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I’ve already discussed what we usually mean with the expression “click-to-call” in the VoIP space. In that occasion, I said:

In my opinion, click to call services will be everywhere over the internet within 3-5 years. They will make the difference between a normal, old web site and a truly 2.0 “speaking” website. But, since this is a very simple product, vendors must find innovative ways to sell it, in order to make it a VoIP value-added service by which 1) they can really make money and 2) they can offer a real value to their customers.

Now, the time has arrived for me to introduce Sitofono to my readers, the definitive click-to-call solution powered by Abbeynet.

Why now ? Because I’m proud to announce that Sitofono just reached 100.000 business customers this week. This mean that 100.000 businesses have now Sitofono on their web portals to talk to their customers and prospects easily and quickly.

What is Sitofono (previously named “Sitebell” for markets outside of italy) ?
It’s pretty simple: it’s the easiest click-to-call service ever that any web site, professional, blog, e-commerce portal and so on can easily use to be called for FREE from their customers/website visitors.

One of the most important capabilities is that you can receive calls from your customers without the need, for them, to be registered to whatever VoIP service. Moreover, you can choose to call directly from the web by using your headphones or to be called back on your phone.

How much does it cost ? Well, it’s important to say that I don’t want to speak about minutes, number of calls or something here. It’s a model that Abbeynet doesn’t want to apply to Sitofono. Sitofono is a VoIP-based value-added service and I don’t want you to get confused. It’s not a matter of “old-style” telephony, it’s a matter of having a new cool tool to improve your business.

It costs € 499 /year, just about € 1,37 / day, the cost of a coffee!
You can bind it to any fixed-line phone number worldwide for the over 60 country codes where Sitofono is active. This means that for 499€ / year you let your customers call your fixed line number for FREE (it can be a call center, your office, your home…whatever).

On customer’s side, they don’t need to be registered to any VoIP service, they don’t need to have headphones, they don’t need to pay one single cent to call you. They just have to click and call you from their browser.

Cool, isn’t it ? You can click down here to call me for free (you’ll reach my voicemail)

Here is the main window you get when you click on Sitofono’s button:

Here you can choose to call from your PC with your headphones, or to be called back to your fixed line (it takes 2 seconds, then you can hear your phone ringing). By using the former option, an activex will be downloaded (or a plugin for Mozilla-based browsers); with the latter, insted, you just have to put your fixed line number into the edit box, afetr selectiong your country code. The activex works on Windows only, but Mac and Linux will be available in the following weeks (later, but always there since I have a Mac!). In the meantime, you can use the “on the phone” option.

At this point, I’m pretty sure you’re asking yourself: what’s new here ?

Some of the main differences between Sitofono and other click-to-call services are:

• you don’t need a complex infrastructure to install inside your company’s premises: after you buy it, you get a link to put on your website, that’s all;
• your customers don’t need to register to a VoIP service
• you don’t need to install any software on your PC to receive calls
• you don’t need to install a brand new VoIP phone on your desk to receive all the calls coming from Sitofono
• you won’t distinguish calls to your office phone/call center coming from Sitofono from calls coming from normal telephones
• starting from January 2007, you’ll get a Voicemail for free as well, that you can use with your Sitofono
• starting from January 2007, you’ll be able to choose different numbers where you can be reached depending on the time of the day an other parameters (Iotum ?
• no variable costs
• no need to be a VoIP expert to install it a get benefits from it
• no need to have a website as well, you just need an email or you can get a personal Sitofono which can become your personal website, something like www.yourname.sitofono.com, where you can even insert a brief description of your activity as well.

Purists would say: “hey, why cannot link Sitofono to my SIP user agent ?”.
The answer is: technically speaking, you can do it. But from a marketing point of view, our sales network cannot go to the shop near home which has a website telling them that they have to install a SIP phone just for this purpose. It’s simply a matter of market size. Less barriers, bigger market. And, looking at this first important achievement, it works.

Abbeynet, to celebrate the first 100.000 business customers (including e-commerce portals, banks, pubs (!!), insurance, shops, mortgage portals, travel agents etc), is now giving away Sitofono for two months for selected companies which would like to try it out. For FREE, of course. An online form will be available soon to book your Sitofono. In the meantime, if you’re interested, please drop me a line.

At the same time, Abbeynet is going to offer “thirty” personal Sitofono to bloggers who would like to use it in their blogs or outgoing emails. FREE forever, of course
Again, if interested, please drop me a line.

I previously posted some comments related to: where is the money in VoIP ? Now, here’s one of the possible answers. Companies invest to get new customers, to “spread the word”and to be contacted from new prospects and Sitofono is one of the pieces of the puzzle. So, as you cannot imagine a house without a ringbell outside, from now on you cannot imagine a website without Sitofono.

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