ForRent.com® Quickly Converts Leads into Lease Agreements with eStara Click to Call and eStara Save & Send
Leading Internet Listing Service first to offer eStara technologies to apartment community for real-time personalized contact
Cambridge, MA - May 5, 2008 - ATG (Art Technology Group, Inc., NASDAQ: ARTG), the leading e-commerce platform and optimization services provider, today announced that ForRent.com, a leading online marketplace for apartment seekers, property managers and owners, has launched enhanced online conversation applications for its advertisers powered by eStara Click to Call and eStara Save and Send. ForRent.com is owned and operated by For Rent Media SolutionsTM, a leading apartment resource for searching apartments nationwide.
As first-time homebuyers who can’t afford adjustable rate mortgages return to the rental pool, new opportunities are emerging in apartments leasing. A recent report by Marcus and Millichap, a national brokerage firm specializing in real estate investments, states that apartment demand is expected to rise because of the impact of the home-buying slowdown. The long term outlook for apartment rentals also looks promising as echo boomers - the children of the baby boomers, born from 1977 through 1994 - have already moved into the housing market. With less attainable home-buying goals, echo boomers will boost demand for apartment residences sharply, according to the National Multi Housing Council. To capitalize on this trend, For Rent Media SolutionsTM turned to ATG’s e-commerce optimization services and selected eStara Click to Call and eStara Save and Send, making it easier for advertisers to instantly connect with prospective renters.
“For Rent Media Solutions is proud to be the first in the online multi-housing industry to offer eStara’s Click to Call and Save and Send applications to property managers and owners, so they can create a memorable experience for apartment hunters at no additional cost,” says Terry Slattery, vice president/general manager, For Rent Media Solutions. “We realize consumers are changing the way they seek and share information; as For Rent continues to generate more inquiries on behalf of our advertisers, eStara technologies will allow them to immediately validate many apartment-seeking leads and turn them into signed lease agreements.”
With Click to Call and Save & Send, ForRent.com can help property managers and owners keep up with the increased demand for apartment rental inventory by qualifying new leads and quickly converting them to lease agreements. The combination of Click to Call and Save & Send can help close the loop between online and offline conversion of ForRent.com’s more than 50,000 apartment community listings nationwide.
eStara Click to Call allows apartment seekers to immediately speak with a property manager to receive real-time information about an online listing by simply clicking a button to connect via phone, encouraging a much more personalized sales experience. eStara Save & Send provides apartment seekers the ability to save or send an apartment listing in an electronic format - to a PC desktop, the Web or mobile device - for reference so that no lead is lost and an account of every phone call is recorded. Because an apartment hunter can file a listing to be accessed at a later time, eStara Save & Send extends the life of each online apartment listing and improves the chances of closing the deal on lease agreements.
“eStara Click to Call and Save and Send technologies will make a significant impact in the ForRent.com community,” said Shari Solis, vice president, media for ATG’s eStara services. “As the apartment rental industry sees an uptick in demand, eStara services will help ForRent.com differentiate itself in a competitive marketplace and provide a customized channel for their advertisers to effectively manage apartment seeker inquiries.”
About For Rent Media SolutionsTM
Headquartered in Norfolk, Va., For Rent Media Solutions is a division of Dominion Enterprises. As the multi-family housing solution for apartment seekers, property/apartment managers and owners, For Rent Media Solutions provides superior products, outstanding customer service, and tangible results. For Rent Media Solutions is a leading resource for choosing your next apartment for rent, townhouse, condo, duplex, efficiency, studio or loft and provides a free customizable apartment search from more than 50,000 apartment listings nationwide. For Rent Media Solutions operates For Rent Magazine®, as well as ForRent.comTM-The Magazine, and publishes 94 magazines covering more than 190 markets nationwide, including After 55TM Housing & Resource Guide, Apartamentos Para Rentar® and Florida Condominium and Townhome. For Rent Media Solutions operates five additional Web sites: ForRent.com®, SeniorOutlook.comTM, CorporateHousing.com®, ParaRentar.comTM and FLCondoGuide.com. For Rent Media Solutions is a company dedicated to the needs of the apartment industry, bringing prospective residents and apartment communities together.
About Dominion Enterprises
Dominion Enterprises, a division of Landmark Communications, is a leading marketing services company serving the automotive, real estate, apartment, recruitment and marine markets. The company operates a variety of businesses that offer Internet marketing, Web site design and hosting, lead generation, CRM, and data capture and distribution services. The company has more than 40 market-leading Web sites reaching more than 12.5 million unique monthly visitors, and more than 500 magazines with a weekly circulation of over 5 million. Headquartered in Norfolk, Va., the company has nearly 6,000 employees nationwide and annualized revenue of more than $946 million. For more information, visit http://www.DominionEnterprises.com.
About ATG
ATG (Art Technology Group, Inc., NASDAQ: ARTG) provides the e-commerce platform and e-commerce optimization services that the world’s most customer-conscious companies use to power their e-commerce Web sites, attract prospects, convert them to buyers and ensure their satisfaction so they become loyal, repeat, profitable customers. Our e-commerce suite is ranked the #1 current offering and #1 in strategy by the industry’s most influential analyst firms, and powers more of the top 300 internet retailers than any other vendor. Our eStara brand of e-commerce optimization services - including the world’s most widely used click to call offering - dramatically increase conversions and order size and enhance customer support. ATG’s solutions are used by over 900 major brands, including AT&T, Best Buy, Bulgari, Coca Cola, Continental Airlines, CVS, Dell, Diane von Furstenberg, DirecTV, eLuxury, El Corte Ingles, Expedia, France Telecom, Harvard Business School Publishing, Hewlett-Packard, Hilton, HSBC, Intuit, Jenny Craig, Louis Vuitton, Macy’s, Mercedes Benz, Meredith, Microsoft, Neiman Marcus, New York & Company, NutriSystem, OfficeMax, PayPal, Philips, Procter & Gamble, Sears, Sony, Symantec, Target, T-Mobile, Tommy Hilfiger, Urban Outfitters, Verizon, Viacom, Vodafone and Walgreens.
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.
For inquiries:
Tucker Walsh
ATG
+1.617.386.1159
twalsh@atg.com
Charna Cummings
Matter Communications
+1.978.499.9250
charna@matternow.com
Tags: apartment, apartments, data, houses, housing, internet, leads, management, managers, marketing, mobile, online, rent, rental, rentals, renters, renting
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