IVR service bureau companies have been informed by Verizon, owners of MCI, that it will terminate billing for all 900 number pay-per-call programs in the United States, effective December 31, 2012.

900 NUMBERS FEEL THE STING: Verizon announces the end of the 900 number industry on December 31, 2012.

900 numbers enjoyed an astounding run in the 1990’s as businesses like Microsoft used them for computer technical support.  The US Passport office also employed 900 numbers for expedited passport requests. You could even listen to the astronauts on the space shuttle via a 900 number.

Then, there were the 900 number programs that usually consisted of girls in hot tubs saying “call me” on late night television.  In most cases, when you did call, you probably got a lot less than you might have thought you were getting, especially since the major carriers banned billing for adult content within two years of the mass introduction of 900 services in 1989.

But, the place where 900 numbers had the most lasting impact in the minds of the consumers was in entertainment.  Singer Michael Bolton had a popular 900 number for his fan club and WWF heavyweight champion Hulk Hogan’s 900 number was the most called number in the nation. And, who could forget Dionne Warwick and her Psychic Friends Network which was said to have earned $1 billion per year in the early 1990’s.

Psychic Friends Network went bankrupt in 1998 under a burden of heavy debt imposed on it by a tsunami of chargebacks and other disputes with the telephone companies who were unable, or unwilling, to collect from consumers on its 900 number calls.

You would have thought they could see that coming.

Why 900 Numbers Disappeared in the USA

Although the internet has taken a ring out of the pay per call (900 number) industry worldwide, in most countries, the business is still quite viable.  In fact, in Canada, 900 numbers have actually showed an uptick thanks to participation television in recent years.

HEY ALL YOU HULKAMANIACS: You won’t have the Hulkster to call in 2013.

So, why didn’t the business survive in the United States?

There are several reasons that contributed to the demise of 900 numbers in the USA.

1. No Cell Phone Access – For some inexplicable reason, mobile carriers in the USA never allowed calls to 900 numbers.  This is commonplace in nearly all other countries.
2. TDDRA – In July, 1996, this FTC policy outlined strict regulations for the pay per call industry.  An industry that was at one time entirely under-regulated was now tremendously over-regulated.  One such regulation allowed consumers to request a chargeback (rebate) on 900 number calls that would be required to be granted for first time requesters.  With telephone companies unable to enforce its charges, it didn’t take consumers long to realize that they could abuse the system and not pay for their 900 number calls.  “Your cat made the call?  No problem, we’ll reimburse you.”  (Yes, this was an actual reason why a consumer was granted a chargeback on a 900 number call.)
3. Internet – Paid information by telephone became an after-thought once the internet took hold.  Why pay for sports scores or weather reports when they could be obtained for free online?  The internet also eliminated some major 900 number categories like newspaper and radio-sponsored personals services.  It just made more sense to use the internet for dating, as it could deliver an important element that the phone could not: a photo.
4. Carrier Greed – From the beginning, the carriers charged an exorbitant amount for its transport services for 900 numbers, as much as .35 per minute plus 15% of the cost of the call.  While the cost of telephone calls declined rapidly over the past two decades, the carriers never lowered their rates on 900 numbers, thus making it impossible for low priced 900 numbers (common in other countries) to have a fighting chance.  If there were a way to offer weather reports for 10 to 25 cents, we’d still have a market.
5. 2002 – AT&T left the 900 number industry in 2002.  As if that weren’t enough, MCI went bankrupt in 2002 and didn’t pay its customers for 900 number revenues.  It was a double sided blow to the industry.  When MCI emerged from bankruptcy, it enjoyed a 900 number monopoly and didn’t invest in any improvements to the business.
6. Scams – When the 900 number industry began in the late 1980’s, it was self-regulated.  Yeah, that worked well, didn’t it?
7. Stigma – Most people don’t realize that Farrah Fawcett was only on Charlie’s Angels for one season, as she is the iconic figure of the show.  The same with 900 numbers.  Despite being banned by all carriers by 1991, the adult stigma of the early programs was long lasting in many companies’ minds and kept them away from the industry.  It was a silly comparison since banks have long processed credit card transactions for hard core porn and nobody ever avoided banks.  “Some of the companies we spoke to wouldn’t touch 900, because of something that they, nor we, had any direct involvement with.”

The Future

Mobile is the future and clearly the future for the pay per call business is with billing mechanisms.  Already, the USA is running way behind Europe and Canada in providing worthwhile new mobile billing mechanisms such as the Pound Code.

Perhaps, being late to the party will mean that the industry won’t get off to such a rocky start as 900 numbers did.

About the Author

Bob Bentz is the president of Advanced Telecom Services which had been in the 900 number business since 1989.  Fortunately, the company has reinvested itself in the mobile marketing business and now acts as the mobile marketing agency for many top brands and businesses.

You can follow Bob Bentz on Google + or on Twitter @BobBentz.

Have you taken a look at how your business’s website looks on a mobile phone?  It’s likely not a pretty site.

A Mobile Website Means More Sales for Small Local Businesses

I know you’re busy.  All small businesspersons are busy.  We don’t have assistants and we don’t have enough staff.  And, we wear a lot of hats.

So, your website for your business is probably one of those things you just don’t pay as much attention to as you’d like.  In fact, you probably just got your website to where it needs to be and now some guy is telling you that you need a second website—a mobile website.

Why Your Business Needs a Mobile Website

Seventeen percent of all web searches done today are conducted on the mobile phone and for some categories such as restaurants, over 30% search by mobile.  That’s not surprising given that twice as many Americans went online via their mobiles in 2012 versus just the year before.

Take a look at how your website looks on the small screen of your smartphone or even your feature phone.  It’s likely not a pretty site (get it?).  It’s tough to navigate and it’s hard on the eyes.  How can they even see that microscopic type on your informative, yet very busy, home page.

Over 40% of local searches today are conducted on the mobile phone while on the go.  Yet, only 7% of small business websites are optimized for the smaller screen of the mobile phone!  Imagine how your company could stand out with a mobile-optimized website.

Want to know how many people are looking at your website through a mobile phone?  It’s easy if you have Google Analytics incorporated into your website.  Take a look and remember that no matter what the number is, it’s likely to be growing rapidly.  By 2016, half of all websites will be accessed from the mobile phone.

Smaller Can Be Better

A mobile website, or “microsite” as we like to call them, takes the most important information from your desktop website and makes it available for mobile viewing.  The content needs to be adapted to the smaller screen and the slower internet connection.

Navigation needs to be easier too since fat fingering a busy site is going to be commonplace.  I like to use the “thumb test.”  Try navigating a website using the largest of your fingers; if you can’t do it easily, then that’s exactly how its going to be for a large person or an older person with declining eye site.

Moreover, the potential customer visiting your site probably does not have the same conveniences that he has while sitting at his office or in his home.  He’s likely to be walking down the street or riding in a car.

That means you need to create a website with fewer graphics, less text, and easier navigation buttons.  You also need to incorporate features native to mobile phones such as convenient click-to-call buttons or TextChat features.

As for the navigation on the home page, we like to keep it to six or less buttons.  Keeping it to this amount should satisfy the thumb test.

Remember, too, however, that there are now tablets in play and tablet owners are able to do more things given the larger screen of the iPad or similar tablet.  That means your home page of the mobile website should enable to visitor to click back to the desktop website as well if he so chooses.

So, How Do I Get One?

You can contact your website designer and perhaps he can make a mobile website for you as well.  If he hasn’t done one before, however, it may not be that easy.

Creating a desktop website and a mobile website is kind of like playing chess and checkers.  While chess may be the harder game to understand, being a top player in checkers may be even more difficult.

A mobile website is really just one part of an overall strategy to satisfy your mobile customers and prospects.  So, a fully integrated mobile marketing plan probably makes sense.  Such a plan may incorporate all or some of these elements:

• Mobile website
• Text message marketing
• Custom QR Codes
• TextChat
• Apps

An agency that specializes in all of the elements of mobile marketing may be just what you need to increase your sales to your on-the-go customers.

Expect to invest at least $1500 for a decent mobile website—a small price to pay for driving more customers to your local business.

Bob Bentz is president of Advanced Telecom Services which has been providing interactive telephone solutions since 1989.  Due to his obsession with mobile websites, he has been forced to purchase an unlimited data plan.

Restaurants are one of the most important retail categories for mobile users.  In fact, those accessing restaurant websites from their mobile phones grew by 65% last year and this trend has continued this year as well.

The restaurant industry is built solely on brick and mortar locations, thus making restaurants the perfect storm for access by on the go customers.  Yet, while restaurants are one of the most important categories for mobile users, it continues to be highly under-developed in terms of mobile marketing.

With 29.6% of all searches for restaurants being conducted on mobile devices, a restaurant having a mobile marketing strategy is no longer just a good idea, but a means for future survival.  (Note – Your mobile access results may vary.  Check Google Analytics and you can easily see what percentage of people are accessing your restaurant’s website from a mobile phone.

Searching for More Restaurant Customers

Searchers for restaurants are closer to the buying process than almost any mobile search category.  Of smartphone users, 76% of restaurants searches are done while on the go and 51% of them are searching while in their cars.

This leads to 84% of mobile restaurant users that ultimately go on to make a purchase.  Thirty percent of smartphone owners convert into customers immediately and more than 60% convert into paying customers within the hour.  No doubt: mobile restaurant users are looking to make urgent and quick decisions on where and what to eat NOW.

Getting into Your Customer’s Pants

Mobile websites, or in some cases, mobile apps, are the basis for a restaurant’s handheld reputation.  Ensuring that mobile websites and apps are optimized with the latest information about your restaurant should be at the core of all mobile restaurant strategies.

Your desktop website likely won’t do the job adequately.  It’s probably too busy, won’t load fast enough, and isn’t easy to navigate on the small screen of the smartphone or feature phone.  This all makes for a poor user experience.

A top revenue producing restaurant mobile website will go easy on the graphics and will keep text to a minimum.  This helps with readability on the smaller screen and will enable the site to load quicker on the less than high-speed connection your customer may be using.  We all know that if it takes too long to load, the customer becomes impatient and will likely leave.

In fact, 61% of visitors to a mobile unfriendly website will simply leave for a competitor’s website.  That means decreased sales for your restaurant if you haven’t embraced mobile.

As for navigation, I like to tell restaurant owners to use the “thumb test.”  Try navigating your current desktop website on a small feature phone.  If you can’t press the buttons easily, then you’ll have the same user experience as a large person (your best customer) or an older person with failing eye site.

You’ll also want to add some of the industry standbys for mobile smartphones such as click to call for reservations and TextChat for information.  With a click to call feature, the smartphone user simply touches his screen and dials the restaurant.  TextChat allows the user to have an interactive conversation with the restaurant via text message.

An Added Bonus to a Mobile Optimized Website

Google now ranks websites that are accessed via mobile with an entirely different set of parameters than traditional desktop computer searches.  If your mobile visitors are bouncing (leaving the site immediately after hitting the home page), your site’s search engine rankings will decrease.  On the other hand, if you have a mobile-optimized website, and the visitors stick around and come back, you’ll see an up-tick in your search engine rankings.

Order Up a Complete Mobile Marketing Plan

When it comes to providing a positive experience for your mobile users, a mobile website and app is important, but it doesn’t just end there.  A complete mobile marketing experience for the restaurant user includes:

• Mobile website
• App
• Custom QR Codes
• TextChat
• Text Message Marketing

When scanned, a QR Code, for instance could return a video from the restaurant owner with a personal invitation to visit the restaurant or it could provide a video from the chef preparing his favorite dish.  Remember that a Custom QR Code, one with your logo in it, gets 2.3x more scans than an ordinary black & white one.

With TextChat, your on-the-go customers can text the restaurant to ask a question or make a reservation.  The hostess can take care of the requests from a desktop computer just as she handles traditional phone in reservations.

Text message marketing is the cheapest of all of the services and is able to provide mobile coupons to drive traffic on traditionally slower nights.  Text message marketing also enables you to reach your customers when they are most likely to buy, like just before lunch or dinner hours.  If you can only afford one service in addition to your mobile website, I’d recommend text messaging.

Getting To Your Customers Wallets

A mobile optimized website and a sound mobile marketing strategy provide a firm foundation for creating more restaurant sales.  Hunger is a powerful motivator and there is no better category than restaurants to lend itself to the power of mobile marketing.  The best way for your restaurant to get to your customers’ stomachs is through their mobile phones.

Bob Bentz is president of Advanced Telecom Services which has been providing interactive telephone services since 1989.  You can follow him on Google+ and Twitter.  He spends most of his day searching for restaurants via his smartphone.

Because the hustle and bustle of the workweek leaves little room for schedule adjustments, attending webinars can be difficult when crunched for time.  Many times, registration must be done at least a week in advance, and even then there is always the possibility of unexpected tasks taking priority.

While we offer a variety of informative weekly webinars, such as Texting Tuesday, Your Message on the Move, as well as others, you may request something more specific.

With our personal webinar scheduler, YOU choose a date and time that is most convenient for YOU!  Simply clicking on the respective day and time, and then entering a few details about your interests, you have successfully set up an appointment for your personal presentation. It’s really that simple.

Whether you schedule for a few days in advance, or later this afternoon, convenience is on your side.  If you would like your personal introduction to mobile marketing or something more specific, use our scheduler here.

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You can use tile posts aswell.

Bob Bentz spoke about Advanced Mobile’s Cars2Go product at the recent World Telemedia show in Marbella, Spain.

Advanced Telecom Services’ Bob Bentz was a featured speaker in the “Retail & Commerce” session at World Telemedia 2012 held in Marbella, Spain on October 18-19.  Bentz’s presentation was called “Driving Car Sales” and discussed how over 1100 auto dealers in the United States are using the Cars2Go mobile platform to increase sales via mobile marketing.

The Cars2Go mobile platform, a service of Advanced Mobile, is a mobile marketing solution designed exclusively for auto dealers.  It includes a mobile app, mobile website, text message marketing, custom QR Code, and TextChat.

If you weren’t able to be in Marbella, but would like to see the slides that Bentz presented at the show, you can view the presentation here.  Sun not included.

Check out our Better Business Bureau rating.

The year was 1912 and we hadn’t yet experienced a world war.  The majority of the roads in America were made of dirt.  You likely didn’t own an automobile, and if you did, it was a luxury to purchase gasoline for 7 cents per gallon.

If you’ve watched any old movies, you know that the early 1900’s were the days of the snake oil salesman.  Shoddy products and practices were commonplace.  There was virtually no protection for the consumer in terms of products or in advertising standards that made incredible claims to a less educated and more gullible public.

It was 100 years ago that the Associated Advertising Clubs of America, the forerunner to many of today’s advertising clubs, formed a National Vigilance Committee to focus on advertising standards.  The National Vigilance Committee soon became known as the national Better Business Bureau.

Today’s Better Business Bureau exists to help consumers find trustworthy businesses and to help them make informed buying decisions.  Consumers in the 21^st century certainly have more information available to them via the internet, but the BBB continues to carry the torch as a mediator to those consumers that have a problem with a business.

Over the past five years, the number of complaints registered at the BBB has increased by 78%.  Perhaps it has something to do with the struggling economy and perhaps consumers today are simply more empowered.

There is no doubt, however, that today’s customer values authenticity, honesty, integrity, and trust..  BBB Accredited Businesses like Advanced Telecom Services go a long way in providing the consumer with the confidence that it needs to do business with a company.

At Advanced Telecom Services, we are very proud of the A+ rating that the BBB has bestowed upon us.

The Cars2Go AWA awards were accepted in Las Vegas by Vice-President of Sales, David Sawyer.

Wayne, Pennsylvania — Advanced Mobile has won two prestigious Automotive Website Awards at the AutoCon 2012 trade show in Las Vegas.  Advanced Mobile won awards for the Top Rated Mobile Website and Top Rated iPhone/Android App for auto dealers.  Both are part of Advanced Mobile’s Cars2Go Services, which is the most comprehensive suite of mobile services designed specifically for automotive retailers.

The AWA is the highest recognition for companies that assist the automotive retail industry to operate more effectively. The honorees are selected after a rigorous testing and evaluation from the staff at PCG Consulting.  The category “Mobile” was one of six Expo Themes at the show.

“We were impressed with the comprehensive suite of mobile tools Advanced Mobile provides and how these tools work together to maximize the mobile opportunity for

Advanced Mobile’s Cars2Go won two AWA awards for Top Rated Mobile Website and Top Rated iPhone/Android App.

dealers. The engagement levels and lead conversion metrics delivered by their mobile websites and apps were compelling.  Advanced Mobile has given a lot of thought to what it takes to create strong user engagement, which ultimately results in more, higher quality leads to the dealers” said Brian Pasch, CEO of PCG Consulting.

The 2012 Automotive Website Award ceremony was held at the Aria Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas.  Over 600 automotive industry professionals attended this prestigious awards ceremony, which identifies the most innovative technology and software solutions for automotive retailers.

David Sawyer, Executive V.P. of Business Development at Advanced Mobile was on hand to accept the award.  “We are excited about the sales and CRM value our services drive for dealers and proud to be recipients of this prestigious AWA award.  Our team has worked hard to provide our dealer customers with the very best mobile services available anywhere.”

About Advanced Mobile:

Advanced Mobile, of Wayne, Pennsylvania, is the leading provider of mobile services to the automotive retail industry.  Through its Cars2Go Services, auto dealers have available to them the most robust suite of mobile services in which to engage their audience in a mobile friendly manner.