Google Voice

Image by marcopako  via Flickr

Google, Google, Google... Do you REALLY want to put us all out of a job? (No, not really going to happen, but read on. They're on to something - again.)

Haaaaave you met Google Voice? :)
http://www.google.com/googlevoice/about.html


One of these days, it is going to raise it's ugly head.
With a single number to rule them all - with multiple phones that will ring, voicemail you can monitor and get transcribed into an e-mail, SMSes that, if they arrive to your Google Voice number can be forwarded to multiple mobiles, personalised greetings, phone-switching mid-call... All things that have up to now been the domain of the (enterprise grade) VoIP PBX - Asterisk in the free/SMB enviroment, ours and Ciscos and everybody elses offerings in the SMB/Enterprise. We've had Skype, and we've had multitudes of VoIP service providers - and now, we add Google. Did anyone notice the proverbial elephant on the proverbial 19-inch rack?

It's going to be - LEGEN-wait-for-it-DARY. Not just the service (and, I must confess, I'm a GoogleFan, to the point of using a T-Mobile G1, which means that I'm signing up the moment it's made available), but also in helping everyone to "bringig VoIP and advanced telecoms services to the masses". And yes, there will be challenges all of us vendors are going to have - hopefully only from a bigger awareness of the VoIP technology and our collective offerings that will spring more sales in the enterprise market, but, very likely, we're also going to start hearing things like "if Google does all of this for free, why should I pay multiple tens of thousands to you" from customers - I can just see a small company going "all Google"... Google Mail on their domain for E-mail, Google Apps for data sharing, the new Google Sites for a cut-down version of Sharepoint, and, yep, you've guessed it - Google Voice for their phone needs.


It's not all bleak though - thank R&D and marketing we now have Avaya Aura - more at www.avaya.com, but I'll post some comments on it in the next few days as well - to respond to the new challenger in the field. And I think they're going to put up a fight.

As an end note, I'm waiting to see the pricing structure. Dave, Sergey, please don't make it too cheap? :)

Does your Contact Center work this way?

Shameless "share and reapply"* time.

"Companies don’t engage emotionally with their customers—people do. If you want to create a memorable company, you have to fill your company with memorable people. How are you making sure that you’re filling your organization with the right people? And how much are you willing to pay to find out?"

So true. Your customer - especially if you operate mostly in the metaverse - has his one and only contact with you over the phone, e-mail, your Voice Portal... Either a person he can't see on the other side of the line, or a "soulless" machine. He builds his impression based on his experience there, so you need to work really, really, really, reaaaaalllly hard to make sure it's one he remembers, finds "enjoyable" and leaves him satisfied.

Enter Zappos. They probably have the best Customer Service Agent training idea ever. After a week or so of their initial Agent Traigning,it’s time for what they call “The Offer.” The fast-growing company, which works hard to recruit people to join, says to its newest employees: “If you quit today, we will pay you for the amount of time you’ve worked, plus we will offer you a $1,000 bonus.”

Commitment? I has it.

More at Harvard Business Publishing.


* Share and Reapply: Procter and Gamble speak for "Steal something which another country already did and use it in your country."