eStara Introduces Form to Phone to Let Advertisers Qualify and Respond Quickly to Online Leads

 

Pilot Implementation Helps Double Closing Rates of Autobytel Car Dealers

 

Reston, VA (August 1, 2007) – eStara, the leading provider of proactive conversion solutions for enhancing online sales and support initiatives, today announced the launch and general availability of eStara Form to Phone.  Internet browsers need only to fill out a form, and the online retailer of choice or nearest franchise of that brand is immediately alerted to the customer request, and provided with the information from the form via email and over the phone.  The solution has been proven to shorten response times for lead generation marketers and improve customer satisfaction by delivering prompt responses to online inquiries.

 

“Our dealers were only contacting about 20 percent of their Autobytel prospects within the first few hours of filling out a form,” says Casey McCaffrey, Director Strategic Initiatives.  “Thanks in large part to eStara Form to Phone, we’re able to connect dealers with hot prospects immediately, often times while the prospect is still at his or her computer and still engaged with that dealer’s offerings.”

 

Using eStara Form to Phone, Autobytel has helped boost the number of qualified leads it delivers to its dealers by 52 percent while doubling conversion rates compared to toll-free and other third-party tracking. The one year test of the program involved 165 car dealers.  In one instance, a dealer from the Midwest saw a 300 percent improvement in online conversions.  Autobytel has since added more than 950 car dealers to the program.

 

“Increasingly, consumers are researching auto purchases on the Internet, with many opting to use lead forms for contacting auto dealers about pricing,” said Matt Booth, senior vice president and program director, Interactive Local Media, The Kelsey Group. “Dealers have become accustomed to the rich data provided by consumers in these lead systems at the expense of immediate personal contact. Form-to-phone helps reduce the research and buying cycle by closing the gap between consumer research and dealer sales.”

 

 “Time is of the essence in any sales transaction, and online merchants who are able to connect with customers while their interest is high are more likely to close the sale.   eStara Form to Phone is an effective tool for delivering timely, personalized service and tracking lead generation performance,” said John Federman, CEO, eStara.

eStara Form to Phone is available as part of eStara Click Suite for Local Search or as a stand alone solution.

 

About eStara:

 

eStara is a leading provider of proactive conversion solutions for enhancing online sales. The world's most recognized brands -- including Continental Airlines, DaimlerChrysler, Dell Financial Services, and Superpages.com -- leverage eStara's OnDemand services to engage customers with the right form of contact at the right time to increase revenue, reduce website abandonment and improve customer satisfaction. eStara is a wholly owned subsidiary of ATG (Art Technology Group, Inc., NASDAQ: ARTG). For more information, visit www.eStara.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Further details on these risks are set forth in ATG's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These filings are available free of charge on a website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov. Additional risk factors related to the subject matter of this press release include: the possibility that eStara’s product and service deployments will not be successful, on time or significantly enhance the user's Internet experience; the need to adapt to rapid changes so products and services do not become obsolete; the possibility of errors in eStara’s software products and services; the possibility that eStara’s offerings will not enhance its customers’ online sales or otherwise provide the expected benefits to its customers; and the possibility that eStara's product strategy may change in the future. eStara and ATG undertake no obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this press release.

 

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