[thenomad]

"I'd like to say I did something clever"

...

"I then spent my afternoons all summer with a live chat widget on the site that automatically prompted a conversation to anyone who kept the page open for 10 seconds"

Given that's the first time I've ever heard of that particular approach, I'm not exactly a novice to marketing either, and it's sufficiently smart that I'm going to test it out myself on a project in the near future... I think you may, in fact, have done something quite clever there. :)

Any recommendations for backend technology for that? I've found that live chat solutions tend to be... sub-optimal.

[dangrossman]

I was using SnapEngage, which was $19/month at the time. They've raised their prices since.

[thenomad]

Ah, that's a pity. Looking at their website they seem to have moved into the "if you have to ask you can't afford it" range :)