Chatting Adds New Life To Company Web Sites

Two years ago, cutting-edge companies were busy learning how to create a World Wide Web presence. Today, a Jupiter Communications’ report suggests those sites need to offer text-based chat to keep pace with technology and the Internet.

Called "Revenue Prospects For Online Chat" and created by Jupiter’s Consumer Content Group, the report concludes that companies with a Web presence should consider adding chat. Leading technology companies such as Intel already offer "service-related chat" capabilities to Internet users.

Before a company jumps into the trend, Jupiter analyst Kate Doyle says, "It will not suffice to just offer chat. If you do that you will just have an empty chat room." She advises companies to have a "focused strategy" and sufficient personnel to keep a chat room running and to develop a community of people who will spread the word and return to the chat room.

Beyond increasing communication between companies and consumers, chatting additionally offers potential marketing opportunities, competitive advantages and an interactive consumer community, she said.

Service-related chat is a by-product of social chat, an online and Internet phenomena which has grown significantly in the past four years. Doyle sees businesses using chat as service-related and social. "Social chat has a definite place on niche-interest Web sites and large aggregators. It’s also becoming a great asset in terms of improving customer service and promoting cross-sell opportunities," she added.

Social chat may be tapering off. Jupiter Communications projects social chat will be used by only 30 percent of the online population in 2002. In addition, the report claims sites using chat as a primary content offering will have limited market potential since they lack either the traffic of the aggregator sites or the affinity group audiences of niche-oriented sites.

The newer service-related chats will also be complemented by instant messaging. Almost one-quarter of the online audience use these applications today and Jupiter predicts that usage will grow dramatically in the next few years, surpassing that of chat rooms on Web sites.

Chatting and instant messaging can be incorporated into a company’s server operations or contracted through a third party chat server. More information is available at http://www.jup.com.

(Contact: Denise Walpole, The Terpin Group, tel 212-473-7500)