Sheraton Hotels rolled out a new website today on Sheraton.com.  Among the sites new features, click to call.

According to this release from Starwood (Sheraton's parent company), " Upon entering sheraton.com, visitors are invited to explore what other guests are saying about their travels. The home page starts with a globe welcoming you to the Sheraton brand's "global neighborhood" that is organized by region and populated with pictures and stories that have been submitted by guests and travelers. Once a hotel is selected, a full description will appear along with a guest gallery that includes personal travel stories and photos from guests who have stayed at that property or visited that destination. Need help? Visitors can choose to 'click to call' to be connected to a Sheraton team member via their phone and coming soon, they can participate in a 'live chat', where guests questions can be asked and responded to in writing, live time."

Interesting article from this month's CRM Magazine on some best practices by e-commerce sites.  The article quotes Forrester Research analyst Sucharita Mulpuru who shares her thoughts on live online customer service.  The article states, "Live help is what people want when serious problems crop up, and the Internet provides the means. While chat windows were popular in the first wave, integrated VoIP is replacing them in many cases. "Click to callback is gaining momentum. Chat is nice, but customers prefer in-person experiences. Click doesn't force you into IVR hell," Mulpuru says. Macy's, Amazon.com, and Gerber are some of the better known early adopters of this technology."

The article also includes a list of e-commerce do's and don'ts:

DO's:
DO think about your e-business as a business, and apply the same discipline.
DO use customer data to give each individual a personalized shopping experience.
DO provide as many payment options as your customers need.
DO make your transaction process easy and smooth from home page to checkout. Failed transactions are money in your competition's pocket.
DO be prepared to change your business rules and processes to meet emerging trends.
DO integrate online and offline channels, taking advantage of the best features of each.

DON'Ts:
DON'T treat online customers as second-class citizens. They're not your warning system or guinea pigs.
DON'T rely on new technology as a panacea. Tools don't improve performance by themselves;wise use of
them does.
DON'T compete on price alone. Convenience and selection often have greater value than a coupon.
DON'T rely on automation and self-service exclusively. Sometimes, customers are people who need people.
DON'T wait for customers to find you.

Today we announced our new partnership with pay for performance network Azoogle to power their click to call offering to advertisers.  Here's coverage of the announcement from Search Engine Journal.

From BusinessWeek, more coverage on the Skype/Ebay announcement:

 "A lot of buyers in the U.S. aren't familiar with Skype either-and that could mean eBay has to play catchup with a few established rivals. eStara Inc. has been offering so-called click-to-call services since 1999, including the ability for buyers to get an instant call back on a landline phone. "A lot of consumers still aren't comfortable talking through their PCs," notes eStara CEO John Federman. "The use of landline is really important to make it approachable to consumers."

For Russell Shaw at ZDNet, the numbers don't add up. 

This is shaping up to be a big week for click to call.  First, we announced a partnership with BCE Elix to resell eStara's Click to Call services to its contact center customers.  And, in case you missed it, there's the impending Skype/Ebay announcement.  It appears as if Ebay is finally going to integrate click to call into its listings as a means to connect buyers and sellers.   And the reasons are obvious...click to call works for boosting sales, especially for complex and high-value transactions.

As one Ebay seller mentioned to Newsweek, "It's the sort of service that won't necessarily help you sell simple $10 items, but can really help with high-end, complicated sales."

This sentiment holds true across a variety of industries from online directories to financial services companies and internet retailers...there is nothing like the warmth and power of voice for helping to close a sale.  And it's possible to connect buyers and sellers in a variety of ways, not just through their PCs.