Yandex Introduces Automated Customer Communications Service for Businesses

Internet, April 7, 2016. Yandex (NASDAQ: YNDX), one of the largest internet companies in Europe and the leading search provider in Russia, has rolled out a virtual automated customer communications system for small and medium-sized businesses. Yandex.Telephony helps companies to efficiently and cost-effectively manage all of their customer communications, including telephone calls, messages or inquiries coming via feedback forms on their websites or through social network accounts.

“A telephone call is still a preferred method of contacting your bank or gym, despite the popularity of messengers and social network websites,” said Elizaveta Alekseenko, Yandex.Telephony’s senior manager. “Our study of 7,200 local companies in Moscow and St Petersburg, however, showed that in a quarter of the cases the average waiting time was more than 20 seconds, or there was no answer at all. We understand the value of each customer. To help companies, regardless of their size, to never miss a single client, we’re now offering them a simple, easy-to-use service to manage all of their customer communications.”

Developed in partnership with the Seattle-based MightyCall company, Yandex.Telephony combines all the key features of a virtual automated call handling service with a system processing a business’s digital communications, as well as a statistics and task management solution. Companies can set up Yandex.Telephony to automatically transfer calls to specific extensions, direct calls to a relevant person or department, or ask the caller to wait or leave a voice message. All missed calls, voice messages, tweets, social network comments or other digital communications are automatically logged in a simple user interface and can be tasked to specific managers.

The service’s basic functions are free, with the full package available for about $15 a month. Telecommunications services used through Yandex.Telephony are provided by SunSim and are billed separately, on a pay-as-you-go basis.

Yandex.Telephony is available to companies in Moscow and St Petersburg via the website telephony.yandex.ru, as well as a mobile version for iOS and Android. The mobile app lets staff always be on call and has most of the service’s desktop functionality with an additional opportunity to phone clients from a work phone number, even when using a personal phone.

Contact:
Media Relations
Ekaterina Lebedeva, Anna Ivanova-Galitsina
Phone: +7 495 739-7000
E-mail: pr@yandex-team.com