Our hot tool this month is an ASP (application service provider) called HumanClick. In this age of online shopping and burgeoning e-commerce sites, customer service seems to be one of the main ingredients separating the successes from the failures. Companies are discovering that their customers still want live customer service, and HumanClick provides just that, and a lot more.

Basically, HumanClick permits website visitors to get immediate, real-time help from a live customer support person. By simply clicking on the "Live Chat" button, shoppers can ask questions that will turn them into buyers who order instantly, rather than frustrated browsers who abandon the site. Their appreciation for live interaction not only pays off in satisfied customers, but in repeat visitors and referrals.

For the website owner, especially of a small or medium-sized business, HumanClick enables them to actively communicate with their customers, answer their questions, and direct them to the right page or product quickly. It all boils down to keeping the online shopping experience satisfying by providing the one element previously missing-live customer service. (Incidentally, if there is no one available for 24/7 monitoring of this function, there is an instant e-mail function that is far more user-friendly than a store's usual customer service e-mail.) In addition, website owners can also use HumanClick to track who is visiting, where they came from, what page of the site they are on, and how long they are staying there. That makes it a powerful marketing and development tool as well.

There are three levels of HumanClick available, ranging from FREE, to approximately $90 per month. Each has different features; the option with the most features obviously being the most expensive. But if the testimonials displayed on their site are true, companies have experienced 200-300% increases in sales after installing HumanClick. What's $90 a month compared to results like those?