Some pretty cool news from USRobotics that lets you use Skype to directly call their Customer Support infrastructure. This saves USRobotics the cost of the toll-free number and it enables customers to get into the support queue much easier. Considering the "newness" factor of web call through, most call centers will assign a higher priority to inbound VoIP calls or IM sessions. So if you are impatient and want to skip lengthy on-hold times, using Skype could be the answer.
It will be interesting to see if/when a big boy like Microsoft offers web call through for their tech support. I was just on a 5 hour call with Microsoft technical support on Friday troubleshooting 'Microsoft Exchange Server 2003' and AUTD + ActiveSync for Windows Mobile 5.0 devices. It wasn't looking too good for the Microsoft technician after 5 hours of no success, but we finally got it working. All this so Rich Tehrani can sync his Verizon VX6700 Windows Mobile 5.0 device while travelling. A whopping 5 hours on the phone with Microsoft tech support with no food, no water, and no pee break deserves a raise, don't you think?
It was an 800 number, but at say $0.01/minute, the call cost Microsoft $3. But they're still ahead since they charge $245/incident. Still, if they used VoIP, the call would have been free. Imagine the thousands of inbound tech support calls Microsoft gets. VoIP could save them millions.
Anyway, here's the news from USRobotics:
This allows USRobotics customers to call Customer Support via the popular Skype Internet communications software, instead of using their landline telephones.
"Support through Skype gives our customers one more way to get in touch with our technical support agents. Customer and technical support is now offered via the phone, through email, and now via Skype," says Mary Galbavy, Director of Customer Support. "We are constantly looking for ways to improve our customers' experience and this is another way we've found to do that within our support organization. The satisfaction of our customers is key to our service delivery choices."
The ability to place a Skype call to USRobotics technical support eliminates the charges typically associated with such a call in Europe. Placing a call to USRobotics technical support via the integrated Skype calling button on USRobotics' Support Web site is free and can be used by anyone using the Skype software. This method of access allows our customers to contact us directly via their computers while leaving their landline telephone available for use.
USRobotics' Call Centers now allow Skype calls to be directed into the call queue for handling by the first available agent. Users experience the same support from the same technicians they would receive using a standard telephone.
"Setting up the infrastructure to accept Skype calls has been easy for us," says Galbavy. "It not only allows us to talk to our customers via this growing method of communication, but it cuts down on the costs associated with incoming support calls, and increases our overall customer satisfaction."
Recently in Call Center and CRM Category
GoldMine 7.0 has just been released by FrontRange.
Of note, GoldMine 7.0 is more tightly integrated with the VoIP software that FrontRange now offers, for call center operations. TMC uses Goldmine 6.7 for its internal sales database, guess it's time to upgrade!
FrontRange Solutions Releases GoldMine 7.0 Corporate Edition
Latest version of FrontRange award-winning software delivers broader integration with external systems, enhanced workflow tools and higher performance
DUBLIN, CA (November 15, 2005)GoldMine 7.0 Corporate Edition - the latest version of FrontRange Solutions award-winning customer relationship management (CRM) software - delivers broader integration with external systems, enhanced workflow tools and higher performance to help small- to medium-size enterprise (SME) users raise the personal productivity of their sales and marketing teams and, therefore, increase their organization's profitability.
GoldMine 7.0 was released for general availability late last month and is being distributed through FrontRange Solutions Partners worldwide for upgrades and new installations.
"This latest release of GoldMine makes one of the world's best CRM software even better," said Kevin J. Smith, Vice President of Products for FrontRange Solutions."GoldMine 7.0's broader integration, enhanced workflow and higher performance continue our tradition of delivering enterprise-class functionality at a low total cost of ownership for small- to medium-size businesses."
"No other CRM product offers the robust functionality of GoldMine at its price point," said Bob Ritter, President of First Direct, a top FrontRange Partner whose organization beta tested the software."We expect upgrading to version 7.0 will increase the productivity and collaboration of our sales & marketing teams, which in turn will help us increase the company's profitability.Our investments in GoldMine always yield high returns."
GoldMine 7.0 provides more integration capabilities that enable viewing external sources of data, "plug-ins" for existing enterprise systems and tight integrations to other powerful FrontRange Solutions products.The latest version also offers more workflow tools that simplify and accelerate common tasks related to contact records, such as scheduling appointments and activities.In addition, release 7.0 features a new database architecture that provides greater stability and faster processing for remote users, which has become a critical performance factor for today's increasingly mobile and distributed workforce.
New benefits and features of GoldMine 7.0 include:
" Broader Integration with External Systems such as other databases, back-office systems, web sites, and the FrontRange IP Contact Center.
" Enhanced Workflow Tools for increased productivity without sacrificed ease of use.
" Higher Performance from the new Active X Data Object architecture, a state-of-the-art technology that empowers remote users.
The new version of GoldMine follows many accolades collected in 2005.
I was forwarded a memo that Marc Benioff, Salesforce.com chairman and CEO, sent to his employees yesterday evening regarding the MSFT news. Even though the email looks legit and even says "To: All Salesforce.com" (indicating it was sent to all Salesforce.com employees), it's obviously a marketing ploy by their PR firm which forwarded me the memo. I'm sure the email was sent to all Salesforce.com employees, but with the intention of also then forwarding the email "memo" to the press. Still, I thought it was kind of funny, especially the "Microsoft Dead" pun on "Microsoft Live", so although I feel slightly used I will include the "memo" here in my blog.
_____________________________________
From: Marc Benioff
Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005 8:58 PM
To: All Salesforce.com
Subject: The Business Web
Today, I woke up to read on the front page of the Wall Street Journal how Microsoft is reorganizing to take on companies like Google and salesforce.com - building a new generation of products called Microsoft Live.
And just last week, Bill Gates gave a speech about the end of software that could have been a page out of our play book. His rhetoric sounding as it was he who was picketing software companies and calling for "The End of Software" --- our mantra since 1999.
The speech was an amazing bracket to his famous Tidal Wave speech on December 7, 1995 about how Microsoft would own the internet. But over this 10 year span, what has Microsoft done for business on the web besides cloning a slow browser? The answer: nothing.
For example, Microsoft says one day that customers in our industry should upgrade from Microsoft CRM 1.2 to Microsoft CRM 3.0 (they lost 2.0 on the way), and, unfortunately, the two versions are not compatible with each other --- customizations will not upgrade, they have different user interfaces, and they require lots of different Microsoft software. It?s an old Microsoft game that ends in failure for customers, but generates their mafiaesque upgrade revenues.
The next day, Microsoft has a new version called "Live." It's the new on demand offering that will not be compatible with the current product line. So, perhaps they should rename their entire Microsoft software product line, Microsoft Dead. It's the analog to Microsoft Live, the new on demand offering that does even exist.
What is going on? This is a time of seismic shifts in our industry. The internet is disintermediating the status quo, and old models of software cost and complexity are being replaced with new models of affordability and ease of use.
Last month, our number one competitor surrendered, and decided to take its place beside several former competitors at software's Shady Pines Rest Home, also known as Oracle. It was a merciful outcome for shareholders, but a time of con"fusion" for customers.
The software industry is going through a transformation that is unlike anything it has seen in two decades, and the emergence of the PC itself.
This transformation goes by many names: On-Demand, Web 2.0, Software as a Service. But they all point to the same conclusion: The era of the traditional software "load, update, and upgrade" business and technology model is over. It is time for "The Business Web."
New Internet-based companies are showing how services will replace software for both consumers and corporations. Sand Hill Road venture capitalists are no longer funding software companies; they are only funding service providers.
Exciting new companies have emerged like salesforce.com and Google who have real businesses that can challenge and win against the old guard companies, and are. Customers love these new services, and are finding tremendous success as never before.
A new range of start-ups are showing how this is just the beginning of the business web --- that there are new technologies coming to replace traditional word processing, spreadsheets, and other staples of business with Internet services. Companies like Writely, Numsum, Zimbra, and Goffice are breaking Microsoft's hypnotic trance that the Microsoft Office, and its myriad of clients and servers we are installing today, it is simply a dinosaur.
Would these companies have existed ten years ago? Five years ago? Probably not. But, new widely-accepted technology standards, like Ajax and others, make them possible, and consumers and businesses impatient with the current pace of change at Microsoft make them necessary.
Just as mainframe companies struggled for relevance in the client-server era, Microsoft finds itself in a worse position today facing not just the obsolescence of a technology model, but a business model as well. They have no position today in the business web, for example.
Now is our time to demonstrate the next level. New technologies like AppExchange, Mirrorforce, and our Winter 06 release further demonstrate the next generation of the business web, and we will all continue to lead this important movement.
Aloha,
Marc
I have a meeting with Cincom to check out and review their Synchrony product (call center CRM product) in about 10 minutes, so this will be my only morning blog. I'll blog more after lunch.
GN Netcom launched their latest headset optimized for VoIP, the GN 2000, which provides full "wideband" frequency response up to 6800 Hz. Many competing “wideband” headsets cut-off around 4000 Hz, thus giving GN Netcom's GN 2000 much better acoustical response and clarity.
The GN 2000 also features their PeakStop technology, which cuts off sudden loud noises above 118 dB SPL to protect your ears from damage. The GN 2000 is available with a USB connector for VoIP applications, as well as a traditional phone/headset jack connector.
The GN 2000 Series is available in monaural and binaural styles and offers two microphone/boom combinations. The flex boom model is paired with a noise-canceling microphone to filter out background sounds in noisy environments, while GN 2000 ST models feature a standard microphone.
"The GN 2000 Series is the most durable line of contact center headsets we've ever built and it truly delivers in every category," says Hans Henrik Lund, president and CEO of GN Netcom. "Its wideband sound quality, all-day comfort and solid reliability will ultimately maximize performance and minimize the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) for any contact center."
Other features include:
- Sturdy, impact-resistant materials and construction
- Outstanding sound quality due to true 150 – 6800 Hz
- Wideband frequency response
- Stereo USB version for VoIP applications
- Available with either a special noise-canceling microphone mounted on a flex boom arm or SoundTube equipped with a standard microphone.
My analysis of the recent Oracle acquiring Siebel deal.
Oracle/Siebel - we want to own your customer data (Oracle) and present that data with the best CRM application front-end (Siebel).
Microsoft - we're trying really hard to own your customer data (Microsoft SQL) running a CRM application (Microsoft CRM) but alas Microsoft CRM still lags behind Siebel. Hey, at least we own the desktop! Besides our so-called competitor, Google doesn't own any industry-leading CRM applications either. Now if Google bought FrontRange Solutions then they'd compete with us in the CRM space. Oh wait, we didn't just suggest that. Google, if you buy FrontRange Solutions Steve Ballmer will kill you!
Google - we want to own everything, including your web searching habits, market research (what people click on, ad click-throughs), VoIP (GoogleTalk), satellite imagery of where you live (Google Maps), how you search your desktop (Google Desktop), what you read, i.e. Google News, etc. etc. Hmmm, buying FrontRange Solutions isn't a bad idea.
At the Microsoft conference yesterday, Steve Ballmer acknowledged salesforce.com's industry leadership and competitive threat: "We're going to give Salesforce a very effective run for their money…" (i.e. Microsoft CRM)
Well at least he didn't toss a chair and wow to "f*ing kill" Salesforce.com like he did Google.
Maybe Steve Ballmer took an anger management class since he dropped the f-bomb the other day? It's the new "nice", "politically correct" Microsoft. Wonder how long that'll last.
Today, eStara will be launching their TrackTheCall website. I discussed eStara's "track the call" VoIP service back in April, where I explained that it is a SME solution that enables SMEs to use web advertising and still convert using the phone as opposed to the website. If you are running a specific campaign, you can create/provision a unique phone number and eStara will track the leads to this number. eStara’s Track the Call enables Yellow Pages and online directory publishers, search engine companies and marketers create new revenue generation opportunities.
I pointed out that "this has been done for decades in the call center arena, but what's new is eStara has extended this feature into the Voice over IP realm, which enables not just call centers, but also small-to-medium sized businesses to track their campaigns as well."
Today, eStara emailed me to point out that demand for eStara’s new Track the Call service is up 100% in three months. They also emailed me a whitepaper (PDF Doc) which addressed my questions to eStara about voice quality and availability of phone numbers with this service. eStara wouldn't disclose their per-minute-pricing when I inquired, however, they stated it was "considerably cheaper than traditional PSTN."
They also gave me a sneak-peek at their press release that is going to hit the wires, which I've included below.
Reston, VA – August 15, 2005 – eStara, the leading global provider of click to call technology, (www.estara.com), announced that its new VoIP-based call tracking service, Track the Callsm, has grown over 100% in the past three months, and 200% since January 1, 2005. The company’s ability to provide local numbers in over 3,500 U.S. cities, coupled with its pricing flexibility and real-time reporting has driven Track the Call’s rapid expansion.
Track the Call adoption is being fueled by faster-than-expected deployment in the online and offline publishing and search markets:
- Online directories
- Yellow pages
- Search engines
- Lead generation marketers
- Newspaper classifieds
“With eStara Track The Call, SpaFinder has been able to demonstrate exceptional ROI for our directory and print advertisers,” says Pete Ellis, Chairman and CEO of Spa Finder, the leading spa travel and marketing company. “eStara offered unrivaled national local number coverage, fast implementation and flexible pricing models that fit our business model. Its been a great service for us,” he added.
eStara has worked with its partners to meet the needs of their advertisers. The results of this collaboration can be seen in Track the Call’s features like lost lead reports, which give advertisers a second chance to contact a lead that went unanswered and geo-targeting, which lets advertisers limit the use of call tracking numbers to prospects within a specific area.
“eStara starts by asking the question: how can we best leverage new call tracking services to bring value to your advertisers and revenue to your business,” said Cid Jenkins, eStara’s director of business development. “Our job to help you answer that question and then implement the best-of-breed technology to get you there,” she added.
For more information on Track the Call, please contact eStara at 1-866-4ESTARA; or visit www.trackthecall.com.
About eStara, Inc.
eStara develops cross channel communications services for large enterprises, online directory and search engine partners that improve communication and collaboration, increase revenue, and enable clients to attract and retain more online customers. eStara’s Track the Call service provides a flexible, scalable call tracking and monitoring service that supports a variety of revenue models, including pay per call and subscription with the largest inventory of local numbers in the industry. eStara’s Push to Talk service is the most widely deployed "click to call" service in the world with over 3,000,000 users in 113 countries. The company serves more than 350 global enterprises across multiple industries including directory and on-line publishers and lead generation companies, financial services, retail, travel and hospitality, real estate and automotive. eStara's suite of applications are developed using a VoIP technology platform delivered as a fully-hosted service to companies including Amazon.com's A9 Yellow Pages, Verizon SuperPages, Dell Financial Services and Esurance.com.
Some more interesting revenue numbers, this time from Envision Telephony. I've reviewed Envision Telephony's quality monitoring products in the past which were publishied in one of TMC's publications and I have to say -- I have always been very impressed with their products which focus on the call center. They have an excellent quality monitoring solution, a training solution called Click2Coach, as well as other products.
On Wednesday (tomorrow), Envision will announce record revenues for the second quarter, a 44 percent increase over Q2 2004. Envision also exceeded last years’ first half revenues by 49 percent.
Envision also added 12 new customers during the second quarter and secured two major expansion deals from existing customers. Envision also won Frost & Sullivan’s 2005 Global Excellence in Technology of the Year Award and was recognized by Washington CEO magazine as one of Washington’s Best Places to Work for. They are also a prior TMC LAbs Innovation Award winner.
Here's the release:
Envision Announces Second Quarter Results
Workforce Optimization Leader Sustains Record Growth
Seattle — July 27, 2005 — Envision Telephony, Inc. today announced a 44 percent increase in second quarter revenue for 2005 over the same period in the prior year. Revenues for the first half of 2005 exceeded 2004 by 49 percent. Total revenue for the last twelve months increased more than 40 percent over the preceding twelve months. Envision is a privately held, Seattle-based leader in contact center recording, coaching, workforce optimization and business intelligence software.
During the second quarter of 2005, the company added twelve new customers, spanning the globe and several industries including retail, outsourcing, utilities and telecommunications. Envision also secured major expansion orders from one of its signature branded customers in the financial industry as well as one of the world’s largest software companies.
In addition to its business growth in the second quarter, Envision won Frost & Sullivan’s 2005 Global Excellence in Technology of the Year Award. Frost & Sullivan presented this award to Envision for its commitment to technical superiority and innovative work in the call center solutions space. Envision was one of nine companies recognized by Washington CEO magazine as Washington’s best companies to work for.
“Our team at Envision is continuing to experience phenomenal success in the market,” said Rodney Kuhn, Envision CEO. “Our customers are seeing the benefit of our integrated workforce optimization suite and the returns which can be achieved. The results of this strategy can be seen in our financial success and our growing market share."
The DMA wouldn't try and make a buck off of dead people, would they?
Well, according to MSNBC, DMA, the nation's largest direct marketing group set up a deceased Do Not Call List registry Thursday to remove dead people from its telemarketing, e-mail and direct mail lists — for $1 (aka a "buck").
Now granted the DMA claims this $1 fee is to prevent fraud - that is friends or family signing up other people to the deceased Do-No-Call List - thus they charge a credit card $1 to ensure a valid phone number is being added.
What I don't get is why you can't simply add your name to the National Do Not Call List for FREE?
Besides this $1 fee doesn't prevent fraud. What if I use each of my 13 credit cards to add 13 phone numbers of all my friends and family? That'll be the best $13 I ever spent on them — and the best Christmas gift I could give!