One important way to increase sales and boost your conversion rate is to provide an easy and instant way for customers to contact you when they have a question. Of course, this requires someone to be on call during regular hours, but it can significantly affect sales.
Telephone numbers are valuable, of course, though some consumers have to get off the Internet to call. E-mail is good, but not as instant a medium. This issue of Web Commerce Today discusses three instant response technologies -- text chat, Voice over Internet (VoIP), and Instant Messaging (IM).

Probably the most basic -- and helpful -- instant contact feature you can have in your online store is some kind of instant chat service, staffed as many hours as possible, especially during hours when you receive the most sales. Instant chat programs can affect your bottom line significantly for two reasons:

Customers can get immediate answers to questions that would otherwise halt their orders. With an answer, many will complete their purchase.
You and your employees can be proactive about contacting shoppers, in the same way that a fine store trains floor salespeople to ask a customer, "Is there any way I can help you? Any questions I can answer?"

Some customer inquiries are much better handled by voice than typing into a chat window. It's just easier to explain and answer some questions by talking. Jupiter Research reported in April 2002, that click to talk technology can increase online revenue up to 45%. Of the many applications out there, here are three to consider, all of which provide very clear Voice over Internet (VoIP) sound, particularly VoiceCafe.

IM (Instant Messaging) enables you to create a private chat room with one of your customers. IM is the communication method of choice by millions -- especially younger Internet users who use IM systems constantly.
Make IM available and you'll get live customer inquiries. Here's how to do it using cross-platform tools.