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As Chief Executive Officer, John Federman is responsible for eStara's strategic direction, growth and corporate vision. Mr. Federman brings more than 20 years of experience with innovative information technology and media companies to eStara. You can reach John at john@estara.com

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Click-to-Call Mythbusting: Why the Marketing Strategy is More than Just a Flavor of the Week

Written on
Nov 28, 2006 
Author
John Federman  |
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Click-to-Call Mythbusting: Why the Marketing Strategy is More than Just a Flavor of the Week

Privacy Concerns

The report notes that customers are concerned about how their personal information is used and stored, and that IP telephony in all its forms presents a “perception risk.”

Counter argument: Privacy perception is a reason people tend to use click-to-call, not avoid it. Click-to-call allows consumers to complete transactions and provide sensitive information over the telephone, rather than online which is more prone to data being compromised. Those that do feel more comfortable with providing personal data online, particularly to companies they seek to conduct business with, trust these companies to be responsible and protect their personal information.

The “perception of privacy risk” is significantly lower regarding click-to-call than other forms of online transactions which contain more sensitive data — look no further than companies in the financial services sector, like HSBC, Esurance and Dell Financial Services, which are (to-date) some of the largest adopters of click to call technology.

Competing Standards

The report notes that competing standards of VoIP-enabled, click-to-call could hurt the user experience.

Counter argument: This is correct in that companies should be wary of proprietary peer-to-peer solutions that require a download for click-to-call applications. Requiring that consumers and marketers download a separate piece of software to use click to call creates an unneeded barrier. However, the industry is realizing this pitfall, and favoring platform agnostic systems that create a seamless experience and integrate with existing telephony infrastructure to give users the choice of speaking through their PCs or by phone.

 Lack of Industry Support

If there is lack of industry support, it could create obstacles to widespread consumer adoption.

Counter argument: That’s a big “if” at this point. Industry support for click-to-call is on the rise as companies recognize the many applications for connecting buyers with sellers via voice. That’s why Internet giants such as Google, eBay and Yahoo are all rolling out click-to-call services, while the leading consumer brands including Amazon.com, Apple Computer, Best Buy, DaimlerChrysler and Jenny Craig have all made major investments in the technology to apply it to their own business needs.

Using click to call, companies across verticals have seen average sales conversion rates increase by as much as 100% while seeing website abandonment drop anywhere from 25% to 35%. This kind of ROI, plus the fact that click-to-call is easy to implement across the enterprise, show that the support is there.

Bandwidth Constraints

The ever increasing amount of home applications will stifle bandwidth and VoIP quality.

Counter argument: Bandwidth technology is improving all the time, and more and more homes and businesses are becoming broadband-enabled. VoIP itself did have quality issues when it first emerged, but those have largely dissipated. Too many large companies have a big stake in VoIP to see if fail.

It’s important to note here that the best click-to-call providers offer choice: if consumers do not wish to connect via the PC, they can easily use a callback function that connects to traditional telephone lines.

Consumer Apathy

Vendors may simply be unable to create consumer excitement.

Counter argument: The technology sells itself — satisfaction rates for consumers who have experienced the ease of click-to-call show just how enthusiastic they are about it. Look no further than a Continental Airlines survey showing that 78 percent of their click to call users indicated that the feature increases the likelihood that they will use the site in the future. As more become exposed to click-to-call, this type of enthusiasm will undoubtedly grow.

There are always threats to technology adoption, and many of those listed above can apply to any product or service. But while click to call has only recently gotten the attention it deserves, it is already well established. And if it continues to deliver the results it has to the world’s leading marketers, it certainly will continue to be much more than the flavor of the week.





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