double POSITIVE Marketing Group, Inc.

eStara issued a press release today announcing the launch of its Form to Phone service, which provides consumer data from online form submissions to sales professionals via phone in addition to email.  ”The solution has been proven to shorten response times for lead generation marketers and improve customer satisfaction by delivering prompt responses to online inquiries, ” the release states, and goes on to provide statistics on how Autobytel’s use of the service has increased the qualified leads delivered to dealers while improving conversion rates, in one case by 300%.   

“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,” says eStara’s John Federman in the requisite CEO quote.

So how about this, Mr. (or Ms.) Auto Dealer–or Real Estate Agent, or Other Sales Pro:  instead of getting a phone call providing online form data, how about a phone call with the live consumer on the other end whose online form data went in real time to a call center agent, who phoned them immediately, verified their interest and qualifications, and then if appropriate, called you and personally introduced them to you?  

 Which would you prefer?  Whom should we call at Autobytel?