E-BOOK

COMMUNICATIONS BLUEPRINT
for On-Demand Marketplaces & the Sharing Economy
Think back to the last on-demand Marketplace or sharing economy service you used as a consumer. Chances are
that you were treated to an exceptional mobile or web experience.

From retail and real estate to transportation and healthcare, product managers and software developers have made
nearly every consumer service a lot faster, more convenient and likely a little bit cheaper than before. They’ve
applied their app development skills to a centuries-old Marketplace business model.

Sounds easy. Well, it isn’t. There is a lot more to app development for the Marketplace business model than
what is apparent on the surface. Take a look at Yellow Cab, the dominant transportation-for-hire option in San
Francisco before ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft took over the market. Like many businesses that have
been disrupted by modern Marketplaces, Yellow Cab also built a mobile app experience. It has the same basic
functionality as the ride-sharing Marketplaces — hailing a cab, seeing its location, etc.

But unlike the Marketplace options, Yellow Cab left the communication experience the same. If you need to call
your driver, you still call central dispatch. It is impossible to communicate in real-time with your driver to help with
the pickup. Even the hailing confirmation comes via a do-not-reply email. It could have been a strong response to
business disruption, but instead it’s a shining example of what not to do. A Marketplace service without Marketplace
Communications is just a prettier presentation of the same legacy experience.

At Twilio, we have been fortunate to collaborate with app development teams in hundreds of Marketplaces
and sharing economy companies. Our involvement with Marketplaces is to provide Communications as an app
development building block. Broadly speaking, we’ve seen app development efforts revolve around three core
objectives:

• Attracting and retaining Consumers and Producers

• Nurturing Trust on the Platform

• Maximizing service Convenience

What different Marketplaces do exactly with Communications varies with their individual business model.
This paper describes just that. Borrowing from our experiences with Marketplaces, the first half describes the
role of Communication technology for different Marketplace business needs. The second half goes deeper into
the Communications workflows that our Marketplace customers have built. Together, these sections provide a
Communications technology blueprint for Marketplaces and sharing economy services. This blueprint is based on
practices we’ve seen effectively improve acquisition of Producers and Consumers, build trust and increase service
convenience.

introduction 2
 What is Twilio?

Twilio is a Cloud Communications Platform for software developers. Marketplaces use Twilio to
add Messaging, Voice and Video capabilities directly in their web and mobile applications. These
Communications capabilities are available through application programming interfaces (APIs) and Twilio
takes care of building and maintaining the underlying infrastructure around the globe. Marketplaces use
Twilio Communications functions including the following.

A L E R T S A N D N O T I F I C AT I O N S PHONE NUMBER MASKING

To streamline workflows and provide visibility
at every phase of a transaction, Marketplaces
use Twilio to send status notifications and
change alerts to Consumers and Producers via
automated texts (SMS) and phone calls.
For consumer privacy reasons, Marketplaces
dynamically assign a Twilio phone number
to every Consumer and Producer. This way,
everyone can talk and text with each other
without revealing their actual phone numbers.

LOGIN AND ACCOUNT SECURITY LEAD TRACKING

To prevent account fraud, Marketplaces use To measure performance, Marketplaces
Twilio for Two-Factor Authentication to verify add a unique Twilio phone number for each
user identity when new accounts are created listing. Incoming calls to the Twilio number are
and when Producers or Consumers login to forwarded based on software logic and call

the web or mobile app. data is programmatically tracked.

I N - A P P C O M M U N I C AT I O N S CALL RECORDING

To reduce common delays with back-and-forth Marketplaces use recordings of interactions

emails between Producers and Consumers, as a tool for quality assurance, continuous

and to express detail which cannot be training and improvement.

described through any other method,

Marketplaces use Twilio to add real-time
calling, chat and Video inside their mobile and
web apps.
 Differentiate Your Marketplace with Communications 05

1. What is Exchanged on Your Marketplace Platform? 06

2. How Does Your Marketplace Match Consumers with Producers? 11

3. What is the Deal Frequency in Your Marketplace? 15

Integrate your Communications Building Blocks 20

1. Masked Numbers 20

2. Lead Tracking 22

3. Alerts, Notifications and Two-Way SMS and MMS 23

4. In-App Communications 24

5. Recording and Transcription 24

Put Communication in Context 27

communications blueprint for on-demand marketplaces & the sharing economy

 DIFFERENTIATE YOUR MARKETPLACE
WITH COMMUNICATIONS
Some Marketplaces are listing services that offer rich information to connect buyers with sellers of brand name
products. Others match Consumers with bespoke services. Some focus on Producers, while others are built to
primarily amass a large quantity of Consumers.

Out of an infinite variety of business models, we see a three questions emerge as the common denominator.
Every product owner of a Marketplace should ask themselves to plan out how Communications can improve user
acquisition and retention, nurture service quality and maximize service convenience. The three key questions are:

The three key questions are:

1
WHAT I S EXCHANGED IN YOUR MARKETPL ACE PL ATFORM?
information only
Answering this question will guide you to shape the way Communication can
information and money
attract and retain Consumers and Producers. S. P. Choudary in his blog defines
Marketplaces as fitting into one of the following three models. (PAGE 6) information, money & service

2 HOW DOES YOUR MARKETPL ACE MATCH CONSUMERS WITH PRODUCERS?

This is an important distinction because the role of Communications in
establishing trust depends on what kind of control the Consumer has when
consumer chooses producer

automatically assigned
choosing the Producer. (PAGE 1 1 )

3
WHAT I S THE FREQUENCY OF A DEAL IN YOUR MARKETPL ACE ? high frequency - low amount

Communications can enable convenience in different ways depending on the med frequency - med amount
nature of your Marketplace business cycle. (PAGE 15 ) low frequency - high amount

differentiate your marketplace with communications 5

 1
W H AT IS E XC H AN G E D O N YO U R M A RK ETP L AC E P L ATF O RM ?
The role of Communications in attracting and retaining Producers and Consumers depends
on what is exchanged on the Platform — information, information and money, or services.

1.1 marketplaces platforms that only exchange information

Information-sharing Marketplace Platforms need to create a virtuous

cycle. The more listings available on the Platform, the more popular the
Marketplace becomes with Consumers, which in turn attracts more
Producers, who list their offerings on the Marketplace.

producer acquisition

Information-only Marketplaces primarily use Communications technology

to demonstrate the value of the leads their Marketplace can create, and
subsequently to measure the value those leads provide for Producers. Take
CarGurus as an example. CarGurus is a Marketplace connecting used car
dealers with buyers. CarGurus charges auto dealers a monthly subscription.
Their ability to attract new car dealers to list inventory on CarGurus.com
hinges on the ROI the Platform can provide.

CarGurus demonstrates the value and potential of the leads it creates through a basic subscription where potential
buyers are connected to car dealers anonymously through a web click-to-call mechanism that hides the prospects’
contact information. Once a car dealer is convinced of the lead’s value, they get full access to the prospects’ emails
and phone numbers by upgrading to the
“Enhanced Package.” To learn more about click-
to-call, see the Communications building blocks
section.

In addition, by assigning a Lead Tracking phone number to each car dealer on the Platform, CarGurus can run stats
on the volume of leads that each dealer received from the Marketplace. Lead Tracking data is essential to optimize
marketing efforts and attract a larger group of Producers to list their offerings on the Marketplace. Go to the Lead
Tracking section to learn more.

what is exchanged on your marketplace platform? 6

consumer acquisition

When dealing with complex services, the number of coordination

steps between Consumers and Producers can create additional
challenges for information-only Marketplaces. Take for example,
Porch, a home improvement Marketplace that connects
homeowners with home improvement specialists. Consumers may
have difficulty properly describing a complex home improvement
project over the phone or in a message, and having limited ways
to communicate can result in customer dissatisfaction and churn. integrating real-time Communications

Through the acquisition of Fountain.com, Porch is integrating real-time Communications, including Video and
chat, into its mobile app to allow Consumers to ask advice and discuss new projects with professionals through
the Porch mobile app. The result is a more engaging Marketplace experience for both Consumers and Producers,
removing friction that slows down information exchange. To learn more on how to embed Communications into your
app, go to the In-App Communications section.

integrating communications into the platform utility tools

create stickiness among producers by offering utility tools

In addition to proving the ROI for the Producer, Platforms have the opportunity to create stickiness to attract
and retain Producers. Booking systems, online concierges, mobile CRM and similar utility tools can change
Platform convenience capabilities to a necessities, especially for sole proprietors or producers without back-office
administration. For example, a contractor needs to keep track of customers’ contact information, but it can be a
hassle to add it into a separate contact application, especially while on the go.

what is exchanged on your marketplace platform? 7

Embedding Communications into the Platform’s utility tools solves this problem. When a prospect calls, a
professional can just click on the contact name to add it to the list or schedule an appointment—no pen and
paper required. And by integrating Communications in a mobile CRM, professionals can immediately take actions
instantly on hot leads. Go to the In-App Communications section to learn more.

1.2 platforms that exchange information and money

Marketplace Platforms that process payments earn revenue from transaction

fees, which means they need to ensure that the Producer and Consumer
business relationship remains on-platform after the first transaction.

avoid off-platform transactions

Platforms exchanging information and money use Communications

technology to prevent Consumers and Producers from engaging off-
Platform by implementing Masked Phone Numbers. For example Handy, a
Marketplace connecting homeowners and cleaning services, would be cut
out of their business deal if the cleaner and the homeowner communicate
directly via their private phone numbers.

With Masked Phone Numbers, a temporary phone number is allocated for homeowners to communicate with the
cleaner as soon as the match is made and deallocated as soon as the service is concluded. This way, the two parties
always communicate through Handy for future private business. To learn more on how to build Masked Numbers into
your marketplace, go to the related section.

build trust to process payments

Marketplace Platforms that include financial transactions carry the burden to be the most secure and safe way of
processing payments. Many Marketplaces use communications technology to provide better security and trust for
payments. For example:

Automatic payments are essential to the convenience provided Marketplaces in the transportation and
delivery verticals. Automatic payments, however, create concern for consumers. They typically do not want to
lose sight of how much they have been charged. Triggering an SMS notification to the Consumer whenever a
new payment has been processed builds trust and avoids anxiety with automatic payments.

what is exchanged on your marketplace platform? 8

 Authy SoftToken Authy OneCode Authy OneTouch

On-Platform payments only work if producers and consumers provide their financial information to the
Marketplace. Airbnb, the home sharing Marketplace, processes payments from renters and reimburses the
host. Both renters and hosts need assurances their financial information is kept safe. To fulfill the promise of
offering a safe environment, Marketplaces can also implement Two-Factor Authentication to verify identity
before a Producer’s bank account information can be modified. This way the Platform reduces the risk of fraud
and ensures that money meant for the host actually arrives at the right bank account. To learn how to quickly
integrate Alerts and Notification and Two-Factor Authentication in your Marketplace, refer to the related section.

what is exchanged on your marketplace platform? 9

1.3 platforms that exchange service

In some marketplaces, the service itself is exchanged on platform. For

example when the platform provides access to expert services or specialized
consultants, such as lawyers, doctors or financial advisors. The unique
selling proposition of marketplaces that integrate the service delivery is to
make it possible to easily collaborate with a particular resource or expertise
that otherwise would be hard to find or very difficult to book. Live, high
quality communications are critical to these service Marketplaces.

improve accessibility

Time sensitivity plays an important role for both the Consumer and
Producer in a service Marketplace. The Consumer typically needs the
service urgently and the Producer is typically in extreme demand, overbooked or in a different time zone. Ensuring
that scheduled conversations take place without hiccups saves precious time for both parties. Accessibility of the
online communications tools is another concern. Producers and Consumers need an intuitive way to connect with
each other.

These concerns can be solved by embedding real-time Communications into the Marketplace website or mobile
app. This allows Consumers and Producers to collaborate and discuss the matter without leaving the Platform.
They can take advantage of different Communications channels, such as instant Messaging, Voice or Video. Dr On
Demand, a Marketplace connecting online doctors with patients, is a good example. In some regions, doctors are
not allowed to prescribe medicine for a patient remotely unless they’ve already met in person, but video counts as
a face-to-face visit. With an on-Platform medical visit conducted over video, a patient doesn’t need to travel and
the doctor can see patients when out of the office. To learn more on how to embed Communications go to the in-App
Communications section.

what is exchanged on your marketplace platform? 10

 2
HOW DO ES YO UR MAR K E T P L AC E M ATC H C O N S U M ERS W I TH P RO D U C ER S?
Trust is critical for the success of a Marketplace, and Communications can play a major
role in creating that trust. However, the exact use of Communications in establishing trust
depends on how Consumers and Producers are matched.

2.1 when the consumer chooses the producer

The Producer’s reputation is a major contributor in establishing the

Consumer’s trust — and therefore the trust of the Platform overall. For this
reason, we’ve seen Marketplaces take the following communication steps
to build that trust.

a strong on-platform producer identity

A strong Producer identity is critical to gaining consumer confidence and

hence, winning business. On Porch, the Producer’s identity is comprised
of their professional brand, contact information and reputation, such as
history of services, reviews and ratings. However, it’s not always best to
share as much information as possible. Home improvement professionals also care about their personal privacy
and want to prevent abuse of their personal contact information.

By providing professionals with a local phone number for their listing, Marketplaces create a valuable on-platform
identity, and ensure transactions are kept on Platform. This approach enables:

A separate professional identity. The provided

phone number can be permanently assigned. Some
professionals make it their official contact phone
number, even printing it on business cards. They
can filter incoming calls to this number and disable
their business line during non-working hours to
ensure privacy. Go to the Phone Number Masking
section to learn more.
Professional identities on the Porch platform website

how does your marketplace match consumers with producers? 11

 Measurable business performance. Using a dedicated phone number
for a specific job makes it easy to report on lead status, such as leads
awaiting response or closed deals. This information can be used to
create performance dashboards so professionals can monitor their
business and take action more quickly with pending leads. Dashboards
can be packaged in an ad-hoc CRM or integrated with an existing CRM,
depending on whether the professional is a sole proprietor or working
in a bigger organization. Go to the Lead Tracking section to learn more.

implement strong identity protection

It is vital for Producer’s that their account information is safe from

fraudulent entries. Username and password based security to change
account information in a Marketplace is a good first measure to prevent
fraud. However, it’s has proven not to be enough. Two-Factor Authentication
Performance dashboard
ensures more than just a password is involved when users login. This extra
security keeps valuable content safe and prevents people who have stolen
a user’s password from logging in and impersonating them. Go to the Two-
Factor Authentication section to learn more.

how Airbnb select Superhosts

how does your marketplace match consumers with producers? 12

encourage and enable producer to be highly responsive

When Consumer can choose their preferred Producer, it creates competition among the Producers, and those with
highly recognized service metrics will generate more trust and therefore earn more business. Airbnb visualizes
the average host response rate, which is a major selection criteria for guests when searching for a place to stay.
In the backend, whenever a host has not responded to a request, Airbnb sends an automated SMS message with
information on the guest, the dates and the price for the stay. The host can then quickly reply. Airbnb reported that
by simply implementing this alert system, the number of successful bookings has increased. To learn more about
Alerts and Notifications, see the related Communications Toolbox section.

2.2 when the platform automatically assigns the consumer to the producer

An automatic Producer-Consumer assignment is common where delivery

timeliness is key, such as transportation, delivery, and logistics, since
taking control of the Producer-to-Consumer matching makes it possible to
optimize matches based on location and time slots. The Consumer does
not have the same level of control in picking a Producer they feel they would
trust. Therefore it is more important for the platform itself to be the trusted
entity and fill the trust void. And, Communications technology has proven
to be an essential tool.

connect consumer and producer during and after

transactions

When the Platform dynamically assigns the Producers to the Consumers, the Consumer has no control over with
whom he or she will be matched. The two parties are typically identified with nicknames and use a temporary
contact handle. At the same time, the service needs to be able to retain the association between the anonymously
and automatically assigned Consumer-Producer for post-transaction Communications. For example, if an Uber
passenger leaves something in the car, they need to promptly get back in touch with the driver.

Phone Number Masking solves the core problem of keeping the identity of the two parties separate, but also
can address the more complicated problem of post-transaction Communications. In this case, the Uber driver is
associated with a permanent Uber phone number, while the rider’s Uber phone number is deallocated once the ride
is completed. In this way, passenger privacy is protected and the driver can turn off the Uber number when not on
duty but can be reached if something were left behind. See the Masked Numbers section to learn more.

how does your marketplace match consumers with producers? 13

ensure high quality standards

In listing services, competition among producers raises the bar on quality. When Marketplaces automatically
assign Producers, there is no incentive for Producers to offer an higher quality service. In this case, the Platform
needs other levers to enforce minimum standards for quality. Rating systems are the most commonly used to
enforce some quality monitoring. Uber maintains a 5 star rating system, and drivers with a rating below 4.5 may be
suspended from driving. Uber also offers a higher priced service, Uber Connect, with drivers that are rated at least
4.7 and have an eligible car model. But traditional rating systems are often hard to decipher when looking for the
reasons for customer churn and dissatisfaction. By implementing Recording and Transcription on Consumer-to-
Producer Communications, Marketplaces can perform continuous quality assurance and testing of their Producer
interactions. Go to the Recording and Transcript section to learn more.

Phone Number Masking solves the core problem of

keeping the identity of the two parties separate, but also
can address the more complicated problem of
post-transaction Communications.

how does your marketplace match consumers with producers? 14

 3
WH AT IS T H E DE AL F REQ U EN CY I N YO U R M A RK ETP L AC E ?
Convenience and responsiveness are the characteristics that make the new generation of Marketplaces a truly
on-demand experience. Integration with Communication technologies is the foundation of responsiveness, but
the selection of different types of Communications mechanisms depend on the Marketplace business cycle.

3.1 short deal cycle, low transaction value

The Uber experience has become the reference point of the new generation of on-demand delivery services. Drivers
are automatically located and connected with the associated rider, and it’s drastically faster to get a Uber or Lyft
anywhere in a city than to wait for a taxi. In the food delivery vertical, Sprig delivers warm food within 10 minutes of
the order. They accomplish this feat by automatically matching Consumers with the closest food delivery person.
Delivery services like Instacart and DoorDash deliver Uber-like timeliness with the added complication that the
service is composed by two different humans working sequentially. With Instacart, there is a shopper and a driver;
for DoorDash, there is a restaurant and a driver.

Instacart delivery process

what is the deal frequency in your marketplace? 15

These phases must be coordinated and the duration minimized to ensure that the end-to-end service is completed
efficiently and on time. In these scenarios, relevant information is made available in real time to the right receiver
at the right point in time through the mobile app, which drastically optimizes timing and resources and keeps
time-consuming human-to-human communication to a minimum. Yet, a failure to communicate in any of those
moments will cause the delay or failure of the whole service.

Let’s see how communication plays a crucial role across the different steps of the service flow.

automate coordination

To maintain an optimal resource utilization, the delivery person can’t sit idle waiting for the shopper to be done or
the restaurant to cook. Nor can warm food or frozen groceries wait too long for a new ride to be available. For the
whole service chain to avoid delivery delays and resource waste, shopping must be completed within a specified
time to hit a certain delivery slot. What happens if the shopper has a question for the customer but the customer
is in a meeting? Or if the customer want to add an item to the list and discuss it quickly?

By implementing both SMS and Voice Communications, the likelihood of a missed conversation is minimized. The
key is that the individuals have the flexibility to use the best communication method in the given situation. Instacart
goes the extra mile by adding a web chat synchronized with the SMS conversation to make the communication
even clearer. The Voice and SMS section shows you how easy it is to integrate communications into your Marketplace.

increase transparency

The Sprig lunch delivery might be around the corner while the
Consumer is still in a meeting, but the delivery person needs to keep the
schedule for the next drop-off. For the customer, waiting for the pickup
rendezvous could mean leaving the meeting early, but if the driver is
late, the customer will be frustrated by the wait.

Texts are far more effective than email for real-time notifications. Alerts
sent by text message are opened within four minutes, are read 95
percent of the time, and have a fourfold higher open rate than email.
By proactively sending a delivery alert, Uber and Sprig streamline the
last step of the service flow by notifying the Consumer of the pending arrival, preventing calls to inquire about
estimated time of arrival and saving time to the delivery person. Go to the Alerts & Notifications section to learn more.

what is the deal frequency in your marketplace? 16

when something still goes wrong: turning critical moments into loyalty

According to Gartner, by 2017, two-thirds of customer services will be completed through self-service. This is
especially relevant for on-demand Marketplaces, where the service transaction is completed via the app or by
quick Communications with the Producer. It’s rare that the Consumer interacts with a central support service, and
if that happens, the urgency is high and the agent needs to know the context of the customer call and what they
were trying to do.

When interacting with a mobile app, customers leave a trail of information that can be assembled to create a
specific user context including preferences, location and previous purchases. The problem is that when calling,
the user is thrown out of the app. The workflow generated in the mobile app is destroyed and the contextual
information about the user is lost.

By embedding Communications into the mobile app, with Voice, Instant Messaging and Video capabilities,
Consumers can communicate with Producers directly within the app and all the relevant contextual information
is transmitted before and during the call. Let’s look at an example of misplaced keys for a home-sharing service.
By embedding communication in both the customer side (app) and support (CRM), the situation can be quickly
resolved because the customer’s context is automatically passed to the agent before and during the call.

• The customer’s language is detected from the

phone setting and IVR is tuned accordingly.

• The customer’s location and status on the service

flow is used to predict the urgency and reason
for the call, so the call is routed to the most by 2017, two-thirds of
appropriate agent. The location data shows the
customer services
customer is at the key collection place and the
status shows they didn’t check in yet.
will be completed through
self-service
• The customer and agent can share and discuss
solutions from within the app. The customer can
show a video feed of where the keys are supposed
to be hidden, and the agent can visually see and
correct on screen where to look. Go to the In-App
Communications section to learn more.

what is the deal frequency in your marketplace? 17

3.2 long business cycle, high transaction value

Responsiveness for a Marketplace with a long business cycle may not be a make-or-break Platform capability, but
it’s still crucial for lead conversion and customer loyalty. Let’s take as an example Trulia, a real estate Marketplace
connecting potential home buyers with real estate agents, to prove how Communications helped them boost agent
responsiveness.

connect while leads are still hot

According to The California Association of Realtors, 96 percent of leads expected a real estate agent to contact
them within four hours of their online inquiry. But professionals are often in the field, where it can be difficult

to frequently check for web inquiries—and that can mean missing out on
a hot lead. For example, real estate agents may prefer to text back to an
incoming call because they are showing a house to another client, while
home professionals typically prefer to speak over the phone to discuss
details of a complex project.

A multi-channel Communications strategy, combined with Notifications

triggered by web forms or other customer-interest triggers, enables both
parties to connect quickly. With Instant Leads, Trulia triggers an SMS
notification whenever a new prospect subscribes via an online form and
the agent is too busy to talk. Trulia reported that “Using Instant Leads allows
agents to catch the Consumer at the peak of interest—while they’re still
searching online and near a phone.” Go to the Alerts & Notifications sections
to learn more.

what is the deal frequency in your marketplace? 18

 Trulia triggers an SMS notification whenever a new
prospect subscribes via an online form and the agent is
too busy to talk

encourage faster response

Direct Consumer-Producer communication is a critical first step in a long business cycle. Yet, according to Zillow,
even the best real estate agent may not pick up the phone without knowing who the caller is. A real estate
marketplace can solve this problem by bringing buyer information and intent to the agent’s attention. Incoming
calls from a prospect would be forwarded to the agent’s mobile app. Along with the incoming call, the agent would
see buyer information, such as their buying history, mortgage pre-approval level, preferences and property of
interest. Adding context to incoming calls would create a level of urgency that previously didn’t exist. Go to the In-
App Communications section to learn more.

what is the deal frequency in your marketplace? 19

 INTEGRATE YOUR COMMUNICATIONS
BUILDING BLOCKS
Twilio is a Cloud Communications Platform for software developers. With Twilio, Messaging, Voice and Video
capabilities can be added directly to any web and mobile application. Twilio takes care of building and maintaining
the underlying communications infrastructure around the globe, so that businesses can focus on building the right
communications experience. This section details how the Communications building blocks addressed above can
be easily integrated in your business flow in a few simple steps.

masked numbers

Producers and Consumers can do business with each other by communicating directly via their personal phone
numbers and other contact information. However, this model does not protect the privacy and safety of either
party. In addition, direct communication between parties introduces the risk that the Platform will be cut out of the
revenue from the current and future transactions.

Your Marketplace can protect its revenue stream as well as the private identity and safety of your Consumers and
Producers by implementing Masked Numbers. At the most basic level, when two parties want to communicate,
they can connect through a shared Twilio number. When either party calls or texts the Twilio number, his or her
call or text is forwarded to the other party, and the Caller ID displayed to both parties is the Twilio number. Neither
party knows the other party’s real number.

communications blueprint for on-demand marketplaces & the sharing economy 20

Here are the basic step in the call flow:

1. Party A calls a Twilio masked number

2. Twilio receives call

3. Twilio makes an HTTP request to your web server

4. Your web server will look up the second number associated with the Twilio masked number

5. Web Server returns TwiML to <Dial> Party B’s number

6. Party B will see the call coming in from the Twilio Masking number

The challenge with implementing masked phone numbers is in the logic behind assigning numbers and maintaining
relationships. Building the logic to return the correct <Dial> instruction to Twilio is where the magic happens. You
can choose different number allocation strategies to meet different scenarios and cost points, either allocating a
number permanently to each Producer or assigning temporary numbers to each Producer-Consumer. In both cases,
you can decide how long after the transaction the Consumer is able to contact the Producer to ensure privacy.

integrate your communications building blocks 21

lead tracking

Implementing Lead Tracking means assigning a phone number to any ad or listing to measure its effectiveness. If
the Platform is a listing service, a permanent number is typically associated to each listed Producer. This allows
the Platform to quantify the number of leads brought in and the Producer can the track the lead source, which
facilitates recurring business. If the business operates in many regions but the Consumers are highly location-
specific, the Producer should have a phone number that belongs to a specific area code to attract clients in the area.
They could even have different phone numbers for different regions or areas of expertise.

1. You place Twilio numbers for every unique lead source you want to track

2. A customer calls a Twilio number listed in your Marketplace

3. Twilio receives call

4. Twilio makes an HTTP request to your web server

5. Your web server updates its internal mapping data structure to track how frequently each number gets
dialed and what lead source they correlate to

6. Your web server looks up your mapping between the Twilio number and the Producer to call, and
returns TwiML to <Dial> number

For a full code walkthrough of Lead Tracking, visit www.twilio.com/docs/tutorials/walkthrough/call-tracking/php/laravel

integrate your communications building blocks 22

alerts, notifications and two-way sms and mms

Your application can send Twilio Alerts and Notifications before or after a time-sensitive business event. The
Communications can be delivered using Twilio SMS or Voice calls. While every business handles Communications
differently, a common workflow for sending Twilio Alerts and Notifications is applicable to most applications:

1. Your application encounters a time-sensitive event, such as a customer filling a lead form on a website,
a GPS trigger or other event.

2. Your application initiates a Twilio REST API request to send either an SMS message or Voice notification
to your employee or customer.

3. Optionally, after sending the alert, your application can confirm delivery. If the alert was not received,
the alert can be resent in an alternate medium, or fallback to another workflow.

4. The system can be updated with any customer response, with additional business logic applied based
on response.

In addition, the application logic can be extended to allow for two-way SMS or MMS interactions.

For a full code walkthrough of alerts in general, visit

https://www.twilio.com/docs/tutorials/walkthrough/server-notifications/php/laravel

For a walkthrough of lead alerts in particular, visit

https://www.twilio.com/docs/tutorials/walkthrough/lead-alerts/node/express

integrate your communications building blocks 23

in-app communications

A Consumer’s initial interaction within a Marketplace starts through mobile and web channels but as soon as users
need to communicate with a human, the Consumer is typically ejected out of the application. Now the conversation
is out of all context and the call is reverted to the carrier network. This user ejection creates a frustrating experience
for both the Consumer and the Producer because it takes time to determine the basic information about the
person’s identity and the reason for the call. Once context is re-established, it’s actually slower to share and
describe the details necessary for a resolution.

However, by integrating Communications into your Marketplace application, Consumers can move seamlessly
from self-help to messaging to voice or even video within a transaction without ever leaving your brand experience.
Producers in turn can see all the relevant information about the desired transaction, including which listing the
Consumer is interested in, previous account history, confirmation of identity and more.

To build In-App Communications, Twilio provides Platform-specific SDKs for JavaScript, iOS and Android. These
SDKs support Voice, Video, IP Messaging and skills-based routing, allowing you to embed these capabilities into
your existing applications. On the back end, the SDKs are powered by Twilio’s Cloud Communication Platform, so
that wherever in the world your Consumers and Producers are located, they get high quality, low latency and highly
reliable IP Communications.

recording and transcription

Call recording is essential for quality assurance and training. Recorded calls can be used to vet that Producers’
interactions with Consumers are conducted in accordance with your Marketplace rules. In addition, transcriptions
of call recordings can make it easier to highlight specific call recordings with particular phrases to help identify calls
that might be worth a deeper investigation.

Every Twilio app has access to flexible call recording functionality, and with very little code, your application can
capture the audio. The audio is automatically stored in Twilio’s cloud, and it can be played on-demand, saved to
your server or integrated into your application workflow.

integrate your communications building blocks 24

Here are the basic steps in the call flow:

1. Party A calls a Twilio number (this could be the same number used for Lead Tracking or Anonymous
Communications)

2. Twilio receives call

3. Twilio makes an HTTP request to your web server

4. Your web server returns TwiML with a <Play> verb to announce that call will be recorded, and then a
<Dial> to specify the number to call and that it should be recorded

5. Once the call is completed Twilio returns an URL with the recording to your server

two-factor authentication

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) helps keep you user accounts secure by validating two “factors” of identity. Most
login systems only validate something your user knows, like a password. You can make it harder for evildoers to
compromise a user account by also validating something a user has, like a mobile phone. This approach can be
used for secure login, payment transactions and more.

For the second factor, Twilio can help you validate that the user has their mobile phone by using one of the following
methods powered by the Twilio Authy service:

• Send them a OneTouch push notification to their mobile Authy app with the details of the login and an
option to approve or reject

• Ask them to enter the seven-digit revolving authentication token shown in the mobile Authy app

• Send them a one-time token in a text message sent via Twilio.

integrate your communications building blocks 25

Here’s how this works at a high level:

For a code walkthrough on how this works, visit:

https://www.twilio.com/docs/tutorials/walkthrough/two-factor-authentication/node/express

integrate your communications building blocks 26

 PUT COMMUNICATION IN CONTEXT
From retail and real estate to transportation and healthcare, Communications are an essential app development
building block for marketplaces. Using communications is a competitive differentiator, and choosing the right
communications technology for your marketplace business model is critical. In summary, here are some universal
findings.

communications technology is used to acquire and retain

consumers and producers on the marketplace
• Lead Tracking proves the ROI of the Marketplace to the Producer.

• Masked Phone Numbers help you keep Producers and Consumers on your Platform.

• Payment Notifications and Two-Factor Authentication help you build trust with
Consumers and Producers.

• In-App Video, Voice and Messaging make Consumer-Producer communications more

productive and easier to schedule.

communications help in nurturing trust on the marketplace

platform
• By providing Producers with Permanent Phone Numbers, Platforms can help Producers
build and measure their on-Platform reputation.

• Two-Factor Authentication is used to ensure that the Producer’s’ identity is not

compromised.

communications is what makes the new generation of

marketplaces a truly on-demand experience
• Alerts and Notifications are fundamental to streamlining the service and avoiding delays
by anticipating customers inquiries.

• The flexibility of having Voice, SMS and MMS minimizes the chances of missed
Communications—and lost deals.

• In-App Communications is the secret to the fastest and most effective problem
resolution in critical situations.

communications blueprint for on-demand marketplaces & the sharing economy 27

about the author

elisa bellagamba | marketplaces@twilio.com

Elisa leads Product Marketing for the Voice portfolio at Twilio, guiding
companies in spotting the essential Communications building blocks
which will set them apart from competition, drive consumer usage and
fulfill their business potential. She brings over 8 years experience in the
Communications market having covered roles in Software Development,
Strategy and Product Management.

In a scale from 0 to 10 (0=not likely, 10=extremely likely), how likely are you to recommend
this paper to a colleague in the sharing economy and services marketplace space?

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

references

Platform definition
Stats on lower waiting time for a car for Uber and Lyft respect to normal taxis

Cargurus implementation of Click to Call

The Porch experience

How Handy increased customer engagement by 50%

Uber and Twilio SMS

How Airbnb improved host responsiveness with automatic Alerts

How Trulia used instant leads to turn more leads into clients

communications blueprint for on-demand marketplaces & the sharing economy 28