CASE STUDY: AUTOBYTEL
AUTOBYTEL
Company: Autobytel
Industry: Automotive/Directory
Company Profile
Autobytel Inc. (Nasdaq: ABTL) is one of the largest
online automotive marketplaces, empowering
consumers to make smart vehicle choices using
objective automotive data and insightful interactive
editorial content. The result is a convenient car-
buying process backed by a nationwide network of
dealers who are committed to providing a positive
consumer experience.
Business Challenge
Building a successful network of dealers is
contingent on providing a continuous stream of
leads on a timely basis. AutoBytel was distributing
hundreds of leads per day to its member dealers,
yet often experienced latency between the inquiry
from prospective customers, and the time dealers
would actually pick up the phone to call these
leads. For every lead, the dealer was provided
a standard form by email. This delay resulted in
frustration when a dealer would call a prospective
lead only to learn they had moved on to a different
site or a competitor’s listing. Autobytel wanted a
solution that would make it easier, and quicker for
its member dealers to follow up with online leads.
Solution
To reduce latency while attaching urgency to every
lead, AutoBytel launched Rapid Responsesm -in
September 2006. Using Form to Phone from eStara,
form-based inquiries are no longer forwarded to
dealers by email alone, but by phone calls aswell.
Calls are placed automatically to Autobytel member
dealers -- notifying them within seconds – each
time an online prospect fills out a form (during
normal business hours) requesting a price quote
from a dealership featured on Autobytel.com.
Results
• Generated a 50 percentage point improvement
on customer contact rates, from 30 percent on
average to nearly 80 percent
• Increased dealer closing ratios by up to 200
percent
• Improved dealer relationships and proved ROI
to key customers
www.eStara.com © 2008 Art Technology Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Form to Phone Drives Hot Leads to Dealers
“Our dealers were only contacting about 20% of their
Autobytel prospects within the first few hours of filling out a
form. Thanks in large part to eStara Form to Phone, we’re able
to connect dealers with hot prospects immediately, oftentimes
while the prospect is still at his or her computer and still
engaged with that dealer’s offerings.”
-- Casey McCaffrey, Director Strategic Initiatives, Autobytel, Inc.
Company Profile However, there was often latency between
Autobytel Inc. (Nasdaq: ABTL) is one of the the time prospective customers would fill out
largest online automotive marketplaces, em- a standard email form online, and the time
powering consumers to make smart vehicle dealers would actually pick up the phone
choices using objective automotive data and to respond to the inquiry. This delay led to
frustration as buyers often moved on to a dif-
insightful interactive editorial content. The re-
sult is a convenient car-buying process backed ferent site or a competitive listing when the
by a nationwide network of dealers who are dealer didn’t respond quickly enough.
committed to providing a positive consumer
experience. Every day consumers choose Autobytel needed a solution to facilitate and
Autobytel-owned and operated Web sites – expedite the process, collapsing the time it
takes for member dealers to respond to online
Autobytel.com, Autoweb.com, CarSmart.com,
Car.com, and CarTV.com – to facilitate their leads.
car-shopping decisions.
“Our dealers were only contacting about
Since pioneering pro-consumer online auto- 20% of their Autobytel prospects within
motive content and purchasing in 1995, Auto- the first few hours of filling out a form,” says
bytel has helped more than twenty seven mil- Casey McCaffrey, Director Strategic Initiatives.
lion car buyers, generating billions of dollars
in car sales for dealers. Solution
As part of its “Keep in Touch” initiative de-
signed to make it easier for member dealers
Business Challenge
As a leading online automotive marketplace, to manage and communicate with online cus-
Autobytel works with a network of thousands tomer leads, Autobytel wanted a way to help
of car dealers across the country. Part of the dealers act on leads more quickly than they
service they provide is the distribution of hun- were doing through standard email requests
dreds of leads per day to its member dealers. for price quotes.
Start the conversation with eStara.
 CASE STUDY: AUTOBYTEL

AUTOBYTEL
Form to Phone Drives Hot Leads to Dealers

The company came to eStara to develop a Results

Form to Phone solution that would give deal-
ers the ability to initiate immediate phone
contact with prospects. eStara’s Form to
Phone delivers qualified leads to sellers in
real-time, and generates faster responses. Le-
veraging text to speech, eStara translates text
or form based data into a voice call and routes
it to the appropriate franchise, dealer, branch,
connecting the buyer with the seller immedi-
ately over the phone.
Results from the program’s beta test, which involved 165 dealers,, cus-
tomer contact rates improved dramatically among the dealers who
provided direct contact numbers (as opposed to toll-free and third-
party tracking numbers), and who consistently opted to connect with
Autobytel customers. According to test data, the program:
• Generated a 52 percentage point improvement on
customer contact rates, from 30 percent on average
to nearly 80 percent

According to Autobytel, the goal of this pro-

• Increased dealer closing ratios by up to 300 percent
gram was to put their dealers on the phone
with the customer so quickly that the custom-
“Thanks in large part to eStara Form to Phone, we’re able to con-
er is literally still sitting at the computer. That
nect dealers with hot prospects immediately, oftentimes while the
sets the stage for better contact rates, but it
prospect is still at his or her computer and still engaged with that
also creates new opportunities for dealers to
dealer’s offerings,” said McCaffrey.
interface online with customers, for example
by leading them through a virtual inventory
The program also helped to improve dealer relationships and prove
walk-around or showing them different color
ROI to key customers. Response from Autobytel member dealers was
or trim options.
extremely positive with members commenting:

Using find me/follow me features from eStara,

“Rapid Respnonse offered us an opportunity to be the first to re-
the program also lets dealers prioritize up to
spond…we’re getting calls before leads even show up in our cus-
three contact numbers that can be sequential-
tomer management system!”
ly called when a form request for their dealer-
ship is entered.
“Our closing rations and sales through Autobytel improved 300 per-
cent during our first month with Rapid Response…that’s a function
With the customer’s phone number already
of dramatically higher contact and show rates, plus the less tangible
pre-dialed from filling out the form, the dealer
relationship-building opportunities the service supports.”
is contacted first and hears a whisper feature,
which provides the customer’s name, their
“It’s all about making a live, human connection with the custom-
site source (Autobytel, Autoweb, etc.), and the
er, and to me, that’s always been – and always will be – the key to
make/model/year of the vehicle they selected.
sales.”
The dealer then has the option of either press-
ing “1” to be connect by phone with the cus-
tomer, or simply hanging up if they’re busy.
eStara Headquarters
Dealers receive detailed back-end reporting 1 Main Street
on their call activity, including all incoming Cambridge, MA 02142
numbers, which numbers they actually tried
to connect with, and which inquiries could
not be addressed immediately.

Start the conversation with eStara.

www.eStara.com © 2008 Art Technology Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved