Speak: A blog by Olark on Olark

Introducing: AI Analyst

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 00:00:00 +0000

At Olark, we’re working on features that allow your team to get the most out of your customer interactions. We’re super excited to share the latest update: AI Analyst.

🤖 Aiden Setup in Minutes: No IT Team Required. 🤖

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Live Search is here, and now Aiden learns faster than ever. Copy, paste, and go! Add your URL to you your AI dashoard and forget about it. Aiden will take it from there!

Olark SMS and WhatsApp Integration: Reduce Friction, Win More Business

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

With Olark, customers can reach you on SMS or WhatsApp as naturally as texting a friend. Once they add your business to their contacts, you’re one tap away: no links, no website, no friction. And friction is the enemy of repeat business and new business. The easier it is to get in touch, the faster conversations turn into opportunities. Everything still comes straight into your Olark inbox, so you widen your reach without complicating your workflow.

Introducing GSAT: Goal Satisfaction Scores built into Olark

Wed, 12 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

If you are on a customer facing team, we have a tool we think you’ll love! We are calling it GSAT (for Goal Satisfaction). With GSAT you can now see the inquiries your customers make, by inquiry topic, and whether your team was able to successfully satisfy them. It’s a nifty and powerful tool for your customer success toolbelt!

How The Office of Disability Services at Rutgers University Uses Olark’s Accessible Chat

Wed, 01 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Carlie from the Office Disability Services at Rutgers explains how Dlark has made life easier for her staff and students. Students have a way to reach someone on her team quickly from any device. For her team, chat allows us to answer easy questions quickly, and gives us more time for in-depth questions over the phone or email.

How Icetro America Uses Olark To Make Life Easier For Field Technicians

Fri, 06 Jun 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Icetro America is a leading manufacturer of commercial foodservice equipment, specializing in ice machines, soft serve ice cream machines, slush machines, and ice/water dispensers. The following conversation is with Trey Hoffman the VP of Marketing and VP of Operations for Icetro America.

National Disability Employment Awareness Month - Interview with Stephen Framil

Thu, 05 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Olark CEO, Ben Congleton, and Stephen Framil, Corporate Global Head of Accessibility at Merck, talk about improving access to good jobs for all.

National Disability Employment Awareness Month - Interview with Kelsey Hall

Tue, 26 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Olark CEO, Ben Congleton, talks with Kelsey Hall, Senior Director of User Experience and Head of Accessibility at ADP, to talk about improving access to good jobs for all.

National Disability Employment Awareness Month - Interview with Mike Shebanek

Wed, 20 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Olark CEO, Ben Congleton, talks with Mike Shebanek, Head of Accessibility at Facebook, to talk about improving access to good jobs for all.

National Disability Employment Awareness Month - Interview with Cat Noone

Tue, 19 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Olark CEO, Ben Congleton, sits down with Cat Noone, CEO and Co-Founder of Stark, to talk about improving access to good jobs for all.

National Disability Employment Awareness Month - Interview with Eve Hill

Thu, 07 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Olark CEO, Ben Congleton, and Eve Hill, Partner at Brown, Goldstein & Levy LLP, talk about improving access to good jobs for all.

National Disability Employment Awareness Month - Interview with Øystein Moseng

Wed, 30 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Olark CEO, Ben Congleton, and Øystein Moseng, CPO at Highcharts, discuss improving access to good jobs for all.

National Disability Employment Awareness Month - Interview with Regina Kline

Tue, 29 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Olark CEO, Ben Congleton, and Regina Kline, Founder and Managing Partner of Enable Ventures, talk about improving access to good jobs for all.

National Disability Employment Awareness Month - Interview with Jennison Asuncion

Mon, 28 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Olark CEO, Ben Congleton, talks with Jennison Asuncion, Head of Accessibility at A11y and Engineering Evangelism at LinkedIn, about improving access to good jobs for all.

National Disability Employment Awareness Month - Interview with Andrew Chung

Tue, 22 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Olark CEO, Ben Congleton, chats with David Dame, Chief Product Officer at Level Access, about improving access to good jobs for all.

National Disability Employment Awareness Month - Interview with David Dame

Wed, 16 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Olark CEO, Ben Congleton, discusses improving access to good jobs for all with David Dame, a senior director of accessibility at Microsoft.

National Disability Employment Awareness Month - Interview with Jason Meddaugh

Fri, 11 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Olark CEO, Ben Congleton, chats with Jason Meddaugh, Owner of A.T. Guys, about improving access to good jobs for all.

National Disability Employment Awareness Month - Interview with Sagar Barbhaya

Thu, 10 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Olark CEO, Ben Congleton, talks with Sagar Barbhaya, Head of Global Accessibility at TikTok about improving access to good jobs for all.

Is Live Chat Worth It? One Director from Disability Services Responds to Common Blockers to Adoption

Mon, 07 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

If you’re wondering whether live chat would be helpful to your office of disability services but still have some concerns, this one’s for you!

National Disability Employment Awareness Month - Interview with Jonathan Thurston

Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Olark CEO, Ben Congleton, sits down with Johnathan Thurston of Infinite Access to discuss improving access to good jobs for all.

Olark Joins Companies Nationwide in Observing National Disability Employment Awareness Month

Tue, 01 Oct 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Today we announced that we’re joining the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM). The campaign, which takes place every October, seeks to educate and celebrate.

Toward Accessible AI Chatbots: Olark’s Annual Report for GAAD (Year 3!)

Mon, 13 May 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Our third annual Global Accessibility Awareness Day reflection and commitment write-up.

Olark's Q1 2024 Accessibility Progress Report

Fri, 29 Mar 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Howdy! We just got home from an amazing week at the CSUN Assistive Technology Conference. Even though the quarter isn’t quite over, we’re feeling so energized from hanging out and learning with the accessibility community that we decided to make the update a little early.

Operation Sweet Support

Fri, 02 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Here at Olark, we’re always looking for new ways to surprise and delight our customers! We value making business human, and that includes recognizing the people making the business happen.

Olark’s Q4 2023 Accessibility Progress Report

Thu, 25 Jan 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Happy New Year! We just returned from our winter break and are excited to share the accessibility work we completed in the past couple months.

Leadership Lessons from Biking with Kids

Sun, 14 Jan 2024 22:06:04 +0000

My kids are some of my best teachers. One Sunday in October, we set out on what we thought was a 7 mile bike ride to meet mommy at a park near our house.

Olark's Q3 2023 Accessibility Progress Report

Thu, 02 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

As we enter the new quarter, we’re excited to share Olark’s first quarterly accessibility update. This is part of our commitment to both accessibility and working in the open as we try to make our products more accessible for everyone.

Olark’s Accessibility Journey: Annual Report for GAAD + the Messy Middle

Tue, 16 May 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) is this week! As part of this important celebration, we’re sharing our yearly progress and lessons in accessibility. This is a blogging tradition we started in 2021 (plus a deep dive on how we got started) and we continued the practice last year. Come along with us as we reflect!

Books for Moms in Higher Education Administration and Leadership

Tue, 15 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Leading up to Mother’s Day, we’re celebrating all the amazing moms in higher education who are assisting students administratively, often while raising up young minds at home. If you’re on that path, we know it’s a balancing act. We hope some of these books can help energize and inform you as you grow your career in higher education.

Salesforce and Olark Live Chat Integration: Tips & Use Cases

Mon, 05 Sep 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A lot of organizations tell us that their Salesforce CRM is their source of truth. “If it’s not in Salesforce, it didn’t happen.” Unfortunately, some organizations don’t have a Salesforce integration with their live chat platform, so not all of the truth actually gets back into their system. If you have a customer or prospect conversation in chat, you likely want an easy way to send a record of it to your CRM, so other staff who may talk to that individual can progress a situation smoothly. You may also want a way to quickly pull up their Salesforce history in the middle of a chat, hopefully without adding more work to your schedule.

Leadership Resources for Women in Higher Education Administration

Sat, 25 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0000

See some of our favorite professional networks and articles for women leaders in higher ed administration!

Today marks an exciting date on the calendar — Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD)!

Thu, 19 May 2022 17:02:28 +0000

Today marks an exciting date on the calendar — Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD)! Each year, technologists join a11ys and activists in the disability community to educate people about how to make digital experiences that are friendly to people with disabilities and anyone

Olark’s Accessibility Journey: Annual Report from GAAD

Thu, 19 May 2022 00:00:00 +0000

The Top Higher Ed KPIs To Track in Live Chat

Thu, 21 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

What higher ed key performance indicators (KPIs) are most valuable to track in live chat, and how might your team go about it? Here are our top tips!

Admissions Questions to Prepare For Your Live Chat Team

Thu, 14 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Is your admissions department getting started with live chat? Here are a few common inquiries from prospective students that you can start preparing for.

How to handle customer complaints effectively

Fri, 08 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Alex Ivanovs explains how customer support operators should talk to customers who aren

Top Books & Podcasts for Higher Ed Enrollment Leaders

Tue, 05 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0000

How 6 Industrial Service Businesses Grow with Live Chat

Tue, 15 Feb 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Manufacturing and industrial service businesses are boosting their sales and strengthening their customer relationships with live chat. See six use cases.

8 Unexpected Ways to Combine Live Chat and eCommerce

Thu, 27 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000

A good live chat experience can mean the difference between a frustrated visitor and a loyal customer. Below are some of the best strategies for using live chat to create a positive, personalized experience on your website.

Scheduling Times with Customers and Prospects - Made Easy with Olark

Wed, 26 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000

“Set up a time with your customers in seconds using the Calendly Olark integration.

Why Live Chat for Higher Ed?

Fri, 14 Jan 2022 00:00:00 +0000

Live chat is growing more common amongst higher ed institutions. It can lead to more student conversions and greater satisfaction, as these examples show.

Olark’s Accessibility Journey: how our people and our values pushed us to build better products for all

Wed, 19 May 2021 00:00:00 +0000

May 20th is Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD)! To celebrate, we are sharing Olark’s story: how we went from finding a couple of accessibility issues in our bug tracker to developing a WCAG 2.0 AA compliant chatbox and fostering a team committed to doing more to make Olark accessible (with a lot of work ahead of us).

Live Chat Accessibility: How We Got Here

Fri, 30 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

How do you make live chat accessible? At Olark, we turned to Accessible360. Learn more about our audit process and tips here!

7 Winning Examples of Olark Live Chat on Drupal Websites

Sat, 03 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

See how 7 businesses, from B2B to higher ed, are using live chat on Drupal to score more leads, boost customer satisfaction, and make the sale.

Canned responses for live chat: An overview of Olark Shortcuts

Mon, 01 Mar 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Olark Shortcuts are canned responses for live chat customer service, which make talking to customers is more efficient. Here are some canned responses examples.

Olark Live Chat to Zoom Video Call, Stat!

Fri, 29 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000

No more fiddling with videoconference links when you

8 Businesses Thriving with Live Chat on WordPress

Thu, 17 Dec 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Eight businesses (from B2B and B2C to nonprofit) share how they use live chat on WordPress to improve service, convert more leads, and boost sales.

WooCommerce and Live Chat: 6 Exciting Ecommerce Success Stories

Wed, 21 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

See success stories from 6 real ecommerce businesses using WooCommerce and live chat to increase their sales conversions and customer satisfaction.

6 Ways to Inspire Your Remote Team’s Creativity

Tue, 13 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Inspiring a remote team

How to combine PPC ads and Olark Live Chat to increase conversions

Wed, 02 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Jacob Baadsgaard, CEO of Disruptive Advertising, explains how to combine UTM parameters and proactive live chat prompts to customize customer conversations.

How we skipped our trip to Vegas and ran a remote engineering retreat during a pandemic

Mon, 24 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

How Olark ran a remote engineering retreat - successfully and virtually - during a pandemic.

Statement of Solidarity and Action for Black Lives Matter

Tue, 18 Aug 2020 00:00:00 +0000

Olark

How to start matching your employees' donations in 10 minutes or less

Thu, 04 Jun 2020 15:16:24 +0000

Many years ago Olark put our donation matching program in place. This program was spearheaded by a member of our DevOps team back when we were a tiny company.

How to start matching your employees

Thu, 04 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0000

My goal is to help you realize how simple it is to administer a donation matching program for a startup or small business and have you running in minutes.

Creating remote watercooler moments

Thu, 26 Mar 2020 00:00:00 +0000

The most common arguments against remote working is remote teams miss opportunities to have ‘watercooler moments’. The Olark team shows it is possible to create space for casual conversation and support as a remote team!

Announcing a new, simpler pricing plan

Fri, 24 Jan 2020 00:00:00 +0000

More flexibility, and easier to use. We

When my blindspots almost cost me my career

Tue, 17 Dec 2019 18:52:33 +0000

Do you know the positive and negative impacts you have on your coworkers? “Find out who you are and do it on purpose.” ― Dolly Parton Many years ago I failed to mediate a conflict between two of my teammates.

From 0 to 10: Making the “right” decisions

Wed, 11 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

This post is the fourth in our 10 year anniversary series. Want to catch up? Read the series intro, Olark’s origin story, and our road to a co-created culture.

Small business at the holidays: 5 tips to prep for the holiday customer service load

Tue, 10 Dec 2019 00:00:00 +0000

The most wonderful time of the year can also be one of the most stressful. Here

Small Business at the Holidays: How to Rock Multiple Customer Service Channels

Tue, 26 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Phone, email, chat — today’s holiday shopper wants to reach you in multiple ways. Here

Small business at the holidays: 4 ways to boost your online sales this season

Mon, 18 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

You don

Holiday shopping, PowerUps, and you

Thu, 07 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Feeling the creep of holiday stress? Olark is here to help! You

Why you (yes, you, the CEO) should be talking directly to customers

Thu, 07 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000

In 2013, four years after co-founding Olark, I was waiting for some friends to order at a Starbucks in Mumbai when a woman approached me and commented on my Virginia Tech t-shirt. I was jet-lagged, but energized — being in a new place always gives me energy — and eager to connect with people. So, even though I was just barely finding my footing after only 8 hours in a city that couldn’t have been more different from Palo Alto, I struck up a conversation.

Starting remote employees on the right foot

Thu, 03 Oct 2019 00:00:00 +0000

I’ll never forget the second day of my first remote job. The first day was the usual — signing all the things, attending all the things, logging into all the things. But when the second day arrived, I had no idea what to do.

From 0 to 10: Our bumpy (but worth it!) road to a co-created culture

Wed, 28 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

This post is the third in our 10 year anniversary series. Want to catch up? Read the series intro and Olark’s origin story.

Dos and don’ts for building a remote team: Lessons from a hiring manager

Wed, 14 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Most of us have had at least one bad hiring experience — a recruiter who got too aggressive (or, conversely, ghosted), an interviewer who showed up unprepared, or even an unpleasant post-hire moment when we realized the job wasn’t what we’d been led to believe. But as someone who’s been part of this process for more than a decade, I’m still shocked by some of my friends’ and colleagues’ hiring horror stories. Who are these people, I wonder, who are so blasé about hiring? Do they not understand the stakes?

From 0 to 10: How we built an unconventional Silicon Valley startup

Wed, 07 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

This month, Olark turns 10! It’s hard to believe that a business we started as a post-college side project has grown into a 30+ person company. We’ve served tens of thousands of customers, generated tens of millions in revenue, and experienced our fair share of failures amidst a full decade of sustainable innovation and growth.

From 0 to 10: Starting a business by solving our own problems

Wed, 07 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0000

This post is the second in our “From 0 to 10” anniversary series. You can read the series introduction here.

Beyond CSAT: Choosing (and using) the right metrics for your customer service team

Thu, 25 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

About two years ago, a member of Olark’s customer service team decided to run an experiment. Sarah Betts spent three months responding to chats under three different names and avatars — first as “Samuel”, featuring a male profile photo, then as “Sam”, featuring a bit of androgynous clipart, and finally as herself, Sarah, with the same photo she’d used as a live chat agent for the past several years.

How a 5-stage design thinking framework helps our small team solve customer problems

Fri, 12 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Remember the Great Comcast Scandal of 2014? I’ll sum it up to spare you an unpleasant trip through the news archives: customer calls Comcast to cancel, and ends up on the phone for 30+ minutes with a representative who essentially refuses to accommodate their request.

50+ Ways Olark can help you level up sales and support

Fri, 21 Jun 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Olark is here to help you level up your sales and support using the powers of our real time chat box widget. Save time and delight your customers all year long.

Should you use machine translation to talk to your customers ?

Thu, 02 May 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Machine translation has improved dramatically in a very short period of time, and that means that it

All Hands Support

Wed, 01 May 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Learn how to talk to your customers and have a great time doing it! What is All Hands Support? How do you do All Hands Support on a remote team? The Olark team has refined the practice over 10 years.

Top benefits of live chat vs. other online communication

Wed, 01 May 2019 00:00:00 +0000

What is the best way for your customers to contact you? In a world of so many options, it can be hard to decide. Check out our guide to the top benefits of live chat.

We're tidying up your Olark dashboard navigation

Wed, 01 May 2019 00:00:00 +0000

We’ve updated the Olark dashboard! Product Designer Taylor LeCroy talks about the decisions behind the new look.

4 Tips for Selling to Multilingual Customers

Tue, 30 Apr 2019 00:00:00 +0000

As of December 2017, barely a quarter of internet users spoke English as their primary language — which is to say that if you

5 benefits of using a simple CRM

Tue, 30 Apr 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Learn how these 5 benefits of CRM can help you collect and easily keep track of customer data to help you improve your sales process.

Step-by-Step Guide to Outsourcing Live Chat Customer Service Agents

Tue, 30 Apr 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Complete guide to hiring outsourced live chat customer service agents — Where to find them, how to interview them, and how to onboard them.

Kick Your Small Business Website

Thu, 03 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0000

Using tools like live chat and video to create a more human presence on your website will make customers feel comfortable buying from you. Here

Make December 31st a day of Reflection and Intention

Mon, 31 Dec 2018 19:58:21 +0000

I don’t often take time to reflect and reset. And yet, I’ve found that every time I sit down and reflect it helps me recenter, gives me a sense of peace, and makes my path forward more clear.

How we define Customer Service: The sweet spot between sales and support

Wed, 26 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000

In summer 2017, the Olark team decided to focus our brand and product development on a new use case: live chat for sales.

Build Your Own Support Survival Kit

Wed, 19 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000

If you work in sales or support, you know the importance of empathizing with your customers and leads. You may also be familiar with that fatigued feeling at the end of the day (or sometimes by 9am!) of expending all your empathy on others and having very little left for yourself. Building a simple kit based on the 5 senses will help you recover and prepare for the next interaction before you can calculate the cost of a 2 week trip to Bali.

(Video) How we bootstrapped a 10,000 customer business

Wed, 12 Dec 2018 00:00:00 +0000

In this video, our founders talk about starting a bootstrapped business and the challenges they faced.

Ultimate Guide to Remote Office Parties

Wed, 21 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Make the most of your content marketing with content-specific chat prompts

Tue, 20 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Jake Baadsgaard of Disruptive Advertising explains how his firm uses Olark Live Chat to increase conversions from their content marketing.

How Olark Defined Our Company Values

Thu, 15 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

What are company values? Olark took a big leap in 2012. The team collaborated at a company retreat to write our now famous values, CHAMPS. An interview with Ben Congleton explores how we made a values statement everyone could support.

6 Popup Strategies That Will Help You Boost Ecommerce Conversions

Wed, 14 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

How can you increase conversions on your eCommerce website? Greg d

Our top 7 live chat tips for small businesses

Tue, 13 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Manage live web chat for your small business with simple tips from the experts at Olark

The ABCs of CRMs: Organize yourself for better relationships

Tue, 13 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

How a live chat solution can integrate with a CRM to provide more personalized customer interactions.

How to Build Trust with your Customers

Tue, 06 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Trust is an essential component of a good customer relationship - these tips will teach you how to build customer trust to increase sales and ensure loyalty.

Chat targeting tips and tricks: How to hit the bullseye with automated live chat rules

Tue, 06 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Get tips and tricks for using automated chat rules to engage visitors, reduce bounce rates, and target sales campaigns with Olark Live Chat.

Five quick tips on how to say no to customers

Tue, 06 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Saying no to a customer is one of the toughest parts of any sales or support job. Here are five quick tips on how to say no to customers clearly, positively, and constructively.

Seven quick tips to help you breeze through chats

Tue, 06 Nov 2018 00:00:00 +0000

One of the primary benefits of live chat over other methods of sales or support is the ability to help multiple people quickly and efficiently. Here are seven tips to help make chatting a quick and pleasnat experience for you and your customers!

Customer Service Trends in Germany

Tue, 09 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

How are digital customer service trends such as chatbots and live chat driving innovation for the Mittelstand in Germany? Caroline Klein of Bynder explains.

Customer Service Trends in the Netherlands

Tue, 09 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Customer service trends in the Netherlands are changing. Read how Dutch companies are using WhatsApp, chatbots, and social media to connect with consumers.

UK Customer Service Trends

Tue, 09 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Jack Saville of Bynder shares what trends are affecting customer service in the UK, including Brexit, self-service, and the rise of live chat.

How an ISO Certified Company Uses Live Chat

Thu, 04 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

How live chat helps maintain an ISO 9001:2015 Certification.

How to make live chat part of your social selling strategy

Mon, 24 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Connecting with customers through social media, forums, and other socially-minded sites is an increasingly common sales approach that

New: Visitor Information Panel & Custom Profile Fields

Mon, 24 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

To really connect with someone, you need to understand their context. What problem are they trying to solve with your product? How did they hear about your company? Are they considering switching away from one of your competitors, and if so, why?

How does a fully remote team work through tricksy support situations?

Wed, 05 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Dealing with complex support issues can be challenging when you work remotely and your team is entirely distributed. Here

Olark Company Retreat 2018. Where are the Olarkers?

Fri, 24 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

How to Combine Effective Writing, Great Design, and Live Chat for the Perfect Content Marketing Strategy

Mon, 06 Aug 2018 00:00:00 +0000

For a small business owner, taking the first steps toward implementing a content marketing strategy can be daunting. From keyword optimization, to SEO, for structured data, there

New: Save customer insights — and put ‘em to work! — with Notes

Tue, 31 Jul 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Notes are a new Olark Live Chat feature to help you capture the insights you gain on chat, share them with your team, and use them to nurture leads and upsell returning customers. Here

Increase sales on your Shopify store for Christmas

Mon, 25 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Richard Protheroe of Veeqo explains how a few simple updates can better prepare a Shopify store for holiday sales.

Case Study: Using automated messages to boost ecommerce conversion rates

Wed, 13 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Earlier this year, we made a simple change to the automated messages we send to greet visitors on our website — one that ended up tripling our chat engagement rates and improving our understanding of our customers

From support to full stack engineer

Mon, 04 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Alicia spills the beans about how she moved from Customer Service at Olark to being a Fullstack Engineer.

Managing a successful customer service team: When it all goes wrong

Fri, 01 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Managing a customer service team is a challenge - and surprisingly similar to farming! No, seriously.

From GDP-argh to GDP-aah: Olark is ready for GDPR

Wed, 30 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Any new legislation can cause anxiety for small businesses, and the GDPR is causing many folks a lot of stress. Fortunately, the team at Olark has produced a whole new suite of tools to help you manage the data you collect and store on our platform.

Where does live chat fit in the sales funnel?

Wed, 30 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Is live chat part of your sales funnel? In this article we share how creating Olark Shortcuts will help your team better answer broad pre-sale questions.

New! Capture leads and sales from around the world with the Live Chat Translation PowerUp.

Wed, 23 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Don

How Olarkers #Chill

Thu, 17 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Taking time to care for yourself is important. The Olark team lives the value of Chill in many inspiring ways.

Myth-busting: If I am working from home, I am slacking

Mon, 14 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Does working from home mean you are slacking? The Olark myth-busters investigate.

Managing a successful customer service team: Help is your friend

Thu, 10 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Managing a customer service team is a challenge - and surprisingly similar to farming! No, seriously.

Managing a successful customer service team: How to prioritize like a farmer

Thu, 10 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Managing a customer service team is a challenge - and surprisingly similar to farming! No, seriously.

Making Live Chat Human: Optimization vs. Sentiment Analysis

Tue, 08 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

How does artificial intelligence help businesses understand how their customers are feeling? Michael Housman of RapportBoost.AI explains live chat optimization.

Nominate your service team for a Sweet Support prize!

Fri, 04 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Olark wants to celebrate support wins. Share your support story and win candy for the team.

How Reno Assistance uses Olark Live Chat to turn prospects into actual customers

Thu, 03 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Reno Assistance uses a chat widget to qualify 25% more leads than phone or email. Read how this Canadian company is growing its business using Olark Live Chat on its website.

A guide to choosing the perfect WordPress theme

Wed, 02 May 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Here are the key things to consider to make sure you install the right theme for your needs, whether you’re choosing a WordPress theme for your own business, or helping a friend or client set up a new WordPress site.

6 Tips for Chat Routing and Filtering

Wed, 25 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Filter chats and automatically assign them to the team or agent best equipped to help, using Olark

Improve your customer experience with the new Visitor Cobrowsing PowerUp

Thu, 19 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

“Get on the same page as your site visitors with our latest PowerUp, Visitor Cobrowsing. Solve problems faster and provide an exceptional experience to your customers.

A public apology to our otherworldly customers

Wed, 18 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

A public apology to our otherworldly customers

Managing a successful customer service team: Tips from a farmer, part one

Tue, 03 Apr 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Managing a customer service team is a challenge - and surprisingly similar to farming! No, seriously.

Emerging Trends in UK Customer Service [Interviews]

Fri, 30 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

10 UK-based small businesses discuss emerging trends in customer service, including a growing preference for online live chat, Brexit, and personalization.

The Future of Customer Service in the UK

Fri, 30 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Small businesses in the United Kingdom share what Customer Service trends they

[Video] Live chat for Slack — Meet the Olark Slack App

Tue, 27 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Want to chat with your customers directly from Slack? The Olark Live Chat Slack App makes that possible! You can also share conversations with teammates in Slack, ask for help when things get busy, and celebrate together when one of your team members gets a 5-star customer rating.

5 ways to know if remote work is right for you

Thu, 22 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Thinking about looking for remote work? Consider these five questions to learn whether working remotely is a good fit for you.

How to find a remote job in 6 steps

Thu, 22 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Do you want to find a remote job, and don

Best practices for getting started with live chat

Wed, 21 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

An overview on the steps every new Olark Live Chat user should take to get started.

Guru's Guide to Live Chat: How do I control how many chats I get?

Wed, 21 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

What if I get too many chats? Bill Thompson of Olark Live Chat explains how users can control the number of chats they receive and prevent being overwhelmed by customers.

What Would Barbara Do: Best practices in escalating an issue

Thu, 15 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

You can

Implicit gender bias in customer service: What the data tells us

Tue, 13 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Does gender bias impact customer service interactions? Sarah Betts of Olark discusses results from her gender equality experiment on live chat.

New Visitor Insights PowerUps — doing your live chat sales homework since 2018

Mon, 12 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Selling online with live chat? Get quick and easy access to information about your prospects, including their job titles, interests, and social profile links.

What Would Barbara Do: 6 ways to stay cheerful while live chatting

Fri, 09 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Most chats are improved when you can stay cheerful while chatting. Barbara shares her tips for keeping yourself in good spirits.

What Would Barbara Do: 7 things you could be doing now to support more users at once

Thu, 15 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Want to handle more concurrent chats? Barbara

Lighting of the Redwood: A remote celebration

Thu, 08 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Olark

Newlarkers: How we train new members of Olark

Thu, 08 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Being a remote-first company means hiring and training new additions to our team remotely, too. Check out how we train new members of our support team!

Olarkers unleashed: The benefits of remote working

Thu, 08 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Wondering about the benefits of remote working? Want to have a peek inside some Olarker lives? Come on in…

What Would Barbara Do: How do I handle trolls?

Thu, 08 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

How should you handle inappropriate or obnoxious chatters? Barbara shares what she likes to do!

What Would Barbara Do: Exiting a chat that

Thu, 01 Feb 2018 00:00:00 +0000

What should you do if you need to leave a chat? Barbara has some advice….

Behind the Olark: Cram Fighter

Fri, 26 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +0000

When scaling a popular mobile app, it

What Would Barbara Do: Send a transcript!

Thu, 25 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +0000

How should you make sure your visitors remember the info you

What I've learned from talking about my bipolar disorder at work

Tue, 23 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +0000

“Olark’s Director of Service talks about the challenge of being vulnerable as a leader, and about how her own struggles have inspired her to support her team.

What Would Barbara Do: What is the best way to reassure a vistor that you haven

Thu, 11 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +0000

What Would Barbara Do: Does phrasing matter?

Thu, 04 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +0000

I like to end my chats with “Thanks for stopping by!” but some of my colleagues use “It was a pleasure talking with you!” Is one better than the other?

9 Low effort ways to kickstart your new working year

Wed, 03 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +0000

When it comes to getting back to work, you are not alone if you have a head full of cotton balls, and are wondering if a quick nap at 11am is permitted.

What Would Barbara Do: How can I answer the question

Wed, 03 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +0000

How can you be friendly on chat AND stay on topic? Barbara returns to tell you what she would do!

What Would Barbara Do: Humans make mistakes too

Wed, 03 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Everyone makes mistakes on chat. Here

[Podcast] How one SaaS company provides Customer Happiness

Thu, 28 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Kendall of Acuity Scheduling explains what Customer Happiness is and how her remote team works together to amaze their customers on a daily basis.

Olark 2017 Year in Review

Thu, 21 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Happy Holidays! Here

Making Business Human: Join the Conversation

Thu, 14 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Learn about Olark

Introducing, “What Would Barbara Do?”

Tue, 12 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

What’s the best way to greet a visitor when they start a chat? Our longest serving agent, Barbara is here to help with her trademarked, Barbara

Networking Like A Human

Tue, 12 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Does the very word “Networking” make you cringe? It doesn

Making Business Human: Bennett Awards + Recognize Someone

Tue, 05 Dec 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Bob Bennett and his team came up with a simple concept—a website where anyone could submit a nomination for an “everyday hero” who deserved recognition.

Make Your Business Human: Shared Intimacy

Sat, 18 Nov 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Nathan Kontny, CEO of Highrise, shares a story about macarons and why sending emails about what he did over the weekend is helping him connect with customers.

What being a Mom has taught me about customer service

Fri, 17 Nov 2017 00:00:00 +0000

What can raising two kids teach a customer service pro of 20+ years about how to handle customers, complaints, and live chat effectively? Actually…a lot!

How to manage Customer Service during the holidays

Fri, 10 Nov 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Peggy of Timesheets.com explains how to staff customer service during the holidays so your team isn

Behind the Olark: Managing Addiction Treatment Processes with Live Chat

Wed, 08 Nov 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Rivermend Health shares how it uses Olark live chat software on its website to help those seeking treatment for addiction and mental health issues.

8 Awesome Examples of Olark Live Chat on Squarespace

Thu, 02 Nov 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Want to add live chat to your Squarespace website? You can install Olark Live Chat on Squarespace in minutes, and customize it to match your theme.

How to reach Olark during our annual company retreat

Mon, 30 Oct 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Once a year, the team at Olark takes a retreat to reflect and plan for the future of live chat. While we

How to handle customer complaints effectively: USING CAPS IN CHAT

Thu, 26 Oct 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Helpful tips on how to handle customer complaints effectively when customers are using all caps in live chat on your website.

Service Standards: The challenge of making them human

Thu, 26 Oct 2017 00:00:00 +0000

In this article, Rhoda Meek offers the history of customer service standards at Olark and explains why we choose to share our standards with the world.

Visual canned response examples to make your chats more human

Tue, 24 Oct 2017 00:00:00 +0000

A sample of visual live chat canned response examples that are available using the Shortcuts feature in Olark. Send emojis and annotated screenshots.

Behind the Olark: Kit Out My Office

Wed, 18 Oct 2017 00:00:00 +0000

"Half our offline orders orginate on chat." Read how Kit Out My Office grew its ecommerce sales using Olark live chat software on its website.

How to organize sales leads from live chat

Tue, 17 Oct 2017 00:00:00 +0000

When the top of your sales funnel is full, a simple CRM can organize sales leads from live chat. Alessandra of GreenRope provides tips on how to stay organized.

3 types of personalized eCommerce emails you should be sending your customers

Wed, 11 Oct 2017 00:00:00 +0000

In this how-to article, Daniel Kohn of SmartMail.io shares three ways to personalize automated emails, measure their efficacy, and improve conversion.

How three Ecommerce businesses use live chat to boost sales

Wed, 04 Oct 2017 00:00:00 +0000

As the holiday shopping season approaches, we look at three Olark customers using live chat software on their websites to increase sales and conversions.

Creating Webhooks Integrations for Olark

Sun, 24 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000

How to connect live chat and CRMs using Webhooks.

Effective Olark API Use: Grabbing WordPress data

Sun, 24 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Learn how to use the Olark API to grab customer data from customers logged into Wordpress.

Introducing the Olark Live Chat and MailChimp integration

Sun, 24 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000

With Olark Live Chat software for your website and MailChimp for your email newsletters, you can improve sales, conversions, and marketing efforts. Here

Now available for Olark: Front, the inbox for teams

Sun, 24 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Collaborating with your sales and support teams on customer communication just got a whole lot easier with the Olark Live Chat and Front app integration.

How to integrate Salesforce and Olark Live Chat

Thu, 21 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000

In this article, we explain how the Olark live chat Salesforce integration can help your business uncover more leads and close more sales.

Introducing the JIRA-Olark Live Chat Integration: A triumph of efficiency in customer service!

Wed, 20 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000

It’s now possible to create detailed JIRA tickets straight from the Olark Live Chat chat console! Learn how our support engineers use the JIRA integration.

Why a simple CRM and live chat can help small businesses

Wed, 20 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Olark co-founder Zach Steindler explains why linking website live chat software to a simple CRM is vital for small business success.

Behind the Olark: How Collage.com uses live chat to hone their customer service and product positioning

Thu, 14 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Collage.com has been using Olark Live Chat to inform marketing and help customers since 2014. Read their reflections and tips in the Olark blog!

eCommerce Performance Optimization: Is Your Store Ready For Black Friday And Cyber Monday?

Wed, 13 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000

The holiday season is almost here, but is your eCommerce store performance optimized to offer the best experience as traffic goes through the roof?

How we migrated 500K+ customer cases to Help Scout

Thu, 07 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000

In June 2017, the Olark Customer Service team successfully moved all customer records, workflows, and accounts to a new help desk. Here

Live chat data from the Olark Research Corner

Wed, 06 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Olark data guru Ben Schultz shares 3 live chat data points: median response times, success rate of proactive chat, and account size/response time correlation.

How to use transcripts to increase conversion rates and profits

Tue, 05 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Giles Adam Thomas provides a system for reviewing live chat transcripts and using commonly used keywords to improve conversion rates on marketing landing pages.

It’s a phone! It’s a chat! It’s a mobile live chat! How to use Olark to chat on mobile

Tue, 05 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Learn to use Olark mobile chat to capture sales leads, increase conversions, and provide support. Chat with mobile visitors, or from your mobile device.

Behind the Olark: Upper 90 Soccer

Fri, 01 Sep 2017 00:00:00 +0000

By adding one additional customer service agent on Olark live chat, Ben Jata and the team at Upper 90 converted $40,000 in sales in six months. Here

12 unique and effective uses of website pop ups in eCommerce

Thu, 31 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Grant Thomas, Marketing Manager for JustUno, shares 12 creative (and effective) ways to use pop ups to increase conversions.

Why Support Should be Part of Your Startup Marketing Plan

Thu, 31 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0000

If you

Make Your Business Human: Relatable Writing

Wed, 30 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Brad Shorr of Straight North explains how to make your business stand out: make your marketing and sales copy more human. Keep it simple and show some emotion!

10 things you want to know about Olark Live Chat

Thu, 24 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0000

10 of the most frequently asked questions about Olark Live Chat.

A day in the life of a live chat salesperson

Thu, 24 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0000

18 months and 17,000 conversations on Olark Live Chat. John Dubock of BuildTools.com shares what a day in the life of a salesperson on chat is really like.

All Hands Support: Zapier and SurveyGizmo

Thu, 24 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0000

How Zapier and SurveyGizmo provide great customer service through live chat.

How to onboard new live chat operators

Thu, 24 Aug 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Best practices from Olark and other customer-centric companies on how to onboard new live chat operators in advance of Cyber Monday.

Using live chat to improve lead generation and increase conversions

Mon, 24 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0000

This article explains how CMOs can use live chat to increase conversions and sales outside of business hours.

It's 2017 and Mental Health is still an issue in the workplace.

Thu, 06 Jul 2017 15:54:17 +0000

Last week a personal email I wrote was retweeted over 7,000 times, and liked by almost 30k people. I had friends reaching out to me stating that I was “Blowing up on their twitter feed.

Our world is no longer flat

Thu, 06 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Co-founder Matt Pizzimenti talks about how the remote team behind Olark live chat software abandoned its flat structure and overhauled how it communicates.

How clever automated live chat messages increase conversion rates

Wed, 05 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0000

How to increase conversions using clever live chat Greeters.

A history of customer service

Tue, 20 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000

A brief history of customer service since the dawn of man.

How a SaaS company evolves its front-end tech stack

Mon, 19 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Olark engineer Phillip Whisenhunt explains how Olark continues to refine its front-end tech stack with JavaScript and Flux by trying new technologies slowly.

How not to suck at hiring in 4 steps

Mon, 19 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Kara Silverman of acast podcasts offers four easy steps to improve hiring and onboarding new employees.

Olark - The first three years

Mon, 19 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Olark co-founder Zach Steindler recalls the first three years of Olark live chat software and the unexpected benefits of raising its prices.

Stretching holiday revenue into the new year

Mon, 19 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Angelica Valentine of Wiser offers ways in which retailers and eCommerce sites can stretch revenue and sales past the holiday shopping season.

Why we do All Hands Support at Olark

Mon, 19 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Olark co-founder Ben Congleton explains how All Hands Support started and why it

How to handle customer complaints effectively - Avoid escalation

Sat, 17 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Handling customer complaints effectively often means not escalating a problem through multiple customer support departments, but owning it from start to finish.

Why All Hands Support is beneficial for public relations (Updated)

Sat, 17 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000

If you work in public relations or media relations, spend time on customer support to understand the story from your customer

3 tips for onboarding new employees [Podcast]

Tue, 13 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000

When onboarding new employees, Kimberly Bringas of Olark says there are 3 things to keep in mind to ensure a successful process to help new hires succeed.

How not to get frustrated on customer support [Podcast]

Tue, 13 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Customer Happiness Consultant Brooke Gosden offers tips for avoiding frustration on customer support, particularly when having a bad day…

How Jane Clayton makes bespoke ordering easy with live chat

Fri, 02 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000

How a UK-based bespoke design company uses live chat to close international sales.

How TRULY takes a data driven approach to live chat

Fri, 02 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Olark customer TRULY explains how they increased live chat volume and sales.

Retail lessons for 2016

Fri, 02 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Olark customers share lessons learned during the holiday retail season - how to staff, how to load balance customer support, and being data driven.

How ClickMechanic uses Olark Live Chat to take Guesswork Out of Auto Repairs

Thu, 18 May 2017 00:00:00 +0000

How the CX team at ClickMechanic in the UK uses Olark Live Chat website software to answer customer

5 Affordable DIY Digital Business Solutions

Wed, 17 May 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Ashley Dull of CardRates.com shares 5 tools that small businesses can use to boost lead gen, fill the sales funnel, and improve customer experience.

What we learned at ConversionXL Live

Wed, 19 Apr 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Olark Live Chat team just got back from ConversionXL Live where we talked to some of the top CRO experts in the field. Here

Introducing the Olark and HubSpot integration

Thu, 13 Apr 2017 00:00:00 +0000

The Olark Live Chat and HubSpot integration is in HubSpot Connect. Help your sales and support teams work smarter with this marketing software for your website.

What happens at SupConf...gets posted on the Olark blog

Fri, 07 Apr 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Sarah Betts of Olark Live Chat shares her experience at SupConf Seattle, produced by Support Driven.

Why ongoing education is vital to a customer support team

Tue, 04 Apr 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Olark Live Chat is partnering with Support Driven to present Support Driven Exposition (SDX) 2017. Learn how to advance your customer support career!

How SupConf went from an idea to a customer support conference

Mon, 03 Apr 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Kimberly Bringas interviews Scott Tran, founder of Support Driven and organizer of SupConf, to share what this customer support conference is all about.

Why you should consider regulatory and brand compliance in live chat

Fri, 31 Mar 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Should you be reviewing live chat transcripts for regulatory and brand compliance? Good question. Olark and PerformLine share 5 reasons why you should.

What is the Olark retreat?

Wed, 29 Mar 2017 00:00:00 +0000

An overview of how Olark Live Chat arranges its annual company retreat for its remote team.

5 ways to increase conversions in online retail

Tue, 21 Mar 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Jess Mizerak of Antavo explains why being human and personal is key for online retailers that want to increase conversions.

Olark Live Chat named a 2017 Gold Stevie Award winner

Mon, 13 Mar 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Olark Live Chat wins a 2017 Gold Stevie Award for Customer Service Department of the Year. Thank you to all our customers who use Olark for sales and support!

Olark + Nutshell: How a CRM will help your team close sales

Wed, 08 Mar 2017 00:00:00 +0000

The Olark Live Chat and Nutshell CRM integration enables users to pass chat transcripts to a CRM database for a unified view of customer communications.

Why Churn is killing your SaaS business

Wed, 08 Mar 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Sunir Shah of Olark Live Chat explains why churn is more important to your SaaS business than generating new prospects.

Are chatbots useful? A narrative of adventures in the seas of eCommerce

Tue, 07 Mar 2017 00:00:00 +0000

In Part 2 of

Are chatbots useful? An eCommerce quest to buy pants

Tue, 07 Mar 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Ted Carmichael tries (and fails) to buy a pair of pants using automated, ecommerce bots. He shares his trials and tribulations here on the Olark blog.

Updated Olark features (November 2015)

Tue, 07 Mar 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Olark co-founder and product guru, Roland Osborne, explains the new features that were added in October.

Why we created Olark Live Chat

Wed, 01 Mar 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Olark Live Chat CEO Ben Congleton explains why he created a startup and tips that entrepreneurs should follow to do what they love.

5 Tips for integrating chat into your customer support

Tue, 28 Feb 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Mat Patterson of Help Scout offers 5 ways to roll out live chat for your website so your customer support team is set up for success.

3 Big Ideas from the NRF Big Show for Small Retail Success

Tue, 14 Feb 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Following the National Retail Federation Big Show, Tim Parry shares eCommerce lessons that small businesses can learn from big retailers.

The power of love: How to turn Valentine’s Day customers into lifelong customers

Fri, 10 Feb 2017 00:00:00 +0000

Building long term customer relationships can start with Valentine’s Day, read more tips from BigCommerce and Olark Live Chat.

Does live chat work? How to measure success analytically

Wed, 11 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000

OnePageCRM explains how they determined if live chat was a successful use of their company

The history of CRM software: How did we get here and where are we headed?

Tue, 03 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000

What

5 Marketing Tools That Will Get You More Sales Meetings (Hint: They Are All Free To Start)

Thu, 22 Dec 2016 00:00:00 +0000

With the myriad of martech tools available, Alex Lopes of Sharebird gives his recommendations for 5 platforms that will increase your number of sales meetings.

How to reach Olark during the 2016 holidays

Thu, 22 Dec 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Olark co-founder and CEO Ben Congleton recaps major feature updates from the past year, and how to reach Olark Customer Support during the last week of 2016.

Make customer service more human by combining Olark and Help Scout

Wed, 07 Dec 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Refreshed and even better, our updated Help Scout partnership brings even more support tools to your CS team.

[Video] Omnichannel retailer Homage shares customer support tips for holiday shopping season

Wed, 23 Nov 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Jordan Vidra talks about how the Customer Support All-Stars at Homage provide an omnichannel customer experience that forges strong customer relationships.

[Video] 8 things retailers should know before the holiday shopping season

Tue, 22 Nov 2016 00:00:00 +0000

The holiday shopping season is here! Learn what top retailers and eCommerce businesses are doing to improve the customer experience to increase sales.

Case Study: Smart Pension uses live chat data for partnerships

Wed, 26 Oct 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Chatting your customers gives you a wealth of actionable data. Smart Pension explains how they relized they could use their chat data to forge better partnerships for their customers.

3 quick fixes to improve conversion rates on your website

Wed, 05 Oct 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Brandon Liebowitz, founder of SEO Optimizers, explains how three quick fixes on your website and landing pages can help increase conversions.

Create a revenue report for live chat in Google Analytics

Fri, 30 Sep 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Did you know you can measure how many sales you close via live chat? Here

Get more from Olark with Groove help desk

Fri, 16 Sep 2016 00:00:00 +0000

The redesigned integration for Groove Help Desk and Olark Live Chat helps businesses bring all customer support channels together in one place.

Olark Live Chat and Google Analytics integration documentation

Thu, 08 Sep 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Alicia Suttie of Olark Live Chat explains why she got Google Analytics certified and what

[Whitepaper] Olark + Google Analytics: Live chat business intelligence

Thu, 11 Aug 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Do you really know if live chat is meeting your business goals? David Kutcher of Confluent Forms explains how to use Google Analytics to know for sure.

What is Customer Experience?

Wed, 10 Aug 2016 00:00:00 +0000

What comprises the Customer Experience, and what trends are driving it? We share insight and an infographic that answer both questions.

[Podcast] What is the Olark parental leave plan?

Wed, 03 Aug 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Olark HR and Culture Enthusiast Kimberly Bringas explains the Olark parental leave policy, how we created it and what it was like for new dad, Nick Crohn.

[Case Study] How Upsie uses Olark to instill customer confidence at checkout

Thu, 21 Jul 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Clarence Bethea of Upsie explains how his team uses Olark Live Chat to instill confidence in customers who need a warranty for their personal electronics.

Introducing Olark Hummingbird our new mobile experience

Tue, 12 Jul 2016 16:54:55 +0000

We launched Olark Hummingbird today, a complete rewrite of our mobile experience. I could not be more proud of our team.

[Case Study] Footwear meets philanthropy at Bombas

Tue, 07 Jun 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Olark customer Bombas is an excellent example of a company that is active in the community and doing more than just selling socks (although they do that too!)

Is the SMB SaaS market too tough?

Sun, 05 Jun 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Is the small business (SMB) SaaS market too tough? In the year 2016, what are the biggest challenges and distribution opportunities we are facing.

What to know about Elevate Summit

Sun, 05 Jun 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Nick O. talks with Sarah Hatter, founder of Elevate Summit, about what the conference entails and what attendees can expect to learn.

Effective Olark API Use: See visitor details in a live chat

Wed, 25 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Olark CTO Matt Pizzimenti explains how to use the Olark API to view visitor data during a live chat.

Why customers will spend more if you start with a smile

Tue, 10 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Richard Shapiro, author of The Endangered Customer, explains why a smile instills hope in customers, and why hope is key in customer service.

[Case Study] How The Black Tux does live chat customer support

Thu, 05 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Customer Service is driving growth for The Black Tux, and I got a firsthand look at what makes their Service team so effective.

13 things to know about building a website

Thu, 05 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Chris Pontine of creating a website today examines 13 points to consider when building an online store, including SEO, security, and pricing.

Are you hiring customer support champs?

Thu, 05 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Learn how the CHAMPS system can help you assemble the best possible customer support team.

Case Study: Turning customer problems into customer success stories

Thu, 05 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Tinfoil Security CTO and co-founder Michael Borohovski shares how his company got started with Olark live chat, how they

Effective Olark API Use: Explainer videos, diagnostic checks, and more...

Thu, 05 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000

How to use the Olark API to launch explainer videos and run system diagnostic tests.

Effective Olark API Use: Getting started with the Olark API

Thu, 05 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Helpful tips for getting started with the Olark Live Chat API.

Effective Olark API Use: Guarding against social engineering attacks

Thu, 05 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Matt Harris, founder of sendwithus, explains how using the Olark API will minimize the chances of a social engineering attack over live chat.

Effective Olark API Use: How StitchLabs uses our API

Thu, 05 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000

An Olark Customer shares a real world example of how they use the Olark API.

Effective Olark API Use: Sending messages via operator commands

Thu, 05 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000

How to use the Olark API to send custom made, clickable URLs in a live chat.

How a startup uses live chat to onboard new users and get product feedback

Thu, 05 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Ty Magnin describes how the Appcues team uses Olark to onboard new users faster and help them achieve success on the platform sooner.

How Nosh Detox is using live chat for sales

Thu, 05 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Olark customer Nosh Detox shows how they close sales on live chat.

Lessons from improving our API documentation

Thu, 05 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Olark provides helpful tips for writing effective API documentation.

Olark Live Chat Introduces Chat Ratings

Thu, 05 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000

A news release about the Olark Live Chat feature Chat Ratings.

Olark Live Chat Launches All Hands Support Month

Thu, 05 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Olark launches All Hands Support Month for the month of April 2014, emphasizing great customer service and customer happiness.

Olark Live Chat Offers New Sounds for Operator Notifications

Thu, 05 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Customer service operators using Olark Live Chat now have a choice of sounds to indicate a new chat has started.

Olark Live Chat Surpasses 10,000 Paying Subscribers

Thu, 05 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Olark Live Chat now has more than 10,000 paying customers.

pagerdutyduty - generating PagerDuty schedules

Thu, 05 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000

A helpful hack using the PagerDuty API to make a responsive support schedule.

Retail lessons for 2015

Tue, 08 Mar 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Learn how to prepare for the holiday shopping rush and what steps other retailers are taking to provide great service and close more sales.

3 Predictions for 2016: Technology Meets Customer Experience

Sun, 06 Mar 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Brent Summers of Segment tells Olark Live Chat why marketing technology, brands becoming publishers, and data getting a seat in the C-Suite are three trends driving change in customer experience in 2016.

What new Olark users should learn first (Don

Thu, 18 Feb 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Olark

Why Shopify store owners should focus on personalization in 2016

Thu, 04 Feb 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Shopify Masters podcast host, Felix Thea, explains why online retailers should focus on personalization this year to improve the customer experience.

[Podcast] How customer support benefits sales, and vice versa

Thu, 14 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Can sales tactics benefit your customer support team? Can doing customer support bolster your sales prowess? Yes, and Nick Oliverio of Olark Live Chat explains how.

3 Predictions for 2016: Why More Small Businesses Will Adopt Sales and Marketing Software

Tue, 12 Jan 2016 00:00:00 +0000

Brian Kelly of Nutshell explains how small businesses can adopt email marketing, customer intelligence, and CRM tools to be more effective in 2016.

How to reach Olark during the 2015 holidays

Tue, 22 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0000

From December 24 through January 4 customers can reach Olark support by emailing support@olark.com. This article outlines our holiday hours and how to reach Olark for support, as well as useful self-help articles.

[Podcast] On email support, a no good, very bad day...

Fri, 18 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Recently, the Olark support team had to handle a higher than usual volume of customer emails. In this article and audio interview, Rhoda Meek explains how the customer support team was able to quickly resolve auto-replies while providing a human response to actual replies.

[Podcast] What is customer support like on Cyber Monday?

Thu, 17 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Cyber Monday can be busy - very busy. Two Cyber Monday veterans, Adam Covalt of Bonobos and James Stillian of Man Crates, explain what customer support is like on the busiest online shopping day of the year.

[Podcast] What to do when things get busy on live chat

Thu, 17 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Ryan LaBarge, Olark Technical Support Samurai, shares his insight on what it

IT Security tips for startups, founders and entrepreneurs

Wed, 02 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0000

For startups, IT Security is a series of calculated risks and iterative decisions that start on

Create canned responses for faster live chat replies

Mon, 30 Nov 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Creating canned responses in Olark Live Chat will enable you to help customers faster. Here

The history of Cyber Monday

Thu, 19 Nov 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Where did Cyber Monday come from and what are sales and customer interactions like when the day arrives? Olark live chat explains it all.

Sell more on live chat this holiday shopping season

Mon, 19 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Sunir Shah of Olark explains how customer support plays a key role in sales over live chat.

Engineering All Hands Support

Tue, 13 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Olark

How Olark customers build their own creative company retreats

Thu, 08 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Learn how other small businesses host creative company retreats to help teammates bond.

LightningJS: safe, fast, and asynchronous third-party Javascript

Thu, 08 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Olark CTO Matt Pizzimenti explains why Javascript and LighteningJS are safe, fast and asynchronous options.

All Hands Support brings your team closer to your customers

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Sunir Shah shares tips on All Hands Support for great customer service.

All Hands Support: Clearfit and Freshbooks

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000

How Freshbooks and Clearfit provide great customer service over live chat.

All Hands Support: ZenPayroll, Wildbit, and Chrometa

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000

ZenPayroll, Wildbit and Chrometa shares their best practices for getting everyone involved with customer support.

Don't break the Internet with your Javascript

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Olark CTO Matt Pizzimenti explains how Olark Javascript reads live chat messages and returns data.

Guest Post: Improving conversions with live chat

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000

How to increase conversions using live chat and messaging.

How we created the Olark tweet your logo form

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000

How Olark created a social media marketing campaign around a

The Guru's Guide To Happiness: All Hands Support

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000

The benefits of having engineers, marketing and even the CEO help with customer support.

The Guru’s Guide to Happiness: How to keep a remote team united

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000

How Olark keeps a remote team of 30 and more team members around the world connected and collaborating on a daily basis.

Why are we offering everyone free unlimited Olark operators for a month?

Thu, 01 Oct 2015 00:00:00 +0000

In April 2014, Olark offered its customers the chance to add as many operators as they wanted for an entire month. Olark CMO Sunir Shah explains why.

(Video) Customer Support: A Game of Seconds

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Jordan Munson of Wistia explains how support can get faster with the right tools.

(Video) How All Hands Support began at Olark

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

The Olark founders explain how and why All Hands Support became a cornerstone of culture at Olark.

Case Study: How CommitChange.com uses Olark for proactive chat

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Olark customer CommitChange explains how they use live chat for proactive chats.

Case Study: How SynapsePay is scaling with customer feedback

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Olark customer Synapsepay explains how live chat is helping them launch their new platform.

Don’t just sit there! Start using live chat to increase sales

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Using Olark Targeted Chat for proactive chats can help increase sales and customer happiness.

Happiness Hacking: Samuel Hulick of User Onboard

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Samuel Hulick of User Onboarding explains best practices for getting your customers started.

Happiness Hacking: Samuel Hulick of User Onboarding (part 2)

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Samuel Hulick of User Onboarding explains best practices for getting new customers started.

How Conspire used Olark after a big TechCrunch article

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Olark customer Conspire explains how they use live chat to make database updates quickly.

How CoPromote uses transcripts for site updates and onboarding

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

CoPromote explains how they review live chat transcripts to improve onboarding and self-service.

How good customer service can multiply sales

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Olark co-founder Ben Congleton explains how a help first, sell second approach to support can lead to increased sales.

How Small Businesses benefit from chat

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Learn how to increase sales through live chat – be human.

How to master SXSW in 7 steps

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Sunir Shah offers his tips on getting the most out of tradeshows and conferences like South by Southwest (SXSW).

How two stars of online retail relate & elate with customers

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Casper Sleep and BarkBox share tips on great customer support.

Learn how to sell by doing support

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Olark CMO Sunir Shah explains why helping with customer support can actually make you a better salesperson.

Moving B2B software customers from free trial to a paid plan

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Zapstitch shares how they help customers convert from a free trial to a paid plan.

So Long Summer, Hello Holiday Shopping Season

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

The Olark Customer Support team shares its tips for remaining calm and providing great customer service.

Take out your Earplugs! Building better product with All Hands Support

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Olark Co-founder and Master of Customer Experience Roland Osborne talks about how it

Tips to improve Shopify conversions

Wed, 30 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Learn new tactics that you can use to improve sales and conversions in your shopify ecommerce site.

How to increase conversions - What I learned at ConversionXL Live

Mon, 28 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

A recap of the 2015 ConversionXL Live conference and how to increase conversions and leads.

(Video) The Five Whys by Simon Ouderkirk at Customers FTW!

Wed, 23 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Simon Ouderkirk of Automattic explains what questions you should ask to optimize product production.

Engineering customer service at WordPress.com

Wed, 23 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Learn how Automattic organizes its remote team and engineers customer happiness across with a team 100 people.

How Staff Squared doubled app sign-ups using Olark live chat

Wed, 23 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

Olark customer Staff Squared explains how they increased app sign-ups using live chat.

Olark hits the road for UserConf

Wed, 23 Sep 2015 00:00:00 +0000

The Olark customer support team drove from San Francisco to Portland to attend the UserConf conference.

Creative and Unexpected Ways to Olark