Ifbyphone Blog

Even shopping cart businesses can benefit from adding rich voice applications like click-to-call to e-commerce sites.

As I’ve noted before, the lowly phone call gets short shrift in the esoteric art of Web marketing. But often the one thing that would turn a window-shopper into a buyer, or a frustrated subscriber into a happy one, is a piece of information that’s not on the website — for example, “Is the device compatible with my system?” or “Can my doctor call in another refill on my prescription?” FAQs can’t possibly anticipate every question.

It’s not only a question of making it easy for customers to connect — although we all know that anything standing between impulse and action drives down the likelihood of an immediate sale.

When the call comes through your site’s click-to-call, it can carry information along with it — what visitors were looking at when they called or subscriber information. Combine that with a voice survey to get additional information for the customer service agent answering the call. And by integrating voice into the Web application, you capture all this information — and with it, insight for website improvements and better customer service, not to mention those FAQs.

This week Ifbyphone is exhibiting at ISPCON, where we announced the launch of a new API solution called Verify-Me-Now. Basically, Verify-Me-Now enables ISPs and any e-commerce or SAAS site to slash fraud rates by combining the power of the Web with the telephone. More specifically, here is how Verify-Me-Now can reduce credit card fraud:

1. ISPs incorporate the hosted Verify-Me-Now application into their existing process that customers use to sign up for a Web hosting account or any other service.

2. A telephone number is collected as part of each registration or purchase transaction.

3. A PIN of up to ten digits is displayed on the customer’s screen.

4. The Verify-Me-Now service is then invoked, either transparently or via a user-pressed button, with an easy-to-use API that is compatible with most Web-programming environments.

5. The Ifbyphone server instantly places a call to the customer at the number entered in step one and then asks the customer to enter the previously displayed PIN using their telephone keypad. (The Ifbyphone server also can be configured to request and record the recipient name during this step.)

6. Depending on whether the PIN entered matches the one provided in step two, the API returns a success or failure message.

To read a review of the service, visit Smith On Voip.

You can read more about Verify-Me-Now by clicking here, and if you’d like to incorporate Verify-Me-Now into you website or service offering click to call the Ifbyphone team here.