Vontoo Voice Messaging

Go Green with Vontoo Voice Marketing and Save Some Green!

Tuesday, May 19, 2009 by Rachel Moore

Cherish your marketing budget and our natural resources

Don't exhaust your budget dollars and valuable natural resources on the same old marketing efforts, only to experience below par results.

Vontoo voice marketing can help your organization...

- save 60% on direct mail costss
- generate $9 for every $1 spent
- cut down on costly staff efforts
- track campaign results in real-time

Help reduce snail mail, GO GREEN with Vonoo voice marketing! Connect with your customers... the way they want to be reached. It's your message, your voice, your way, your success!

Get your complimentary, seven-day trial, visit www.vontoo.com or call Vontoo today at 1.877.TO.VONTOO to learn more about permission-based voice marketing and building meaningful relationships with the power of voice.

Vontoo Voice highlighted in BusinessWeek

Friday, May 1, 2009 by Carissa Newton

The voice marketing message is spreading quickly! The word is out....Vontoo is a powerful tool that enables organizations to create personalized voice marketing messages.

Your Message. | Your Way. | Real Results.

So many we encounter, often quickly dismiss voice as disruptive or percieved negatively. However, when implemented correctly organizations can deliver a powerful message to their audience in a way that our mobile communities want to be reached. Voice marketing is more than simply blasting out a message or robodialing with a computer generated voice. TRUE voice marketing allows the organization sending the message to personalize it with their brand while also realizing measurable financial results.

Vontoo was highlighted today in BusinessWeek as one of America's most promising startups. This news is exciting enough, but more compelling is the customer successes outlined in the article. If you aren't already using voice, try it today!

Win the Stimulus 'Race to the Top' with Vontoo

Monday, April 20, 2009 by Vontoo Marketing

Though I did poke some fun at our current Veep Joe Biden earlier this year

for not knowing the website 'number' linked to the stimulus site (for those wanting to know the URL, it's recovery.gov), I will tip my hat to El Prez Obama and his team for getting some things right in this whole hullabaloo.

With more than $44 billion in stimulus funding opening up to the states over the next month, recruitment and retention efforts can be greatly increased with the influx of federal dollars. What better way to cost-effectively promote your school to potential and current students than with Vontoo high volume voice messaging?

A successfully implemented broadcast campaign can increase the productivity of your stimulus dollars, and innovative techniques will certainly aid in schools receiving a portion of the $5 billion competitive grants from the 'Race to the Top' fund.

For more information on how you can implement Vontoo's services into your current marketing mix, visit us on the web.

Speaking of races, I'm running the Kentucky Derby Festival Mini Marathon this Saturday. Wish me luck!

Take a quick listen to Adele's 'Right As Rain.'

Right As Rain - Adele

TechPoint Releases Finalists for Prestigious Mira Awards

Wednesday, April 15, 2009 by Carissa Newton

Exciting News! I was recently notified that Vontoo was nominated for the 2009 Techpoint Mira Awards presented by BKD in the Information Technology category.

This is a tremendous honor to be in the company of such great talent and to be recognized for the work that Vontoo does. We are competing in this category with partners and peers such as Compendium, BlueLock, Cantaloupe, RighOn Interactive, and FormSpring.

Techpoint just announced the nominees today!

The 2009 Techpoint Mira Awards Gala is scheduled for May 16th. Look for an announcement during that timeframe and keep your fingers crossed that Vontoo has a win to celebrate!

This nomination does not come without the hard work and energy of each and every person here at Vontoo! We hope that you share in our excitement in seeing Vontoo recognized for delivering on our brand promise that:

Vontoo Voice Marketing is a powerful and engaging platform that helps our clients deliver measurable financial results through the compelling messages they send to their audiences.

Click here to learn more about Vontoo or try it today!

Green Is My Favorite Color

Wednesday, April 15, 2009 by Vontoo Marketing

I'm not so much beating a dead horse this time, as we haven't mentioned the whole 'green' thing yet, especially not in this blog. I guess more so you could say we're going the way of Leonardo DiCaprio, jumping on the band wagon, and taking a serious interest in what happens to the size of our carbon footprint. More importantly even, we're hoping to help others reduce theirs at the same time.

Apart from the obvious financial restraints involved with engaging customers, communications can also be quite taxing on the environment. Direct mail is a go-to for many marketers, but that same message can be conveyed more efficiently and effectively through the use of Vontoo high volume voice messaging. Automated voice messaging can take the place of costly fliers and can help your organization...

cut down on printed materials
save 60% on direct mail costs
generate $9 for every $1 spent
conserve staff efforts
send a more timely message
nurture relationships with customers
track campaign results in 'real-time'

So tell me, what are you waiting for? Show me the way you can Vontoo and sign up today for a free trial account or even better, give us a holler at 877.868.6686. We'd love to chat.

Be like Leo and go green. Take your first step with Vontoo permission based voice marketing!

I'm obsessed with this song. Amy MacDonald, This Is The Life.

This Is The Life - Amy Macdonald

How To: Send a Vontoo Call From Your iPhone

Monday, April 13, 2009 by Vontoo Marketing

First of all, I want to follow up my Fat Tuesday post and report that I successfully made it through the Lent season without shopping. Not a single purchase of shoes, purses, articles of clothing or any other accessories. Score. Now that Holy Season is over though, all bets are off.

Moving on...

In the age of 3G networks and cell phones that are so much more than their name actually implies, companies are smart to keep their user interfaces sharp and to the point.

One fine evening I was having dinner with friends Mark and Lauren, fellow members of the 'Finer Things Club', when Lo mentioned she never received my Vontoo Christmas call. Understand, this was the 5th of March, and as I'm a campaign specialist and I put all of customers' audio files into my account to test before uploaded them in the final form, you can imagine the large volume of files in my audio library.

Never fear, Vontoo is completely compatible with my lovely little lavender iPhone. I was able to change my caller ID (which if you'll recall I was remiss in doing originally), set up a call with the appropriate recipient and audio files, and share my joyous Christmas wishes to Lauren three months three months after the original broadcast campaign was sent. Not sure why I waited until now to mention this, but it's good info nevertheless.

Even in a pinch, high volume voice messaging customers can send out stellar cell phone notifications to recipients with those magic little computers that fit in the palm of your hand. Since the day I bought it, I loved my iPhone. It only continues to prove its use as time goes by.

New music coming your way again...Enjoy 'Fluorescent Adolescent' by the Arctic Monkeys.

Fluorescent Adolescent - Arctic Monkeys

Also for your enjoyment, check out our own Jesse Jett with Alex P. Keaton...I mean Michael J. Fox...in the lobby of the hotel for the AACRAO conference. Quite blurry, but we don't pay Tyler for his best impression of Ansel Adams.

March Madness Comes to an End

Wednesday, April 8, 2009 by Vontoo Marketing

I find it slightly ironic that March Madness ends in April. Maybe that's just me. Either way, though President Obama foresaw UNC taking the title, the tournament definitely ended in some shockers here in the Vontoo high volume voice messaging company bracket pool.

Dena, our office manager, ended up taking the third spot with 191 points. Go girl, that's all I can say. Jeff, one of our sales associates, came in second with 209 points, and leading the way was our March Madness pool coordinator, Ross from business development, with 249 points. Don't worry, he didn't play foul...We like to think he just got incredibly lucky. Here's your good word, Ross: Thanks for putting everything together!

As for me, once my hometown favorite U of L fell off I was toast. I had them going all the way, and even had Pitt defeating the reigning champs during the Final Four. Apparently, all that Sports Center isn't really paying off. I still had some hope with my lady Cards, but even they fell Tuesday night to UConn.

So, thus endeth another round of March Madness. Hopefully you enjoyed the grace and athleticism of the fine ladies and gentlemen of Division 1 basketball. We'll look forward to seeing you again next year. Until then, keep in touch with us by setting up your own mass voice messaging account to send out broadcast messages. Check it out.

Enjoy 'No You Didn't, No You Don't' by one of my new finds, The Courteeners.

No You Didnt, No You Dont - The Courteeners

An Extraordinary Life and Daily Inspiration

Wednesday, April 8, 2009 by Kim Graham Lee

Well, it has been a while since I've blogged and while I won't make excuses, I'll share the reason. Shortly after posting my last blog about my first Vontoo voice marketing call, I learned that the "C" word was back in my dear friend, Suz's, life. It came as a surprise to all of us. And while, I don't necessarily belive in ginxes, I did have trouble posting another blog...until today.

Suz continues to be an incredible inspiration to me and many others as she wages a very courageous battle against the disease and another "enemy". To know Suz is to love Suz because of her inner and outer beauty, her faith, her warmth, and her "B-Positive" attitude. (Her blood type is B-Positive which is fitting!) As I have told her many times, she is my hero.

Another source of inspiration interestingly enough comes to me through one of our clients. I look forward to the daily automated voice messaging calls from Rick Itzkowich, co-founder of Productive Learning and Leisure. Rick and I spoke a few months ago and I told him how important I believe his motivating work is especially in more challenging times like we are facing today. At least three mornings a week, I have the pleasure of receiving a Vontoo call from Rick on my cellphone which shares an inspiring thought and an action item for the day. Today's message really hit a chord particularly as I thought about Suz, whom I hope to visit later today in the hospital. Here is today's message from Rick. If you would also like to benefit from Rick's QuoteActions, click on this link.
Yes, every day is a gift. Thank you again, Suz, for exemplifying an extraordinary life. Can't wait to share that celebratory glass of wine with you soon! I love you, girlfriend!

If you would like to read more about how Productive Learning and Leisure is using Vontoo Voice Marketing to send their messages, click here.

Gmail Gets a Panic Button...We've Always Had One

Monday, April 6, 2009 by Vontoo Marketing

Freshly released from a weekend in jail (for Residents Encounter Christ) and back from my self-imposed blogging hiatus last week, I'm ready to jump in and continue my quest for journalism glory.

You'll have to forgive me as this information is a bit old, but nevertheless still a point of interest. In a (ahem) fairly recent TechCrunch post, Erick Schoenfeld discussed the newest addition to Gmail Labs, the 'Undo Send' feature.

A veritable 'panic button' used in the small lag time between hitting 'send' and the message actually taking off into cyber space, the Undo Send feature allows users the opportunity to eliminate sender's remorse in that short 5 second period. So, when you just sent an angry email to your jerk of a boss, or when you invited Ashleigh to your birthday party when you meant to invite Ashley, if you're quick enough, you can eliminate an embarrassing follow up with the click of a button.

The Vontoo high volume voice messaging system has always been a step ahead of the curve with functionality much in the same vein. During each and every Vontoo call, users can always hit our version of the panic button, 'pause', and make edits and corrections to audio and recipient lists at any point. Once a broadcast campaign has been set in motion, feel free to make tweaks throughout.

Message too long? Forgot to add the transfer audio? Wrong recipient list? Forgot to add your mom to your Christmas call list? We can't stop a call once it's gone out, but we can definitely prevent further mishaps with a quick pause, edit, and resume. No worries, Vontoo mass voice messaging has got your back.

You know it's bad when Tiffany's starts charging for their cleaning service

Tuesday, March 31, 2009 by Vontoo Marketing

Hello, dead horse. My name is Meg and I'm here to beat you.

Seriously, how many times can we discuss the economy and the recession? It comes up frequently in daily conversation and believe me, the high volume voice messaging world is absolutely not immune. (Have you seen my email signature?)

Unfortunately, I had one of those 'aha' moments last night that I felt needed to be translated into a blog. I popped into Keystone Fashion Mall (No, not to shop. Lent is not yet over and I've been a good girl.) to get my sunglasses repaired and walked past Tiffany & Co. Realizing my good fortune that I just happened to be wearing a pair of earrings from the jewelry power house that were particularly dingy, I decided to drop them off and have them shined up a bit.

One of my favorite perks of being a Tiffany's customer has always been that they maintain your pieces for you, free of charge. You can imagine how surprised I was when the sales clerk had to pull out a book to check the 'new pricing list' for cleaning services. What? I have to pay? You're kidding.

I suppose it's no shock that the luxury jewelry industry is being hit pretty badly across the country, but I was still quite thrown. Of course, I still left the pieces with the gentleman and will pay for their return today. Perhaps if they were to use automated phone messaging instead of those nice little note cards to follow up with all customers, they'd be able to once again return to the glory days of helpful (and most importantly free) service to their most faithful clients.

It's really quite impressive how much we can save our customers on direct mailing and other marketing costs. Give us a glance and see the potential the power of the human voice can have on your organization.

Wow, nothing pithy about that post...

Enjoy 'Give Love' by Third Day, dedicated to Erin Mulay out in sunny AZ. She was witness to my very first Tiffany purchase, which was coincidentally of the earrings in question.

Give Love - Third Day

March Madness Final Four

Monday, March 30, 2009 by Vontoo Marketing

Well, things have ended sadly for me in the 2009 March Madness bracket challenge. Purdue's out (no shocker there) and U of L folded to Michigan State to crush my hopes of a National Championship. The only team I have left in the Final Four is UNC, and I have them losing to a no longer existent Pitt team. Oops.

Still, my Boiler and Cardinal Ladies present me with hope as they play Oklahoma tomorrow and Maryland tonight, respectively, for berths in the Women's Final Four.

There are a few high volume voice messaging kiddos who still show hope for a successful men's bracket, however. Dena, our office manager and my lunch time gym pal, is solidly in the lead with 195 points, with Jeff from sales trailing by one point. The rest of us fall so far behind it's barely worth mentioning. So much for my perfect Southern bracket. (Actually, that's still perfect, save the fact that I had Syracuse beating Oklahoma.)

I'll be sure to wrap up the automated phone messaging bracket challenge after the final game on . Until then, I'm rooting for the Huskies.

Thanks to Izzy Hatke for introducing me to Everest. Enjoy 'Rebels in the Roses.'

Song of the day: Poker Face by Lady Gaga

Friday, March 27, 2009 by Vontoo Marketing

I thought all throughout the day on what a great post topic could be for today and came up with absolutely nothing related to high volume voice messaging, opt-in marketing, or broadcast campaign best practices. I gave it a shot, but I'm all tapped out. It's been a pretty crazy Friday, so I'm phoning it in today and wrapping the week with a bit of music. As I said, it's Friday, and that means it's time for our Club Level dance break. Enjoy.

By the way, YouTube launched its EDU site today. Basically another form of Academic Earth, EDU is an education hub that plays lectures from some of the country's top institutions. So go, learn something new.

Read the blog post by Michael Arrington in TechCrunch.

Poker Face - Lady Gaga

March Madness Sweet Sixteen

Thursday, March 26, 2009 by Vontoo Marketing

I mentioned a while ago that Vontoo voice messaging consultants have

started a little friendly competition regarding March Madness and the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. (Sidebar: People don't really care about the ladies, do they? So sad.)

Unfortunately, our Ross has been plugging away at business development for our voice messaging sales team and really hasn't had a ton of time to update the results. So, even though we're at the Sweet Sixteen, we're not quite sure who's out in the lead. I'd like to think I'm doing quite well though, especially since my entire South bracket is 100% perfect. Yep, I'm bragging.

Since we don't have numbers, I thought I'd give you a peek at the ten kiddos who have submitted seventeen brackets in hopes of sports glory.

Dena Bjortomt, Office Manager: 2
Meg Shireman, Campaign Specialist: 1
Jeff Stoia, Sales Representative: 1
Tyler Wilson, Senior Business Development: 1
Sam Bachmann, Account Manager: 4 (Go girl!)
Luke Schwyn, Business Development: 1
Brad Salyer, Senior Sales Representative: 2
Ross Stauffer, Business Development: 2
Jesse Jett, Sales Representative: 2
Jason McDonald, Director of Sales: 1

Hopefully after this round, we'll get some hard numbers to see who's cleaning up. Until then, as always, Boiler Up!

Shine On - The Kooks

Roadmap to Opt-In Success Webinar Schedule

Wednesday, March 25, 2009 by Vontoo Marketing

The time for new automated phone messaging regulations is quickly upon us. Are you ready for the changes?

Vontoo was founded as permission based marketing, so we're ahead of the curve and ready to bring you along with us. We're set to give your organization the tools it needs to successfully impliment Vontoo's Opt-In Suite and truly experience the power of the human voice with our new webinar series beginning 2 April.

Vontoo Voice Marketing can increase response to promotions, ensure attendance at events and webinars and can help you collect cash faster in a way that is more affordable and completely measurable.

Vontoo is here to help with our Whitepaper & Webinar:

Permission Based Voice Marketing: Your Roadmap to Opt-in Success

Time: 2-2:45 p.m. EST

Webinar Dates:

Thursday | April 2, 2009

Thursday | April 23, 2009

Thursday | June 4, 2009

Thursday | August 6, 2009

Thursday | October 8, 2009

Thursday | December 10, 2009

Get ahead of the game and register today!

Upon registration, you will be sent a confirmation email with webinar & dial-in information. All webinar registrants will receive the Permission Based Voice Marketing Whitepaper.

We look forward to sharing new innovative marketing ideas with you!

Update: Black and White, or Gray?

Tuesday, March 24, 2009 by Vontoo Marketing

Last week, I wrote a post about the gray areas of FTC regulations and how those changes impact Vontoo voice marketing and automated phone messaging. I gave examples of black and white situations and those a bit fuzzier both in the broadcast marketing world and life.

How unfortunate was it though that I posted the blog without the one gray area that was the best example of all possible disputes; Hillary Swank's beauty? It's such a popular discussion that it was even the plot of an episode of The Office from this season. Seriously, where was my mind?

When I initially thought of the idea for the post, Hilary was the first gray area I came up with. Obviously I'd lost my train of thought, because no sooner had I gotten to work than the Swank debate flew out of my mind and into thin air.

I was going to show a clip from the episode of The Office to job your memory, but apparently YouTube has them blocked. Fortunately, there's always Hulu. Check it out.

Now I feel my post has been completed. Thanks for humoring me.

You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb - Spoon

Social Media Slacker

Monday, March 23, 2009 by Vontoo Marketing

Hi, my name is Meg and I'm a social media slacker. I took on the job of spreading the voice marketing word back in February, and while I make constant attempts to Tweet (and not well to be honest), LinkedIn and Facebook have certainly been left behind.

We currently have fourteen friends on Facebook, and while we enjoy their company, fourteen just really isn't an impressive number. LinkedIn has seen a slight improvement with 25 connections, but really it all comes down to the fact that I'm just a slacker.

Social media is helpful in all arenas, including high volume voice marketing, for building and maintaining relationship with customers, potential clients, and other friends in the service business, and obviously it's time for Vontoo to step up our game. The quality v. quantity debate is still going strong, as showcased by our friend Kyle Lacy on this very day, but we're not even close to 30,000 Twitter followers. Heck, I got excited when we surpassed 100, so it surely won't kill us to up our game and increase our numbers.

Help out your poor voice messaging campaign specialist and make us your friends today. I promise I'll be better soon! (Oh heck, I just turned into Julianne Hough, begging for your affection.)

Dedicated to our friends and customers:

Thank You For Being A Friend - Andrew Gold

Vontoo March Madness Bracket Competition

Friday, March 20, 2009 by Vontoo Marketing

Gott Sie dank, heute ist Freitag! Any of my favorite client messaging customers feeling excited for the weekend? I've got friends in town, a birthday party tonight for my friend Mark, and a long run and bike ride with Cheryl to look forward to this weekend. (No fear, I enjoy working out and training for the Derby Mini Marathon...It's not a punishment.)

The voice messaging consultants have joined the bandwagon with a friendly inter-office rivalry. Unfortunately Ross, our fearless bracketeer and ring leader of the tournament, is out sick today so we're not exactly sure who's in the lead. My guess is that Dena and I are, as we only have three misses from the first round.

By the way, did anyone hear President Obama give his Barack-etology spiel on Sports Center Wednesday? EPSN is all I watch when I'm on the treadmill at lunch and, direct quote, 'I like Purdue.' Score, the President has our back. Of course, he also has us losing to UConn, but many do and that's not a huge shocker. I've got U of L taking the whole thing. Go Cards!

Keep checking in to see how your high volume voice messaging kiddos are doing throughout the rest of March Madness.

Note to my readers: Though he's never left a comment physically on my post, this song goes out to Paul Roales for his comments at St. Patrick's Day, and because I know he's reading each post. Plus, he's going to try take to our gang sailing again this Sunday. Can't beat that!

A-Punk - Vampire Weekend

I just bought a new Giant bike this weekend and am quite excited to brag about it. Thanks to Cheryl for holding my hand through the process and to she and master cyclist Andy O'Bryan for sharing my first ride (12 miles!) with me.

Your Roadmap to Opt-In Success Webinar Schedule Released!

Thursday, March 19, 2009 by Carissa Newton

New regulations are quickly approaching.

Do you have the roadmap to the solutions you need? Vontoo is designed with permission in mind, so let us help your organization make sure you're prepared for the new federal regulations and familiarize you with Vontoo's Opt-in Suite.

Vontoo Voice Marketing can increase response to promotions, ensure attendance at events and webinars and can help you collect cash faster in a way that is more affordable and completely measurable.

Vontoo is here to help with our Whitepaper & Webinar:

Permission Based Voice Marketing: Your Roadmap to Opt-in Success

Time: 2-2:45 p.m. EST

Webinar Dates:

Thursday | April 2, 2009

Thursday | April 23, 2009

Thursday | June 4, 2009

Thursday | August 6, 2009

Thursday | October 8, 2009

Thursday | December 10, 2009

Upon registration, you will be sent a confirmation email with webinar & dial-in information. All webinar registrants will receive thePermission Based Voice Marketing Whitepaper.

We look forward to sharing new innovative marketing ideas with you!

On The Road Again

Thursday, March 19, 2009 by Rachel Moore

Vontoo's Hittin' The Road Again...We'll See You in Phoenix!

A chosen few of Vontoo's Marketing, Management and Sales professionals will be taking off, into the wild blue yonder! Yes folks, we're heading to warm Phoenix, AZ. It's time for the 89th Annual AACC Convention and we wouldn't miss it!

This is a premiere event for community college leaders, offering unprecedented professional development as well as the opportunity to network, share and learn from professionals in the fields of education, business and industry, and the government sector.

So lookout world, from April 4-7, we'll be taking the world by storm at our exhibit booth, teaching educators about the power of Vontoo's Voice messaging system.

Visit the AACC web site to learn more about their 89th annual convention.

Vontoo voice marketing is as easy as one, two, three! Create your free trial account today and see what all the buzz is about. Just upload your contact list, create your custom phone message and send the call to your nearest and dearest. Before you know it, you'll realize you're experiencing one of the most innovative, cost-effective Voice marketing solutions available.

So for today, I must share with you a song that brought so many memories from my childhood days of road tripping with the parents.

I bid you farewell today from Vontoo, as we prepare to be "On the Road Again."

Black and White, or Gray?

Thursday, March 19, 2009 by Vontoo Marketing

This morning on my way to work I was listening to The Killers' Day and Age

album (I know, act surprised) and a line from the first track, 'Losing Touch', sparked the thought for today's high volume voice messaging post: 'Convince me that the truth is always gray.'

That got me to thinking about all the gray truths in my world. I suspect that life would be much easier, though admittedly less interesting, if everything truly could be black and white, laid out before us with clear consequences for each choice. Whether or not we like it though, nothing comes so easily. Let's look at a few examples:

Dmitri Martin's Comedy: Black and White. He's hilarious, end of story.
Personal Relationships: Gray.
Speed Limits: Black and White. I will admit though that apart from Cheryl, I don't know many people who don't take it upon themselves to make them quite gray.
My wardrobe: Frequently all of the above, including today.

Then I began to think about how that applies to Vontoo and the new FTC regulations. Our automated phone messaging services can be used in literally every industry imaginable, though the messaging in broadcast campaigns are often aberrational from client to client, presenting the aforementioned 'gray area' in our own little vMarketing world.

Below are some Vontoo-specific examples:
Reminder to ticket purchasers of game time change: Black and white. No opt-out message required.
Notification to season ticket holders of deadline to renew season tickets: Gray. Is it a reminder or solicitous?
Call to previous rent-to-own customers offering special pricing for new items: Black and white. Opt-out message required.

Being the granola-eating, bike-riding, vegetarian, Republican that I am, I'm a 'better safe than sorry' kind of gal when it comes to federal regulations. Getting slapped with a lawsuit for not following FTC regulations is not only fiscally damaging, it will ultimately lose you customers. Credibility=Shot. If you're ever unsure about your messaging, talk to us. It's why we're here, and we love to help.

The Indianapolis Colts are spreading Hoosier Hospitality in a big way. I've embedded the video for your enjoyment to promote the mission of 'Helping a Hoosier...And Then Some.' Visit their website for more details. Come on Colts!