SAN JOSE, CA — TellSoft Technologies Inc., Colorado Springs, CO, unveiled a new group of services that allow marketers to enhance Web and email marketing campaigns with voicemail messaging.
Each of the services, labeled iTalkMail, iTalkLive and iTalkWeb, offers a method of adding voicemail to Web pages and email messages.
“There are all kinds of ways companies can use our system, from communicating directly with customers to supporting a sales staff to hosting live events,” said Scott King, vice president of sales, TellSoft.
iTalkMail is a system that combines voicemail technology with email sent to a targeted audience. A marketer records a voicemail, then sends an email to customers encouraging them to click on a link and hear the voice message (customers would need a computer with speakers). The voice message is sent through the Internet using streaming, a technology to send video and audio signals through the Internet in real time.
In one example, the service could be used by an online music retailer to promote the release of a new album. An email could be sent to a targeted list of people who had bought a previous album by a particular artist. The email would say, for example, “The Rolling Stones will release their next album next week. Click on the link below to hear a message from lead singer Mick Jagger about ordering an advance copy of the release.”
People who click on the link would then hear the streamed message and could conceivably order the album directly through the Internet.
TellSoft's iTalkWeb service allows a person to record a voicemail message that is linked to a Web site. People who click on the voicemail link can hear a streamed voicemail message. TellSoft provides this service to the Prudential Securities Web site, which allows Web users to clink on a link and hear a new voice message of commentary from its popular market analyst Larry Wachtel.
Finally, its iTalkLive service allows a Web site to stream a live voicemail message through the Internet. For example, a Web site could host an event with an author, celebrity or guest speaker, who does not need to be in a recording studio, but could be connected through a telephone.
TellSoft intends to sell the services to Web site hosting companies, Web designers and Internet sites that may re-sell it to their customers as a value-added service.
TellSoft demonstrated its technology at Streaming Media West, a conference here that showcases new development tools and applications for up-and-coming streaming media technology.
The company recently completed a $7.3 million round of venture capital financing led by Softbank Venture Capital with participation from Morningside Ventures and Catalyst Venture Management.
