19th Jul 2007
AutoTrader UK providing Call Filtering
The Trader Media Group in the UK is offering a service for classified advertisers to filter inbound calls from unsolicited services. The service is available primarily to Autotrader.co.uk advertisers and filters out 220 known solicitors that typically canvas the Autotrader.co.uk listings. The service is called Telesafe and has filter out 36,000 unsolicited calls so far.
The service works by replacing the advertisers phone number in the classified ad with a phone number that can be used to filter calls. Before the call is actually connected its checked against a list of known numbers and automatically dropped if the call is coming from a known canvasing company. The service is provided for free to all advertisers as an option.
I think this is a great example of extending the value of paid classified. As more and more smaller classified sites pop-up this canvasing and solicitation issue will become a bigger problem. AutoTrader.co.uk solves this problem as a value add for its advertisers.
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