To qualify for the Technology Fast 50, companies must have had operating revenues of at least $50,000 in 2001 and $5,000,000 in 2005, be headquartered in North America, and be a company that owns proprietary technology or proprietary intellectual property that contributes to a significant portion of the company's operating revenues; or devotes a significant proportion to the research and development of technology.

"This kind of award is a testament to the quality of eStara's technology and the growing adoption of its services by the world's most recognized brands," said John Federman, eStara's CEO.  "We look forward to more growth and expansion as we continue to invest heavily in the development of our products."

Since 1999, more than 350 global enterprises have used eStara’s Click to Call, Chat and Call Tracking to increase sales conversion, reduce website abandonment and improve customer experience.

Leading brands including Apple Computer, Continental Airlines, DaimlerChrysler and Verizon SuperPages have trusted eStara’s service because of its flexibility, scalability, reliability and ability to convert.  Due to its technology innovation and unparalleled customer support, eStara has become an industry leader in proactive contact solutions that bridge the gap between online and offline transactions.

According to Andrew Harrs, Deloitte's Southeast TMT RIL Regional Managing Partner, "To rank on Deloitte's Technology Fast 50, companies must have phenomenal revenue growth over five years.  eStara has proven to be on of the fast-growth success stories in Virginia, and we applaud their dedication to making their vision a reality."

From today's Washington Post:

"Putting customers in touch with the service providers they need at the exact moment they need help is becoming increasingly important to businesses as more people make purchases and find vendors online. To prevent customers from abandoning a site or a sale because they run into problems or have a question, companies are now using a "click-to-call" feature, which lets people call a customer service agent directly by clicking an icon on the page."

One of the benefits of the Internet is that consumers have a vast array of choices when it comes to selecting products and services.  Unfortunately, for sellers, this means that if they don't capture a buyer's interest immediately, they're off to a competitor's site or listing. That's why it's critical for sellers to do everything in their means to reach out proactively to consumers.  The days of sitting and waiting for leads to come in from a website or ad listing are over. 

This is true for e-commerce sites in general, but it's especially true for directories that need to prove ROI to advertisers.  It's no longer enough for publishers to simply offer a directory listing to advertisers and hope that buyers will find them.  Increasingly, local search engines, yellow pages and online directories are tasked with delivering targeted leads to their advertisers and increasing sales.  And, they still need to deliver an experience to the consumer that will keep them coming back to that publisher for their local search needs.

Unlike IYPs, which at least offered direct contact between advertisers and consumers, online automobile and real estate marketplaces have traditionally struggled with delivering quality leads to local merchants in a timely fashion. 

In the past, these companies were content to have customers fill out an online form that would send an e-mail about what the customer was looking for to a local dealer.  It was easy to track and show how many leads they were delivering, plus the merchant would be equipped with a lot of information about the customer before responding. 

The problem with that approach is that it would result in a lag of response time, and the consumer often waited for days to get a response.  By that time the customers were either no longer interested or  they had found what they were looking for elsewhere.  This is not necessarily the  merchant's fault (they're probably too busy working the showroom floor to check their e-mail), but when the online marketplace would approach the merchant to re-up their ad listing they'd hear complaints about stale online leads.

However, were they the leads really stale or were they just spending too much time in an e-mail inbox before they'd receive a response?

That's why it's always interesting to see when major brands find new ways, besides e-mail forms, to distribute leads to local stores.  Autobytel, one of the largest online automobile marketplaces, recently added a new twist to their online information forms that does much more than just send an e-mail to a local car dealer when a customer fills out a form online.  The company recently implemented a "rapid response" outbound phone service so dealers could engage prospective customers over the phone while they were still online.

According to an article published yesterday by DIRECT, "Dealers are notified via an automated phone call seconds after a consumer requests price quote at a Web site operated by Autobytel. The prospect's name, identity of the Web site generating the lead and specific inquiry details are supplied to dealers who receive these automated calls."

The goal is to get the customer on the phone while they're still looking at cars so that an expert from a local dealer can assist them with any questions they may have.  That's much more personal service than receiving an e-mail several days after submitting a form.

So far, the new rapid response program seems to be working well for Autobytel.  A release earlier this week by Autobytel states that beta tests generated 50% improvement in contact rates and closing rates increased as high as 200%.

For Autobytel this new innovation signifies not just an increase in sales, but an opportunity for dealers to connect with customers and offer better service. "The goal of Rapid Response is to put our dealers on the phone with the customer so quickly that the customer is literally still sitting at the computer," said Mark Garms, Autobytel Inc.'s senior vice president of dealer operations. "Obviously, that sets the stage for better contact rates, but it also creates new opportunities for dealers to interface online with customers, for example by leading them through a virtual inventory walk-around or showing them different color or trim options."

Earlier this month, comScore released new data which showed that online classifieds are growing at a tremendous rate.  According to a report by iMedia Connection, "comScore Media Metrix released a study that found traffic to the online classifieds category has grown 47 percent in the past year to 37.4 million internet users, reaching about 22 percent of the total internet population. "

With the potential for such a huge audience, it's no wonder that some newspaper chains are making moves to enhance their online classified offerings.  One example is Cox Newspapers, which has recently rolled out click to call functionality across each of its sites, including AJC.com, PBPost.com and Statesman.com. 

As Greg Sterling notes, the deal will help sales and will be something of a differentiator for the newspapers in an increasingly competitive online classifieds environment.

Come see eStara's CEO, John Federman, participate on a panel at this week's OMMA East in New York.  Here's the scoop...

Unlocking the Last Block: Local Search is Finally Found
Tuesday 9/26
4:30pm - 5:15pm
Advertising Track: Harlem Room
Session Description:
To consumers, search is the new yellow pages--the first place they look for almost any service. But so far, local businesses haven't begun to take full advantage, relying instead on more tradtional channels, from spot TV to word-of-mouth, to flyers, and their storefronts alone. New solutions abound, some which drive traffic to businesses' online presence, and others which don't even require a business to have an email address to take advantage of relevant searches.

How are national chains and Mom and Pops alike benefitting from new initiatives? How can local players of all sizes integrate pay-per-call and local directories within search into ther marketing plans? And what partnerships should publishers seek to deepen their offerings to their audience?