Eureka! I found it -- the ultimate communications ASP killer application.
For those of you that may be late to the technology game, the term
"killer application" typically describes an application that
launches a category or industry. Examples include VisiCalc spreadsheet
software on the PC and Aldus PageMaker desktop publishing software on the
MAC.
In the September issue of this publication, I wrote about the rapid
growth of the communications ASP (CASP) market and how quickly it is
evolving. Since that time, there seems to be unlimited interest in this new
paradigm as witnessed by the variety of new ASP models and companies I am
continually introduced to.
Getting back to the killer application, my sales force at TMC tells me
that the best way to get in touch with their contacts has shifted from
telephone-based conversations to e-mail. The best way to get a response from
a company is to e-mail them. The only problem is that e-mail is less
effective than the phone for transmitting emotion and building
relationships. The flip side is that my sales team is able to contact many
more people through e-mail than they ever could using the phone.
It doesn't take a genius to understand that the reason e-mail generates
more responses than voice mail is that it is so easy to reply via e-mail,
while the phone requires picking up the receiver and dialing. (Yes, we have
become that lazy.) But I shouldn't complain, I'm the same way. Even as I
write this article, I am checking e-mail every 5 to10 minutes while in the
meantime, I am three days behind on checking voice mail. I'm not proud. But,
frankly, e-mail has taken the place of voice mail as my primary message
store. Even with unified messaging, which I've had for over a year, voice
messages are cumbersome to deal with.
So what is this ultimate killer app that I've stumbled upon? Simple: An
application that allows a person receiving an e-mail to instantaneously
initiate a voice call between the sender and receiver of the e-mail message.
Perhaps this sounds trivial, and it really isn't rocket science, but the
plain truth is that this is a great service that we all need. I recently ran
into a new communications ASP, etelenet,
an early start-up that provides this service and more.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
etelenet provides an embedded e-mail link that initiates the display of
a form on a computer. The form asks for a phone number, extension, and
e-mail address. Once entered, a POTS call (not an IP telephony call) is
initiated between the two parties. The inner workings of this technology are
simple. If desired, the person initiating the call is given the option to
schedule the call to take place immediately or at a later time. For example,
a person can schedule a call on their cell phone to take place when they
expect to have some free time. Once the call is scheduled, a status screen
keeps you posted in extreme detail on the call's progress from dialing to
conversation to termination. As a bonus, the solution generates cookies, so
users need enter their information only once.
WHY IS THIS DIFFERENT?
If you have any experience in the Internet telephony market you will
recognize that there are dozens of companies that allow you to click an
embedded e-mail link and initiate an Internet telephony conversation between
users. This is not news. What surprises me is that I am raving about
technology that is less technically challenging than a VoIP connection. The
reason I am excited and think these types of services have a bright future
is that they are based on a phone-to-phone connection. Of course IP
telephony is an acceptable way to communicate as well but let's face it,
until multimedia computers with telephones connected to them become
commonplace, it isn't reasonable to expect our clients to use their PCs to
speak with us.
THE NEED
By now, just about everyone has had a chance to buy something online,
and it should come as no surprise that the promise of instantaneous
e-commerce acceptance was more possibility than delivery. Many analysts
projected steadily eroding sales in brick and mortar establishments as
e-commerce rapidly became the dominant method of shopping. What has
prevented e-commerce from catching on as quickly as it could have is a basic
lack of online human support. This is especially evident when you consider
the following results from research reports I have seen:
- Most (90 percent) online customers prefer human interaction;
- Less than one percent of e-commerce sites offer live customer service
and even then, it is usually text chat;
- Online shopper desire for human contact surges once purchase prices
exceed $50.00; and
- Many (67 percent) Web shoppers abandon their carts.
Some of these stats may be well known to you, as they have been highly
publicized as of late. This is probably the reason that a large percentage
of communications ASPs are focusing on call center/customer interaction
applications for their services; etelenet is no exception.
TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY
There really is a huge opportunity in the broader e-sales/s-service market
for a variety of ASPs to flourish. By utilizing the above service adapted to
the Web, a company can choose not to spend precious resources on the
hardware and software needed to add the human touch to their Web sites. The
beauty of the ASP model is that it allows customers to pay a fee per
transaction. Of course the ASP and customer can choose a different
arrangement if they like. Another major issue facing customer interaction
centers is that it is becoming increasingly difficult to hire agents that
are able to answer e-mail, perform chat functions, and take phone calls. The
latest study I've seen estimates that it costs three times as much to hire
an agent that can handle Internet interactions versus a traditional call
center agent. From this perspective, it is a matter of corporate necessity
to maximize the number voice interactions your company receives at the
expense of all other transactions.
Revenue?
One can only imagine the various revenue models that can come into play.
When I asked etelenet for their model, they did indeed reinforce my feeling
that initially it will take time for these companies to figure out the best
strategy that will result in win/win arrangements with their customers.
Currently, etelenet charges a flat fee for the first five minutes and a per
minute charge at that point. This makes sense to me as any customer that
stays online for more than five minutes is a great prospect and worth paying
a bit more to speak with.
Anyone choosing to use this service will receive added flexibility in the
way that they receive their phone calls. etelenet is the originator of the
call, so they are able to give you access to a Web page that allows you to
customize how you want to receive your calls. You may want to have calls to
your company follow you through a list of phone numbers you are likely to
answer. This is especially important when a high-value customer calls. You
can make sure that VIP callers are always treated appropriately. Of course
if you do add your home phone number to the list of numbers, you will want
to specify certain times at which you will not want to be interrupted. You
are, in fact, able to specify this type of call restriction on your various
phone numbers if you desire.
Another intriguing feature is the database that you are able to amass as
your customers enter their phone numbers and e-mail addresses in order to be
contacted by you. There are many cases when I start to call a company with
the intention to buy a product and something sidetracks me. As a customer I
would be entered into a database of callers who didn't connect and I could
be contacted later to see if I am still interested in purchasing a product.
I am really pumped about the communications ASP market for the following
reason: Software-based service models are just so easy to augment and adapt
to different markets. This makes the underlying services less costly which
means users will be offered a plethora of inexpensive customizable options
that are simply unattainable through any other means! Just take a look at
some of the other functions etelenet is able to perform that are all very
different from what we have discussed above while remaining similar in basic
design.
A great example of another potential application of this technology is
the auction market, where you are able to auction products and have
interested parties contact you without ever giving out your phone number. If
someone tries to initiate a call when you aren't available, the caller can
be notified that they will be called as soon as you are available. You
should almost never lose the impulse buyer. So the key point here is
anonymity and this is not the sole application that benefits from anonymous
conversations. There are many other applications for this technology in
personal and classified ad sites. A Web portal can easily host classifieds
and or personals and can charge either or both parties when a call is
initiated between the two.
Portals are great applications for these types of communications
services. Imagine portals that allow you to initiate GUI-based conference
calls or one that allows users to keep an online directory and initiate
calls with a single click. Better yet, you can set the service to initiate a
call based on criteria that is predetermined such as a stock price hitting a
target or some other information you deem trigger-worthy.
Perhaps the ultimate testament to the growth of the communications ASP
market is the fact that our newest sister publication, Communications
ASP has received tremendous industry interest... We are deluged with
subscribers as well as vendors who are providing new and extremely
innovative services for us to write about. If you are interested in more
information on this market, please subscribe online.
Although etelenet is not yet implementing IP telephony, it is important
to note that that about 98 percent of all CASPs that are not in the wireless
space are utilizing IP telephony. For years, we have reported that the
future of IP telephony is in enhanced services: It is now obvious that a new
breed of service provider -- the communications ASP -- will be the one to
supply the majority of these services.
[ Return
To The October 2000 Table Of Contents ]
|