Is your business ready to engage with 2012’s e-customers? As more and more people migrate to online research and lean toward greater online purchase growth ( $218 billon in 2012), marketers already set their eyes on social media sites in an effort to increase brand image and consumer engagement, but what about a business’ customer service and sales teams? Bolstering an online customer service experience through these sites with the use of chat programs allows for direct customer contact.

If you’re like me, money isn’t the end all to be all of everything in business. Now, I’m not saying it isn’t important because as anyone knows a business can’t run without it. But there are other aspects to remember when planning your chat measurements.

In my last post I started talking about things companies should keep in mind when implementing an online chat platform. Here are more features or needs you should think about:

Implementing or enhancing your business’s online chat can be easy enough to do if you keep some simple concepts in mind. An effective chat platform helps build a significant online presence for both your customer service and sales channels, but before you get started, here are a couple of points to consider.

A glance at the job market might make anyone squeamish, but IT professionals are not among the majority here. A survey conducted by Dice​.com analyzed the current trend among hiring managers and recruiters in the IT field, and the survey showed that 54% of managers anticipate higher demand for tech savvy employees during the coming year.

Being part of a company who began to implement this new corporate communication tool was an exciting learning experience. I saw that your initial strategy into chat is just that — initial. Since e-commerce continues to evolve, so too is the chat platform service that puts us in contact with our customers on a daily basis.

Multiple factors make up a business’ worth, but it really boils down to how a customer finds value in what is being presented. An important aspect of maintaining value is through communication. Reaching customers at the point of sale is paramount, so the evolution of online chat is accelerating. As the internet and e-commerce gain strength, the new endeavor of chatting touches the next generation of customers right where they are shopping. Are you prepared for this explosion?

I think that most people in today’s society understand the term “social media” and what it implies — Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn, and a vast number of other portals that lead straight into billions of lives across the globe. However, not all businesses and individuals for that matter know exactly how to best utilize the potential of these portals. But we are slowly learning! For me, my world often revolves around Facebook, which houses everything a self-sustaining virtual world needs: friends and family, entertainment, shopping, and even a pet. Heck, not long ago Facebook launched its own integrated email service, setting itself up as a multi-communication based “social post office.”