SoundBite Communications Introduces Cost Effective, Customer Sensitive TeleMail Service for Direct Marketers

Business Wire, Oct 30, 2001

Business/Technology Editors

BURLINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 30, 2001

Personalized, Outbound Voice-Messaging Solution Designed to Allay

Consumer Fears About Direct Mail, Support Direct Marketing Programs

SoundBite Communications, which provides the industry's first interactive outbound voice communications services, today announced the availability of SoundBite TeleMail, a new, low-cost voice-messaging service to augment existing direct mail campaigns. As concerns about mail security increase within the U.S., marketers are looking for new ways to alleviate consumers' fears about the safety of direct mail, while still distributing important marketing messages to their customers. In reaction to this need, SoundBite accelerated the launch of TeleMail, which had been under development. TeleMail enables marketers to send out a phone message to a targeted customer base in place of a direct mail campaign, or to alert customers to the arrival of a direct mail piece -- increasing chances recipients will read it.

The Direct Marketing Association (DMA) recently recommended a series of steps that direct marketers should take to continue their planned campaigns and simultaneously ensure consumers of the safety of their mail pieces. One important step for marketers is to alert consumers of an upcoming mailing, and the purpose of the mailing, just before the mailing arrives. To address this immediate market need, and support the direct marketing community, SoundBite has created the easy-to-use TeleMail service. Built on SoundBite's patent-pending phone-based interactive messaging technology, it allows companies to contact thousands of customers at once with a brief, professionally produced message that instills confidence within the recipient of the integrity of the direct mail piece.

"In order to be sensitive to the concerns of our audience we have debated delaying or canceling direct mail campaigns," said Jack Bevilacqua, partner, Capital Management Partners. "Since we use SoundBite already to complement our direct marketing efforts, we know it provides a high response rate at a lower cost than traditional methods. We also know it will be effective in securing the confidence of our audience at this crucial time."

TeleMail is designed to support direct mail campaigns and offers significant benefits to direct marketers concerned with the effectiveness of their campaigns, including:

-- The ability to reach thousands of subscribers quickly and cost effectively with a single message that alerts customers to an upcoming mail piece.

-- An easy-to-implement service that requires no investment in software or equipment or assistance from the IT department.

-- Consultation with SoundBite experts regarding the content and production of the most effective message possible.

"We support the DMA's position that marketers should not abandon direct mail in light of the recent events concerning mail in the U.S.," said John McDonough, president and CEO, SoundBite Communications. "SoundBite already had a highly effective solution that a range of marketing industry professionals have been leveraging in our interactive outbound voice messaging service. In reaction to these recent events, we quickly designed the TeleMail service as a complement to our other services to provide a cost-effective communication tool for marketers who need to reach direct mail recipients quickly to allay fears about unsolicited mail."

SoundBite's flagship interactive service, called SoundBite Response, can also be used in place of direct mail. A SoundBite Response message gives recipients of the message the ability to interact with the message and take action immediately. Interactive options include "direct connecting" back to a company's customer support center or respond to questions via spoken answer or touch tone response. Companies across the country have implemented SoundBite Response into their marketing mix with dramatic results. Users are achieving increases in response rates of 100 percent or more and decreases in cost-per-customer-response of as much as 75 percent.

About SoundBite Communications

SoundBite is a voice communications services company that enables businesses to deliver personal, interactive telephone messages simultaneously to thousands of customers. A "SoundBite" combines the personal qualities of the human voice with the "one-to-many" and interactive capabilities similar to e-mail, and turns every phone into an interactive group communication tool. Companies in a variety of industries from publishing to financial services to events management are using SoundBite Response interactive voice messaging services and are consistently realizing immediate results with higher response rates at lower costs. Headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, SoundBite Communications can be reached at 781-273-3360 or on the Internet at www.soundbite.com.