I was doing some research for a client the other day and found myself at a relatively new cloud-based CRM (customer relationship management) solution website. The product was impressive, and touted how drip-marketing and comprehensive client contact worked seamlessly with their system. After some review, I thought it might be a good fit for several of our clients and began looking for information on whether they had a reseller program. I was pushed for time and couldn't seem to find this information, when I noticed they had “ live chat” available. Great! Here is what followed:

J: "Hi, I'm Jeff. How may I assist you?"
Me: "Hi Jeff. Yes, I was wondering if you have a reseller program."
J: "Could I get your name and company name?"
Me: "Sure. Adrienne Jandler, Atlantic Webworks."
J: "And where are you located, Adrienne."
Me: "Greensboro, NC. (pause) So, do you guys have a reseller program?"
J: "What CRM are you currently using?"
Me: "I'm inquiring about reselling to some of our clients, not for us."
J: "What CRM is the client using?"
Me: "There are several I'm considering, not one. Hence my interest in the reseller program."
J: "Okay. So what is the primary feature of our product that will be most useful for you?"
Me: "Jeff, I don't mean to be rude, but I'm extremely pushed for time. Could you just let me know if you have a reseller program?"
J: "Just a quick question—how many seats would you be needing?"
Me: "I just need to know if you have a reseller program available."
J: "I can't get you that information. I'm here to pre-qualify people interested in our software. You'll need to call our 800 number and talk to an account rep for information about that."

WHAT? Really?

I thought of that call and the waste of my time on the drive into the office. In fairness, Jeff was only following the script he'd been given. The script was focused on selling to me, not really on listening, providing information, or trying to solve an issue. His ability to answer questions (or inability, as the case happened to be) was also directed by choices his employer made. However, the result was the same: frustration, feeling “sold to,” and last but not least, my leaving the site with zero plans to use their services.

The interchange served as a good reminder that websites and their functionality really are integrated with sales, customer service, and other core components of day-to-day business. A website isn't a stand-alone marketing piece, but  an extension of the company with regard to ability to gain information, locate relevant resources, communicate with the company, and in some cases, directly interact. Functionality should be fully considered with regard to how it will be used, and how it could be used—from the perspective of the site visitor. When functionality like live chat is incorporated into a site, there is the expectation that the chat representative is able to provide a similar level of service that a call into the company would provide. But what if it isn't feasible to have live chat that is able to answer any question? If the company strictly wanted to limit live chat to pre-sales information, a simple “Have sales questions? Talk with a live sales rep” button would have more clearly set the expectation that chat services were focused on sales only.

How does your website serve your site visitors? Can you think of other examples of website functionality that might require more careful incorporation?