Entries in "April, 2008"

What Powers SmartJabber

I've had some inquiries to what powers SmartJabber, so I decided to write up a quick outline of the technology that is being used to power the new service.

In case you hadn't heard yet, I recently launched a new company called SmartJabber. The general idea behind the service is to offer an automated support agent via a "live chat" window. It's a cheap alternative to hiring someone to do basic live chat support.

The tool can be used to convert visitors into customers, save sales or offer a basic level of customer service (say on an FAQ page or something). There is a lot of work that goes on the back end that makes this service fast and reliable. In this geeky post, I will go over some of the technology that I used to create this tool.

Python was used for the programming on the back end. This includes the web site and back end processing. I went with Python because I love the language for a number of reasons and I have a lot of experience writing web applications using it.

Django is the ultimate web framework, written in pure Python. I began learning Django over a year ago and have worked on numerous projects using the framework since. I've created web apps using a variety of different languages and none of them can compare to the Django framework (at least in my opinion).

PostgreSQL is the most powerful and feature packed open source database system available. PostgreSQL is used to store all the records and statistics that are part of the SmartJabber service. Each chat instance is logged, with full records and tracking of user action. Because of the amount of data we store, track and process every day the database needs to be powerful enough to handle the service load. PostgreSQL should handle this just fine.

Memcached is an ultra light caching daemon that stores it's entire cache table in the server RAM. Because of this, and the access method, the results are stored, fetched and removed at a lightning fast speed. Memcached is used to store the results of some of the heavy processing that occurs often. To keep server load down, we store the results of various computations for an extended period of time.

Amazon AWS S3 is a "storage in the cloud" solution that provides super cheap data storage. The service cost is related to your direct usage. In other words, you only pay for what you actually use. Because of this policy, a lot of startups (and big companies too) use this service. We use S3 for the serving of all static media.

The actual chat window was created using Javascript combined with basic CSS usage. In other words, it's AJAX. Being that I am a Javascript weenie I hired out this aspect of the project, which was definitely a smart decision.

The entire service is run from 4 servers that handle an array of functions. While everything is designed to be highly scalable from the ground up, a lot of performance gains come from the user of S3 and Memcached. We also made sure to tune Django as much as possible to squeeze out every last drop of performance. Because Django is already pretty fast, and because of our layout, the service is very fast and if the cluster becomes a little loaded we can simply throw servers at the problem.

That's roughly the gist of it. Feel free to ask any specific questions you may have.

Technorati Tags: amazon s3, business, django, memcached, postgresql, python, smartjabber

JohnChow.com Reviews SmartJabber, Corrections Needed

As you know, I recently announced the launch of of SmartJabber. This is one of the new companies I have been working on the last several months. To help spread the word we ordered a paid review from JohnChow.com. We weren't quite sure what to expect because the review would be an honest one, regardless of the fact that it is a paid review. I am totally cool with that and I wouldn't expect, or accept, anything less.

When we ordered the review we assumed we would be contacted for a free account so the reviewer would be able to fully use the service and get a real feeling for it, how it works, the pros and cons, etc. Well we never got the request for the test account and today I noticed the review had been posted last night (click here to read).

There is some constructive criticism, which I find extremely helpful. However there are some points made in the review that are flat out wrong. The following was taken from the review itself:

This agent then poses a question of your choosing, possibly offering the customer a discount so that they will follow through on the sale. The thing is that this agent doesn’t really exist. They’re nothing more than a photo and an automated script. This is not a true instant messenger in any sense of the word, because the faux agent isn’t really responding to anything that the customer is typing.

This is totally incorrect. The agent responses are completely customizable and tailored to match the users input based on your own keyword/response settings. There is no limit to how many keyword(s)/responses you can use (and each response supports multiple keywords) so you can make your agents seem as real as possible. When a user asks a question that doesn't have a programmed response, it is flagged and logged for your later review. You can then add a response to that question based on the keywords within it.

Because this is the heart and soul of our application, and with the size of JohnChow.com's readership, the fact that they got this wrong is really upsetting. The review appears to be a review of our main website, not the actual service itself. The true benefit was never relayed to the reader because the reviewer never had a chance to see the customer interface, which is where users are able to customize their campaigns based on agents, links, responses, etc.

The review also made no mention of the statistics tracking that we provide. We track everything from the number of interactions, the number of link clicks, the number of sales, CTR, which browsers convert better, etc. All of this is available in the customer control panel but since the reviewer never got to see this they had no idea.

Another issue the reviewer had was the cost. Here is what he had to say:

SmartJabber offers three pricing plans:

$49.95 a month for 3 campaigns
$79.95 a month for 10 campaigns
$199.95 a month for unlimited campaigns

I don’t know about you, but that sounds pretty expensive for what SmartJabber does. It’s also curious that there is no plan for a single campaign.

He has a valid point about the single campaign plan. I will look into adding that option immediately. While I understand that $49.95/mo is expensive for a web service, especially in today's "free" internet service culture. But when you look at the competition, we are a huge discount. None of our competitors (there are only one or two) offer a flat rate fee for their service. Our competitors charge on a per sale basis. Meaning for every sale their service saves for you, you are charged $10 (last we checked, it was $10 per sale). So if you save 50 sales a month, you are paying $500! Now saving 50 sales a month is being done routinely by us and some of our users. How many saved sales would it take for SmartJabber to pay for itself? That depends on your product & pricing but I am guessing not very many.

I am working on getting in touch with the folks over at JohnChow.com so they can (hopefully) offer a real review of our service. At least update their current review but I am afraid that will not improve the damage that the current review may have done. Oi...

Update: We went ahead and added a single campaign plan for $19.99/mo. In addition, we are going to offer a 60 day free trial to the public. If you want to take advantage of that, click here!

Technorati Tags: business, internet marketing, john chow, johnchow.com, review, smartjabber

What Is The Makeup Of An Entrepreneur?

For the longest time I was afraid to jump into business. I thought that there was a "formula" that I hadn't learned yet or some techniques I needed to brush up on. I always second guessed myself due to my lack of a formal, college, education (I'm sure you can tell that from my horrible grammar).

While I am still wet behind the ears when it comes to running a business, or multiple businesses, successfully I have learned quite a lot in the last 6 months while actually building and running multiple businesses. It got me thinking tonight, what is the makeup of an entrepreneur? What is it that motivates people to take huge risks while chasing their dreams?

What have I learned?

The most important thing I learned, and I suppose I always knew, was that "Fortune favors the bold." Sure you need a little savvy to you and you should be able to talk, and understand, shop (business lingo, etc.) but the real secret is being bold. Get out there and do it!

The "formula" that I have learned is that building relationships is key. How deep your contact list is can define how successful you will become. Aside from being bold, this is absolutely the most important aspect of business. I am not just talking the gazillionaire angel investor, but all relationships are very important. Down to the people you buy your hardware from or the company you pay to clean your office. A solid foundation is built on strong relationships. Seminars and "meetups" have a whole new meaning to me now. (Quick note: I'll be attending the TechCrunch meetup on April 10th in Hollywood if any local folk want to come meet and say hello! update: I wrote this post earlier in the week and didn't get around to posting it. I was at the meet up last night and met a lot of cool people!)

While the two items above seem obvious, I never truly "understood" them until recently. I have a whole new appreciation for them. There are other aspects I have learned, or am starting to learn, as well but none are as important as those two.

So what makes up an entrepreneur?

Here are some qualities that I think all serial entrepreneurs have:

Boldness - I really can't stress this enough. Don't let your fears or insecurities get in your way. Jump into the game or go home. Period!

Networking Ability - Except for the lucky few of us, we all have trouble striking up conversation with random people at events. It is important how ever to branch out a bit and start meeting people. Like I said above, building relationships is key to virtually any new business!

Patience - All good things come to those who wait...

Impatience - But come on.. we can't be waiting around all day! Find the right balance and decide based on the situation when you have waited long enough.

Management - Of people, projects, time and todo's. Something I am still adjusting to is being someone's boss and, at least partly, responsible for their livelihood. You have to learn to manage a lot of different tasks when you are running a business.

Confidence - Be strong, confident and even a bit cocky. You may come off as a little arrogant but you will be respected for it. You will be required to make decisions and quickly, so be sure of yourself. If you don't believe in yourself, then no one else will!

Determination / Motivation - Find whatever it is that motivates you and use that to push you to that next level. Fortune, Fame, Recognition, "I told you so's", etc. Whatever it is that is fueling your desire, use it to your advantage.

Well there you have it. My list of qualities that I seem to notice in all the serial entrepreneurs I know. While I am on my way to becoming a serial entrepreneur myself, I don't consider myself there just yet. But hey, I just got started.. Give me another 12 months ;)

Technorati Tags: bold, business, entrepreneur, gut check, guts

Increase Sales Immediately with SmartJabber

What if you had a way to interact with your visitors before they leave your website... What if you had a way to automate turning your visitors into customers. Now there is a way to try and save the people who are abandoning your sales or order page.

Allow me to introduce you to SmartJabber. This is a new tool that I have been working on for a few months. This is part of the reason why I have been so busy lately.

So what is SmartJabber?

Basically it is an automated sales/support chat agent. It is software that sits "in between" your website and your visitor. When the user tries to navigate away from your sales page, they get a notice saying a live agent would like to speak with them. They can choose to continue and leave the page or chat with the agent.

The agent is a programmed "robot" that you will have setup yourself. You are able to program responses based on the keywords of your choice. The agents can be used to offer special discounts to give that final push to purchase your product. It could also be used to offer support based on general issues, etc. A nice tool to handle basic customer service for you. Each campaign can have unlimited agents.

You also have "default" responses which are triggered when no keyword match is found in the users input/questions. When a user asks a question that you have no programmed response for, a default message will be given in response. Also that question is marked and saved for you to review later. You can find which questions are being asked and add answers for them based on your own keyword choices.

There is a series of data that is saved and tracked for you to go over and help mold your campaign. When it comes to internet marketing and sales conversions, numbers are everything! SmartJabber will show you statistics based on date, type, browser, user interaction, user click through (and CTR%), saved sales, conversion rate, clicks per sale and more.

Adding it to any page you want it installed on is as simple as adding 1 line to load the javascript. It literally takes seconds to add this software to your website!

How can YOU get it?

Normally the free trial length is 15 days, but if you're reading this post, I'll double the free trial to 30 days. All you have to do is register your account by clicking here.

The cost of this tool is $49.95/mo for the basic plan which supports 3 campaigns (or 3 websites). I know a lot of people will be skeptical because of the monthly price. We all like free right? Well, I can't give this away for free because it costs me money to run this service and also because I am in this to make money myself!

If you are selling a product then this tool will easily pay for itself every month. If you use it for support, then $49/mo sure is a lot cheaper than paying someone to sit around and wait for a live chat request.

So get your free account and try it out for 30 days. If you don't think it will pay for itself then simply cancel your account and you will never be charged a penny!

CLICK HERE TO GET YOUR SMARTJABBER ACCOUNT!

Technorati Tags: business, chat agent, internet, internet marketing, marketing, sale conversion, support

No, I Am Not Slacking Off

Word on the street is that I have been slacking off and that is why I haven't been posting much on my blog lately. I wish that was the case but the truth is I have been super busy with work. My partner and I are launching our new company/service this weekend at a seminar here in Los Angeles this weekend. I will announce it next week to the world via this blog, of course!

Launching 2 companies in 4 months is not an easy task. It's been a lot of work and a lot of slow progress but we are very positive it will all pay off, and soon!

As you can imagine it is serious crunch time right now. Days away from the launch of our new service and still putting the finishing touches on small design changes, etc. Oh, and the mixup with our servers hasn't helped either. We were shipped the wrong servers, built to the wrong specs, and have been running ourselves ragged trying to resolve this and get these machines provisioned in time.

Anyways, hang in there. I will post more frequently soon enough. I need to get past this weekend and take a few days to decompress... Wish me luck!

Technorati Tags: marketing, business, tired, entrepreneur, internet