Skype Aspires to Be De Facto Solution for Online Directories and Classifieds

Today’s announcement by eBay and Google received major media coverage. From Om Malik’s blog:

“Skype, wants to leverage its 113 million registered users to become the defacto standard for “click to calls,” Don Albert, North America General Manager for Skype told us in an early morning chat.”

This announcement means two things. First, presence-enabled click-to-call features are table stakes for any publisher in the online directory or online classifieds space. Readers of this blog didn’t need today’s announcement to know that! Second, every major publisher need ask themselves whether they care about Skype becoming the de facto solution.

As relates to the second point – if you are a major publisher and you are reading this, please check out some of the previous posts in this blog which make the case for partnering with ContactAtOnce! to gain competitive advantage and explain how ContactAtOnce! compares to Skype.

My favorite reason…because Skype’s 113 million registered users are nothing compared to the number of users that have a browser. A consumer need only have a browser to use ContactAtOnce! from your directory or classified site – with Skype the consumer must first download and install Skype software from the Skype/eBay website. Advertising 101- why limit your audience when a simpler and less intrusive option is readily available and extends your audience to the maximum. Read more…

So…there is a better solution than Skype for this particular application. I’m wondering how many publishers have the vision to act before the likes of Google and eBay win by default…

Corporations Subsidize Car Shopping!

Occasionally we examine industry trends that the aggregate data from our system reveals and I’d like the share a most interesting one.

The peak time for IM-based leads from auto classified websites is during business hours – specifically between 10am and 6pm on weekdays with the heaviest usage on Mondays and Tuesdays during those hours.

Why? Well, here’s my reasoning…

We know from published studies by JDPower & Associates that the average US car buyer spent nearly 5 hours researching online before making their purchase. We know from personal experience that using the desk phone at work to do personal stuff, like talking to a car dealership, is uncomfortable at best and enough to get people fired in some cases. We know workers from low-level clerks to high-flying execs have PC’s on their desks. We know IM is an interactive channel of communication, like a phone conversation, and therefore superior to non-interactive communication channels such as email and contact-us forms. We know IM can be discreetly used at work to accomplish personal stuff. We know browser-based IM clients, like that of ContactAtOnce!, pose no technical or security issues and are therefore readily usable from PC’s on a corporate network.

Sometimes empirical evidence reinforces pre-conceived thoughts (and sometimes not!) and this is one of those cases!

eBay’s Aggressive Plans for Motors and Local

Peter Krasilovski’s post in the Kelsey Group blog talks about eBay’s big near-term plans for a new and improved eBay Motors.

Peter also references a WSJ article in which eBay’s local vision is described as ”aiming to take over the phone book's customary role as the first place people turn to find local services from housecleaners to accountants.”

Readers of this blog know that an important part of eBay’s strategy is the use of Skype to make their auto and local listings presence-aware, facilitating better buyer-seller communication.

Noted Automotive Interent Sales Guru Recommends ContactAtOnce!

David Kain, noted internet sales expert and trainer for the automotive industry, recommended ContactAtOnce! to his dealers in a recent article. Helpful Hints to Convert Customers calls ContactAtOnce! a "great way to turn casual shoppers into meaningful leads because the site visitor may click off before they submit unless they have an instant way to get an answer". Further the article provides a quick ROI calculator that demonstrates the impact of improving the conversion rate of site visitors. Good stuff.