Live Help System - Market Potential

Fergal C

I know someone considering launching a website to sell a live help software solution. Basically, a script that allows operators to conduct one to one chats with website visitors.

It is built with asp and requires ASP 3, Access/MySQL/SQL Server. It is self hosted and web based. It provides for text and html chat, operator or website visitor initiated chats and it can be fully branded. Current selling price is $99.

Do people feel that this a product that could sell well or is it something webmasters will be able to get from their hosting companies?

Is it something that web design or hosting companies would be interested in reselling?

Also I’d welcome any suggestions from anyone with ASP knowledge re potential partnering or the provision of contracted tech support and / or development to such a product.

Thanks,

damnyanks

There are already a good few scripts / programs like that out there.

I remember I had one on my site 6 years ago. Although everything was hosted by the company offering the serice. I just stuck in a link or whatever. I could also offer a person viewing my site to chat with me (As well as them starting a chat with me)


Anyways point is. That was 6 years ago A lot of hosts / universities / companies have things like that. So make sure the product is better then the currently existing ones.

mneylon

As already mentioned there are plenty of solutions already on the market, so any new entrant would have to be able to offer something very different in order to win market share.
On another point, the bulk of hosting companies use linux primarily not windows, so they would reach a larger portion of the market if their script ran on LAMP

FreeHost

As websites become more “technical and feature rich” yes, there is a market for it and it will sell if it’s a really good product. However, when it comes to selling to webmasters it will be compared to open source products like the one at http://www.craftysyntax.com/livehelp/?v=2.7

Many webmasters judge it by the extra features it provides over the free one. That’s where they see if they are getting their 99 bucks worth.

As for hosting companies, I don’t know of any who provide it as a standard feature.

tomED

I have actually included a similar system in all my web design proposals lately and there seems to be an interest in it. However, it seems to be a hard sell. Most feel its a bit of a gimmick and dont see the value it could have.

The one I have been selling is an ASP version - and includs a desktop app that integrates with it which is very useful!!!

Fergal C

Thanks everyone for your informative responses, much appreciated.

TomED would you mind providing a link to the one you are selling? No problem if you'd prefer not.

Fergal

tomED

No prob at all!

http://www.boldchat.com/

Fergal C

Thanks Tom,

Funnily enough I saw that one yesterday, through a Google ad on CraftySyntax.

Fergal