Someone please explain to me why a phone call is different to this, I'm truly blanking.
replies(4):
This is bootstrapped/indie hacker-ish. Would appreciate feedback.
What it is: You create a link (e.g. onair/yourname), and anyone can call you from it. Caller uses a web browser to make the call (not dedicated app). You can create as many links as you want, and can direct calls to colleagues in a round-robin or escalation manner.
In a way, it's like the "opposite of Calendly"; whereas Calendly is about meetings in the future, OnAir is about immediate meetings.
Motivation behind it: One of our SaaS products was struggling to grow. We believed that if we provide more "hand holding" to visitors on the landing page, it will increase conversion. It's like speaking to the guy behind the counter before making a purchase. That idea/experiment, over time, became OnAir.
Feedback: Identifying the perfect use case / customer has not been easy. E-Commerce store owners, which I thought would be ideal customer profile, are not responding as expected (e.g. "why use this instead of a WhatsApp button?"). The value of branded links, round-robin, recording/transcription, lead capture, etc does not seem to matter much to them. Ideas are welcome.
Much easier to click than dial.
Social cost of a web link versus a phone number may be lower as well (that may be cultural but it may be true)
Adds other modes like calendar or chat or AI directly in flow.
No need to reveal a phone number.
Video
Internationally accessible (no long distance)
And for HN tradition’s sake for these types of comments, no one likes rsync.
- assign calls to different members (round-robin, escalation)
- capture lead info (name, email, etc)
- don't reveal actual phone number
- recording, transcription
- soon, conversational AI agent (as optional backup)
With a WhatsApp/phone, you can't really switch it from one employee to another easily. Managing load is harder, seeing call logs is harder. And a full call center solution is too much for a small business.
In what way is this easier than click to dial? They’re both one click, but in this scenario I need a headset/microphone, a stable Internet connection, and if I do this from my smart phone it doesn’t know I’m in a call so when I hold the phone up to my face I will likely hit buttons.
I've been dialing from a click for 20 years now.