it's too early or too convoluted, you are probably going to fail. If you are working on the right business concept, the next step is to put the right team together to execute right. The right team has two things: it's experienced, and has been around the block—and has learned a lot through success and failure. The need to have relevant business experience they can bring to bear and execute flawlessly. They can't just be just bright but have to learn the industry or learn the business, because in a startup you just don't have time to learn. They have to have done it before, and just execute flawlessly and rapidly, because time is always against in you in a VC startups, with money going out the door. You need to get results quickly, and get your next funding or show traction. Finally, be persistent in everything you do. As CEO you have to evangelize and really believe in it!

BK: Thanks, and good luck on your funding round

Article from SoCalTech.com

Bernard Louvat shows how to boost your company's current SEM plan.

With numerous options for online marketers, finding the right balance between (Google/inQ!/MSN/LookSmart) search marketing, customer sales support, and usability enhancing web site re-design is a difficult task. Here are the steps for an online retailer to intelligently increase profits.

1. Analyze the data for the last month of your search engine marketing (SEM) campaigns to understand the amount of money you will have to spend to get an additional SEM-driven sale on your website. This is done by multiplying the Cost Per Click (CPC) and the Conversion Rate, (e.g., $2.59 Average CPC for the HDTV campaign) with a sales conversion rate of 1.10 percent yielding a $236.15 cost for an additional sale via SEM.

Campaign	Clicks	Avg CPC	Conv Rate	COGS
HDTV	3,100	$2.59	1.10%	$236.15

2. Web analytics can help you understand how people find your site, the comparative sales conversion rate of individual keywords, the navigation path users take through your website, what region/country users are coming from, and what the peak time for user traffic is. Use a web metrics package to analyze the purchase conversion funnel to understand the value of lost prospects, (e.g., from 3,100 visits), how much revenue do the prospects who either did not checkout their shopping cart after adding a product (234-90=144) or did not complete the checkout process (90-34=56) represent? Assuming an average sale of $800, it would be ((144+56)*800) = $160,000 in our example.

Step	Visits	Purchase Step Conversion Rate	% of Previous Step	% of All Visits
SEM ads click	3,100			100%
Product Page View (Purchase Step)	798		25.74%	25.74%
Cart Add	234	29.32%	29.32%	7.55%
Started Checkout	90	11.28%	38.46%	2.90%
Checkout Complete	34	4.26%	37.77%	1.10%

3. Now you will need to get intuitive. What analytics cannot do is get inside the mind of the user who abruptly decides to leave your site. By fostering a dialogue with the user you'll be able to quickly understand the reasons shoppers are not translating into buyers. You can spend all the money you want on search advertising, but to truly optimize for maximum sales, you want to ask the customers themselves why they are abandoning their shopping carts. To address this challenge, use a set of business rules on your site to proactively offer sales assistance via the medium of choice of today's consumer -- online chat/instant messaging -- with users who have lingered for more than 15 seconds on your shopping cart addition and checkout pages. To ensure accurate statistics, make sure that there is always someone on your staff, or better yet a 24-hour outsourced contact center, to assist your prospects. As added incentive for price-sensitive customers, consider allowing your live chat reps to offer a discount or free shipping to overcome the hesitation, and increasing ROI from your marketing spend. The live chat marketers would offer an incentive if the prospective customer expressed hesitation due to price or shipping costs during the conversation. Use the information collected by the live chat reps to improve the FAQs, add more helpful website content based on questions asked in the live chats, and then compare before/after metrics from the Purchase Conversion Funnel using a web metrics package. Chat transcripts can also be a great source of ideas for new products - straight from the mouths of your targeted customers. If the prospect decides not to buy your product, be sure to have trained representatives chatting live with your prospects to record why the customer didn't buy. Tabulate the sales saved by the live chat sales assistance.

Proactive Chats Offered	Prospects Interacted	Sales Prospect Saved	Chat-Driven Conversion Rate
200	96	23	11.50%

4. Calculate the expense of using proactive, chat-driven sales tactics, and thus the cost of an additional sale via live chat. This assumes: a) there is a $35/hour total cost of using an outsourced chat center using their own smart, well-trained employees, quality assurance agents, supervisors, facilities, computer systems, and their own live chat software to carry out a consultative sale, b) the agent handles 5 simultaneous chats, each lasting an average of 10 minutes (30 chats/hr) yielding a 10 percent conversion rate and thus 3 sales/hour. That would mean that the cost of adding an additional sale using live chat would be $11.67/sale.

Live Chat Software and Customer Service Rep Per Hour	Simultaneous Chats	Time Per Chat	Chats Per Hour	Chat Driven Sales Conversion Rate	Sales Per Hour	COGS
$35	5	10	30	10%	3	$11.67

5. Compare the cost of an additional sale via search engine marketing versus optimizing search engine-driven leads.

Cost of additional sale by increasing SEM budget	Cost of additional sale by optimizing SEM with live chat
$236.15	$11.67

In this example it seems that optimizing leads provided by the current SEM budget is the answer, but depending on your particular numbers, your answer may be different.

These steps should yield a very clear answer as to whether you should spend more money on search engine marketing/advertising, or on pro-active live chat-driven sales support, or in improving the navigation and information on your website.

Article by Bernard Louvat
iMediaConnection

inQ, an online marketing company utilizing live chat to put salespeople on the Web, has announced the addition of leadQ to their live chat marketing solutions for businesses. leadQ is a lead generation solution that can be used to qualify site visitors and capture personal information for immediate or future contact. leadQ is typically deployed on b-to-b or high ticket consumer product Web sites (such as automotive, financial services, real estate) in verticals where products are primarily sold by phone, or face-to-face by a broker or sales representative. The leadQ Live Agent engages online visitors in a live chat dialog, qualifies their purchase intent and the revenue potential they represent, and arranges a phone appointment with a sales representative. A "click2chat" box is built into the page, or a live chat is automatically initiated based on onsite behavior such as the amount of time a customer spends on the Web site, on a particular product page, or the number of visits to the site. When a chat is launched, the live agent will introduce himself or herself as a customer service agent from the site and may ask a few questions to better understand the customer and his needs. The agent will then explain the value of talking directly to a sales representative and will collect a name, phone number and a call-back time through the chat dialog. The lead is immediately transferred to the client's sales team and a hot transfer from the chat to a sales representative on the phone can be arranged. leadQ can also be implemented as a customer begins the "contact us" form-fill process, a standard procedure for many online businesses that are selling their products or services through a direct sales model. Here leadQ can increase the accuracy of the data collected as well as the form completion rate.

Article by Staff Reporter
Customer Interaction Solutions Magazine (Online and Print Edition)
http://www.tmcnet.com

Looking to make one-on-one connections with you customers? Well, look over here: Internet chat marketing company inQ’s newly launched service aims to put web site visitors in instant contact with a marketing person (all the better for sales, of course). The service, called leadQ, is aimed at B2B sites selling high-priced consumer goods, and at businesses that do most of their sales by phone. leadQ clients are equipped a “click2chat” button on their site, which enables visitors to chat with a real person; alternatively, live chats can be initiated automatically, based simply on the visitor’s behavior on the site. Once the chat session goes live, the marketer can then gather the visitor’s contact information, answer questions, and transfer them to a sales rep—either online or via phone—if necessary. “Web visits can be one of the most valuable lead generation tools a business has, and leadQ enables a more efficient and customer-friendly way of transforming online visitors into valuable leads,” Bernard Louvat CEO of inQ offered in a recent statement. Wait, a real person? That's gotta be a first.

Article by Staff Reporter
New Media Report
http://www.nmreport.com

leadQ Technology Provides Solid Online Lead Generation Solution for B2B and B2C Websites

LOS ANGELES, Calif., Nov. 30th 2005 -
inQ, a leading online marketing company utilizing live chat to put salespeople on the Web, today announced the addition of leadQ to their live chat marketing solutions for businesses. leadQ is a lead generation solution that can be used to qualify site visitors and capture personal information for immediate or future contact. leadQ is typically deployed on B2B or high ticket consumer product websites (such as automotive, financial services, real estate) in verticals where products are primarily sold by phone, or face to face by a broker or sales representative. The leadQ Live Agent engages online visitors in a live chat dialogue, qualifies their purchase intent and the revenue potential they represent, and arranges a phone appointment with a sales representative.
"Web visits can be one of the most valuable lead generation tools a business has, and leadQ enables a more efficient and customer-friendly way of transforming online visitors into valuable leads," said Bernard Louvat, inQ's CEO. "leadQ establishes a personal communication link online via live chat between the customer and the business and ultimately increases the likelihood they will connect with a sales representative and buy."

leadQ targets visitors that are gathering product information on a business' website, and is used to collect valuable customer information for sales and marketing initiatives that are typically completed over the phone. A 'click2chat' box is built into the page or a live chat is automatically initiated based on onsite behavior such as the amount of time a customer spends on the website, on a particular product page, or the number of visits to the site. When a chat is launched the live agent will introduce himself as a customer service agent from the site and may ask a few questions to better understand the customer and his needs. The agent will then explain the value of talking directly to a sales representative and will collect a name, phone number and a call-back time all through the chat dialogue. The lead is immediately transferred to the client's sales team and a hot transfer from the chat to a sales representative on the phone can be arranged. leadQ can also be implemented as a customer begins the "Contact Us" form-fill process, a standard procedure for many online businesses that are selling their products or services through a direct sales model. Here leadQ can increase the accuracy of the data collected as well as the form completion rate.

"By integrating leadQ into our e-commerce site, we've seen a tremendous growth in viable leads for our business," said Drew Noel, Vice President of Marketing for Kevis of Beverly Hills. "Where in the past we would have difficulty understanding the needs of potential clients prior to contacting them, with leadQ we can now gather information concerning their exact needs and product history via the live chat before we provide our initial phone consultation. By qualifying our sales leads through a chat agent first, we have been more effective in converting sales from our site visits and have seen a 39% increase in revenue from the Web since implementing leadQ."

inQ is devoted to bringing the in-store shopping experience to the Web by allowing businesses to populate their sites with sales professionals via live chat. Using inQ's live chat solutions, any business can offer their customers trained representatives on their website who will answer questions, qualify leads, sell products and services, promote up-sell and cross-sell opportunities, and assist in the check out process reducing cart abandonment, all in real-time. inQ provides its clients with a fully outsourced solution that includes a proprietary ASP chat software application, chat center services with trained and dedicated live agents, and marketing agency expertise that assists clients in the developing, designing and executing a successful live chat campaign.

About inQ
Founded in 1999, inQ is a leading developer of chat marketing solutions for e-commerce websites allowing businesses to populate their sites with salespeople through live chat. inQ uses Live Agents to interact with consumers in pre and post-sale transactions, helping sites deliver more personalized one-on-one sales, and enhance up-sell and cross-sell opportunities with customers. By utilizing state-of-the-art and proprietary live chat technology and trained and experienced sales representatives, inQ offers clients 24/7 online marketing solutions that are completely customized by inQ's in-house marketing agency to meet the specific needs of every client. inQ is working with companies in the travel, retail, media, software, financial services, telecom and B2B sectors. More information can be found by visiting http://www.inQ.com

About Kevis of Beverly Hills
Kevis of Beverly Hills is a provider of technologically advanced hair rejuvenation and hair care products. Using patented ingredients in combination with Japanese technology and Italian cosmetology, Kevis delivers high levels of drug-free, enzymatic and hyaluronan-based hair rejuvenation and nutrition for effective, natural results. For more information about Kevis of Beverly Hills please visit the company's website at http://www.kevis.com

Thanks to customer woes about privacy and security, online merchants have often had a tough time closing sales at checkout. But with inQ's new cartQ technology, e-commerce sites now have the ability to solve that problem by populating their online checkout aisles with live chat agents-all to "help deter shopping cart abandonment." InQ CEO Bernard Louvat tells us that the concept is based on old-school principles. "When I designed that product, I went back to my retail days. When the consumer was done [shopping], I would always walk [them] to the cash register. In online, you might have second thoughts, [because of] shipping charges, how secure the site is, and revealing personal information. 50-60% of consumers who enter the checkout process bail before they buy. So the idea was having a live cashier on the site at checkout to help the consumers to go through the process." With holiday season creeping up on us, cartQ might be a crucial addition to any merchant's wishlist. Besides, it's hard getting customer service as good as that in most brick n' mortar stores nowadays.

Article by Kiran Aditham
New Media Report

INQ, A FIRM THAT PROVIDES voice chat technology to e-commerce and business sites, announced Tuesday the release of cartQ, a voice-chat product that allows e-commerce sites to connect sales reps to users to prevent "shopping cart abandonment," where e-commerce shoppers exit a site before completing a purchase. The product will allow e-commerce sites to connect live cashiers to consumers via voice chat when they attempt to leave the checkout page before completing their purchase, either by using a click-to-chat button or by simply opening a chat window with the consumer when they attempt to exit the page.

Article by Shankar Gupta
Online Media Daily
http://publications.mediapost.com/

SofwareOnline.com Chooses cartQ to Battle Shopping Cart Abandonment with Live Chat Technology

Los Angeles, CA, October 25, 2005- inQ , a leading online marketing company utilizing live chat to put salespeople on the Web, today announced the addition of cartQ to their live chat marketing solutions for online businesses. CartQ helps e-commerce sites such as SoftwareOnline.com populate their online checkout system with live chat agents and effectively help deter shopping cart abandonment.

According to DoubleClick research, 60% of online shopping carts are abandoned resulting in less than half of all potential transactions on e-commerce sites ever being finalized. inQ's cartQ product provides a solution to this growing problem by enabling businesses to implement a simple live chat component to their site's check-out process designed to answer customers' product, shipping, security, privacy or payment questions or even offer special discounts and incentives to encourage consumers to complete their purchase.

cartQ targets shoppers attempting to exit the check-out page before completing their purchase. Either through a "click2chat" button in the shopping cart or a live cashier that proactively launches a chat with the customer, cartQ guides customers through the checkout process, start to finish. The live cashier is equipped with information to answer questions about products, shipping, credit card security, data privacy and other complicated issues that frustrate consumers during the check-out phase.

"Since implementing cartQ into our overall live chat campaign, we have seen a decrease in the number of abandoned carts before and during the checkout process," said Brad Furber, President of SoftwareOnline.com. "inQ's solution helps us engage customers who may otherwise leave our site before completing a transaction, and thereby enhances our ability to provide a high level of personalized customer interaction throughout the shopping and checkout process."

"With the holiday shopping season around the corner businesses are seeking effective strategies to ensure their customers follow-through on their online purchases and maximize the potential transaction value of every shopping cart on their site," said Bernard Louvat, CEO of inQ. "By offering our clients cartQ as a part of our complete live chat solution and marketing agency services, they are better equipped to face this growing online sales problem head-on and effectively increase their total ROI. "

inQ is devoted to bringing the real life, in store shopping experience to the Web by allowing businesses to populate their sites with sales professionals via live chat. Using inQ's live chat solutions, any business can offer their customers trained representatives on their website who will answer questions, sell products and services, and promote up-sell and cross-sell opportunities, all in real-time, 24X7, 365 days out of the year. inQ provides its clients a fully outsourced solution that includes a proprietary ASP chat software application, chat center services with trained and dedicated live agents, and marketing agency expertise that assists clients in the developing, designing and executing a successful live chat sales campaign.

About inQ
Founded in 1999, inQ is a leading developer of chat marketing solutions for e-commerce websites allowing businesses to populate their sites with salespeople through live chat. inQ uses Live-Agents to interact with consumers in pre and post-sale transactions, helping sites deliver more personalized one-on-one sales, and enhance up-sell and cross-sell opportunities with customers. By utilizing state-of-the-art and proprietary live chat technology and trained and experienced sales representatives, inQ offers clients 24/7 online marketing solutions that are completely customized by inQ's in-house marketing agency to meet the specific needs of every client. inQ is working with companies in the travel, retail, media, software, financial services and telecom sectors. More information can be found by visiting www.inq.com .

About SoftwareOnline.com
Founded in 1989, SoftwareOnline.com is a leading developer, reseller and distributor of high performance Windows utility software products and other consumer downloadable applications. SoftwareOnline.com's Windows utility product suite includes Registry Cleaner, Internet Shield, ArmorIE, MemTurbo, SpyDefy, Download Alert Service, CPU Rocket and Advanced System Optimizer. SoftwareOnline.com also partners with a number of leading private and public companies to distribute consumer downloadable applications. SoftwareOnline.com is headquartered in Redmond , Washington , and can be found online at www.softwareonline.com .

After years of brainstorming in the worlds of retail and online ventures, Bernard Louvat found a way to bring it all together.

“What intrigued me with inQ was the possibility of using technology and operations to recreate online sales processes that I had put in place in stores I had managed and call centers I had run,” said Louvat, who was recently named president and chief executive of the Agoura Hills-based company that develops online marketing for e-commerce sites.

He graduated from Harvard Business School in 1991 and joined the Disney Store unit of Walt Disney Co. in Los Angeles. He was part of the team selected to expand Disney Stores across Europe – first in Britain and then in France. He also brought Office Depot to France.

Later, Louvat joined Idealab as a general manager for CitySearch.com, then left to start Bizbuyer.com, a purchasing portal for small businesses. Next, with Idealab founder Bill Gross, he started Evolution Robotics Inc., building robotics for retail industries and partnering with corporations such as Sony.

Last year, Louvat found out about inQ and its live chat solutions for businesses and got hooked.

“I realized that there are some limits as to what you can achieve with static merchandising executions online,” Louvat said. “InQ technology consists of live chat. That enables a live representative on the Web to engage an online consumer and to pitch a product.”

The strategy drives sales up much higher than static executive Web sites, Louvat said, adding that live chat is two to three times cheaper than customer service calls.

“Anybody with a Web site today who sells something can use InQ,” Louvat said. “InQ is a very simple idea that people grasp very quickly.”

The French native now lives in Agoura Hills. He likes to spend time outdoors with his wife and four children by swimming, hiking, skiing, camping, or biking and visiting zoos and museums.

Article by Katherine Gray
Los Angeles Business Journal Staff
http://labusinessjournal.com/

Congratulations! Your website looks much better than it did 5 years ago.

Your navigation is intuitive. Your pages are well merchandised with a clear layout and good design. Your content is to the point and your pictures look great. You are telling an attractive and convincing product story.

You are using web analytics software, you are generating dynamic and personalized content; you are driving targeted traffic to your website through a better use of your online ad dollars. Your ecommerce practices have been sharpened and your website optimized. You are doing everything right.

So why has your conversion rate been stagnating between 3% and 4%?

It's time to ask yourself: "How can I get to the next level of performance?"

The answer is simple: Add sales people to your website. Why? Because good sales people will increase your revenue, like they do in your stores and in your call centers. Why not use what has worked for you for years off line on the Web, as well?

I spent the first part of my career in retail, selling cosmetics in department stores at Lancome, toys at The Disney Store and office supplies and equipment at Office Depot. I hired, trained and managed salespeople I called beauty advisors, Cast Members or Computer Specialists. I spent a lot of time merchandising counters, fixtures, walls and windows to create exciting product stories to entice impulse purchase or facilitate planned purchases. And I learned one thing as a result: no merchandising techniques can beat a great sales person. In fact, when used effectively, they complement each other very nicely.

Merchandising (or the design and layout of the page on a website) will attract the eye and peak the interest of the consumer. But the addition of a sales person to that site will leverage that initial interest in the product and will continue the selling job where the webpage left it, and eventually close the sale. By interacting with a consumer that showed initial interest, the online salesperson can clarify the consumer's needs, suggest the right product(s), pitch the features and benefits of that product, and answer in real-time the questions the consumer may have as she is making up her mind about buying the item in question.

An online salesperson can create a dynamic, one-on-one interactive sales process that neither web design nor technology can. This creates a better online experience for the consumer because it enables product expertise to be dispensed in real-time and sits at the consumer's fingertips on the webpage itself.

The best technology to create this dialogue between the online consumer and the salesperson is live chat. Live chat (also called IM or Instant Messaging) makes possible the important one-on-one, real time dialogue between the consumer and the salesperson that I mentioned above. The Chat Box, as it appears on any site, is a flexible tool: it can be accessible via a click-to-chat function, or can be launched based on business rules designed to determine the online consumer's readiness to receive assistance in their buying experience. The consumer has to opt-in to the chat and can abandon it or close the chat window at anytime, leaving them in control of their experience.

Most commonly, businesses deploy chat to increase revenue and sell more items and services. In these cases, live chat can be used to pitch a product on a product page, in an online ad unit, or when the consumer exits the website without completing the transaction. Live chat can also be deployed at the beginning of the checkout process to cross-sell items complementary to the one(s) already in a shopper's cart (for example: accessories, or extended service plans) or to pitch a promotion to increase the size of the cart ("Buy 2 items and get the third free"; "Free shipping if you buy $50 worth of goods"). In every case, live chat can increase revenue by at least 50% versus static executions.

Live chat can also be used to create different calls to action, such as registering on a website, sharing contact information to receive a call from a product specialist or signing up for an email newsletter. Using live chat successfully during checkout can reduce cart abandonment by offering assistance to online consumers and answering their questions about security, privacy and shipping, or by offering incentives to complete their purchase. Live chat is also effective on the post transaction page as well (i.e., on the Thank You page or the order confirmation page) to pitch contextual third party offers.

As you can see, there are many situations in which live chat is effective in creating a better relationship with customers. But it is important to be well informed when adopting this solution: Companies with a Web presence should seek turnkey live chat sales and care solutions that utilize software, trained reps and online marketing expertise; businesses deploying live chat to websites need to understand the complexities of online sales to assist online consumers and create that all important call-to-action.

The interactive space may have changed much, but it hasn't changed everything. If you are a business looking to boost your online sales and marketing activities, think about how you are using sales offline, and then replicate these successes online. with live chat.

Bernard Louvat is the CEO of inQ: a leading developer of chat marketing solutions for e-commerce websites. Louvat is also co-founder and served as CEO of Evolution Robotics, Inc., the leading provider of low-cost robotics technology solutions licensed to the consumer electronics and retail industries. Previously, Bernard was Chief Executive Officer and Founder of BizBuyer.com (a leading provider of online procurement services) and served as a General Manager at CitySearch (www.citysearch.com), the leading local e-commerce platform now part of InterActive Corp. For more, please visit: www.inq.com.

Article by Bernard Louvat, CEO of inQ -
excerpted from ADBUMB Newsletter, Issue #180

Online Marketing Company Adds Marketing and Product Development Veterans to Executive Team

Los Angeles, CA, September 12, 2005- inQ , an online marketing company that utilizes live chat to put salespeople on the Web, today announced the appointment of three executives to top management positions. Effective immediately, Donna Cohen has been appointed Vice President of Client Services and Rick Hoefert , Vice President of eCommerce Operations. Bringing management experience from several diverse backgrounds, inQ is confident that these additions to the executive team will help guide the company's strategic marketing approach and continued growth.

As Vice President of Client Services, Donna Cohen will be responsible for handling all aspects of inQ 's account management including product development with a focus on designing and launching campaigns, servicing and expanding client accounts as well as building out the inQ product line. With over 20 years of experience, Cohen comes to inQ from the Warner Music Group where she served as Vice President of Internet Promotion and Business Development. There Cohen was responsible for strategy and implementation of online marketing and promotion activities in addition to the development of global online marketing tools including Warner's first Consumer Database and suite of One-to-One Marketing tools.

As Vice President of eCommerce Operations, Rick Hoefert will lead inQ's eCommerce service delivery and project execution of client accounts. Most recently Rick was Vice President of Global Operations for TeleTech Holdings, a global contact center and customer service interaction company with over $1 billion in annual sales. At Tele Tech and throughout his career, Rick managed global call center operations and client relationships for Fortune 500 clients in the telecom, financial services, technology and retail industries.

"We are pleased to announce the addition of these talented individuals to our management team," said Bernard Louvat, President and CEO of the company. "With several decades of combined operating experience and proven success in the technology, online and contact center industries, these executives will be instrumental in building the company and solidifying its standing as the leading provider of eCommerce chat solutions to online businesses."

Devoted to bringing the real life, in store shopping experience to the Web, inQ's chat solutions allow online businesses to populate their sites with live sales professionals to help boost their sales and marketing efforts. inQ gives businesses the ability to offer their customers trained representatives who will answer questions, sell products and services, and promote, up-sell and cross-sell opportunities, all in real-time, 24X7, 365 days out of the year. In addition, inQ provides its clients a fully outsourced solution that includes a proprietary ASP chat software application and services from its in-house live chat marketing agency that assists clients in the design and execution of successful live chat sales campaigns.

About inQ
Founded in 1999, inQ is a leading developer of chat marketing solutions for e-commerce websites allowing businesses to populate their sites with salespeople through live chat. inQ uses live-chat agents to interact with consumers in pre and post-sale transactions, helping sites deliver more personalized one-on-one sales, and enhance up-sell and cross-sell opportunities with customers. By utilizing state-of-the-art technology as well as a trained and experienced sales team, inQ offers clients 24/7 marketing solutions that are completely customized to match the look and feel of their website, while ensuring a seamless customer experience. inQ is working with companies in the travel, retail, media, software, financial services, online services, telecom and ISP sectors. More information can be found by visiting www.inq.com .

Company Secures Strategic Marketing Partnership with Vertrue to Enhance Loyalty and Cross-Sell Component of Live Chat Solution

Los Angeles, CA, September 12, 2005- inQ, an online marketing company that utilizes live chat to put salespeople on the Web, today announced the closing of $2.5 million in funding from initial venture capital firms, Dolphin Equity Partners and Hudson Ventures as well as new investor, Vertrue (VTRU). In addition, inQ also announced a strategic marketing partnership with Vertrue, a leading provider of consumer membership and loyalty programs to help promote partnerQ, the company's post transaction cross-sell component to its chat marketing solution. Through the funding and partnership, inQ will strengthen its product offerings and deliver an increase in revenue and sales opportunities for its client websites.

"Within inQ, we saw a company with a first-class management team that is building a strong and diverse customer base with differentiated and market leading technology and marketing solutions," said Mark Brooks of Dolphin Equity. "It is clear that the market for live chat solutions is growing quickly and businesses are looking to improve their online interaction with customers. inQ 's technology and services answer this call by enabling websites to offer a more personalized consumer experience, while boosting sales across the board."

inQ 's chat solutions for online businesses are designed to help any company generate increased website revenue - both through initial sales and cross-sell promotions after a primary purchase is made. Through its partnership with Vertrue, inQ is promoting partnerQ, a tool available to all clients that enables them to monetize the post-transaction page of their websites. Through a non-intrusive live Chat Box on the order confirmation page, online sales agents offer customers incentives, discounts, membership club sign-ups and other loyalty-building promotions that online businesses use to turn one-time shoppers into repeat buyers. inQ clients can also customize the post-transaction chat to include specific cross-sell programs offered by their clients' partner or affiliate merchants or help them design their own loyalty programs.

"We are very excited to be working with inQ both on an investor level and through our partnership," said David Schachne, EVP of Business Development for Vertrue. "Our membership and loyalty programs, designed to offer consumers everyday savings and event-oriented discounts, are a perfect fit for inQ 's cross-sell solution, partnerQ. We are confident that customers will be responsive to the personal interaction provided by inQ 's live Chat Agents and in turn be excited to participate in our programs."

"Consumers desire a personal online sales experience and businesses are looking for ways to respond to their customers' needs while driving online sales," said Bernard Louvat , President and CEO of inQ . "By offering our proprietary live chat technology, a best in class chat center with trained representatives and access to our marketing agency expertise, inQ offers websites a fully outsourced three-tiered solution to online sales generation. With funding to grow our business and technology as well as our strategic alliance with Vertrue, we are well positioned to offer our clients a comprehensive online sales tool."

About inQ
Founded in 1999, inQ is a leading developer of chat marketing solutions for e-commerce websites allowing businesses to populate their sites with salespeople through live chat. inQ uses Live-Agents to interact with consumers in pre and post-sale transactions, helping sites deliver more personalized one-on-one sales, and enhance up-sell and cross-sell opportunities with customers. By utilizing state-of-the-art and proprietary live chat technology and trained and experienced online sales representatives, inQ offers clients 24/7 online marketing solutions that are completely customized by inQ's in-house Marketing Agency to meet the specific needs of every client. inQ is working with companies in the retail, travel, telecom, media, software, financial services and ISP sectors. More information can be found by visiting www.inq.com

About Dolphin Equity Partners
Dolphin Equity Partners specializes in investments in private communications companies operating in the U.S. and abroad. Located in New York , Dolphin currently manages over $340 million in capital. Dolphin seeks to obtain significant equity positions in early and expansion stage companies with the potential for substantial growth in new or emerging communications technologies, software and services. Since 1998, Dolphin has been shaping the future of communications through highly selective investing, and through the strategic direction they provide to the management of their portfolio companies. For more information please visit www.dolphinequity.com.

About Hudson Ventures
Hudson Ventures is an early-stage venture capital fund focusing on enterprise software & services, new media, wireless and security technologies, with an emphasis on financial services and online marketing technologies. Hudson Ventures manages over $170 million and since its formation in 1996 has invested in over 40 technology companies, most of which are located in the northeast between Massachusetts and Virginia . Hudson 's partners have decades of operating experience and are actively involved in their portfolio companies' operations. Some of Hudson 's successful exits include: Guardent (sold to Verisign), webMethods (IPO), Pathlight Technologies (sold to Advanced Digital Information Corp.), i-Traffic (sold to Agency.com), and TechRx (sold to NDC Health). For more information please visit www.hudsonventures.com.

About Vertrue
Headquartered in Stamford , Conn. , Vertrue Incorporated (Nasdaq: VTRU) is a category leader in both membership and loyalty programs, bringing value direct to consumers through an array of benefits in healthcare, discounts, security and personals. With broad online and offline distribution capabilities, Vertrue offers its corporate client partners effective tools to enhance market presence, strengthen customer affinity and generate additional value. For more information pleased visit www.vertrue.com.

Technology and Retail Industry Veteran Leads Online Marketing Company Bringing Sales People to the Web

Los Angeles, CA, August 10, 2005- inQ , an online marketing company that utilizes live chat to put salespeople on the Web, today announced Bernard Louvat as President and CEO. After leading several successful technology and retail companies, Mr. Louvat takes on this new leadership position with the goal of moving inQ to the forefront of interactive marketing by offering effective e-commerce sales technologies.

inQ is a leading developer of chat marketing solutions for e-commerce websites, devoted to bringing the real life, in store shopping experience to the web while allowing businesses to populate their sites with sales professionals via live chat. inQ gives businesses the ability to offer their customers trained representatives who will answer questions, sell products and services, and promote up-sell and cross-sell opportunities, all in real-time, 24X7, 365 days out of the year. inQ provides its clients a fully outsourced solution that includes a proprietary ASP chat software application, chat center services with trained and dedicated live agents, and the services from its in-house live chat marketing agency that assists clients in the design and execution of successful live chat sales c amp aigns.

"I am excited to be given the opportunity to take inQ to new levels, while helping e-commerce sites bring their salespeople online through live chat," said Bernard Louvat , inQ 's new President and CEO. "As the Internet continues to expand at a rapid pace, consumers spend more and more of their purchasing power online, making new technologies important to enhancing a user's experience while increasing ROI. inQ 's live chat application will help e-commerce sites build an effective marketing solution for customized and personalized one-on- one online sales."

"We are pleased that Mr. Louvat has joined inQ to lead our management team," said Mark Brooks, inQ board member and Partner at Dolphin Equity Partners. "Bernard brings more than a decade of experience in technology, retail and corporate leadership to the company. We are confident that under his guidance, inQ will enter a new phase of growth and development, to become the leader in online chat marketing e-commerce solutions."

For the past fifteen years, Mr. Louvat has worked to build innovative consumer businesses in the technology, Internet, retail and consumer product industries, both within the U.S. and Europe , ranging from venture-backed start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. Most recently, he was co-founder and CEO of Evolution Robotics, Inc. which he built into a leading global provider of robotics technology solutions for the retail and consumer electronics industries. Prior to Evolution Robotics, Mr. Louvat was the CEO and founder of BizBuyer.com, a leading provider of online procurement services for small businesses, growing the company from a one-person startup to a company with $15 million in revenues. Mr. Louvat's career has also included C-Level roles at major corporations in the US and in Europe including General Manager at CitySearch, an InterActiveCorp company, founding CEO of Office Depot France and founding Country Manager, of The Disney Store France . He started his career as a consultant with Bain & Company.

Mr. Louvat holds a Masters in Business Administration degree with Distinctions from Harvard Business School , where he was a Bain & Company and Gruppo Ferruzzi Scholar, and a Bachelor in Business Administration degree from Hautes Etudes Commerciales in Paris .

About inQ Founded in 1999, inQ is a leading developer of chat marketing solutions for e-commerce websites allowing businesses to populate their sites with salespeople through live chat. inQ uses Live-Agents to interact with consumers in pre and post-sale transactions, helping sites deliver more personalized one-on-one sales, and enhance up-sell and cross-sell opportunities with customers. By utilizing state-of-the-art and proprietary live chat technology and trained and experienced sales representatives, inQ offers clients 24/7 online marketing solutions that are completely customized by inQ's in-house marketing agency to meet the specific needs of every client. inQ is working with companies in the travel, retail, media, software, financial services and ISP sectors. More information can be found by visiting www.inq.com