Ifbyphone today launched VoteByPhone, a live audience-polling application for simple, real-time polls over the phone. A beta version of the application is currently available to all Ifbyphone customers.

VoteByPhone premiered at the SingStrong A Cappella Festival this past weekend, enabling a live audience of 600 people to vote for the winner of the A Cappella Idol competition.

"In the past, SingStrong audiences had to wait patiently—or even not so patiently—as our team raced to count their votes. Those days are gone forever,” said Jonathan Minkoff, executive director of SingStrong, “Not only does VoteByPhone give us the results we need immediately, and with perfect accuracy, but our audience actually gets to watch those results as they happen.”

To launch a VoteByPhone poll, users create a new “VoteByPhone Polling Event” in their Ifbyphone accounts. They then set up a list of voting options, such as a list of performers, issues raised in the day's news, or topics of current interest to vote on, and configure custom audio files to greet each caller. 

The process is even easier for voters, who call in, listen to a recorded greeting message, and press a number on their keypads to vote. Results can be seen via any Web browser in real time.

“VoteByPhone makes it easy for anyone to set up a real-time survey that audience members can respond to over the phone,” said Ifbyphone CEO Irv Shapiro. “Our customers tell us they value the ability to create interactive presentations, get audience feedback, and display real-time results.” 

As an example, a radio show could spontaneously set up a poll, tell listeners to call into a toll-free number to vote, and report over the air in real time which options listeners chose, without any technical expertise or staff to answer calls. In addition, instead of voting by text message, which is unsafe for drivers, voters can call VoteByPhone from hands-free Bluetooth headsets or speakerphones.

“At Ifbyphone, we are committed to providing a one-stop shop for all of our users’ telephone-application needs," Shapiro said. "From call tracking to virtual call centers, we pride ourselves on providing applications designed for business leaders to configure from an easy-to-use Web site without programmer assistance.”