Autobytel Inc. Accelerates Programs That Qualify Online Car Shoppers; Dealer Closing Ratios on the Rise as More Car Shoppers Become Car Buyers Through Autobytel.Business Editors & Automotive Writers IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 4, 2002 Autobytel Inc. (Nasdaq:ABTL ABTL Association Belge des Technologues de Laboratoire ), a leading Internet automotive marketing services company, today announced that it has launched a new multi-level program developed to further qualify customers the company sends to the thousands of dealers using its services. The Autobytel Quality Verification System validates Purchase Requests submitted to the Company's websites by calling every customer's primary phone number; using proprietary technology to delete To remove an item of data from a file or to remove a file from the disk. See file wipe, trash and undelete. 1. (operating system) delete - (Or "erase") To make a file inaccessible. requests submitted with bogus bo·gus adj. Counterfeit or fake; not genuine: bogus money; bogus tasks. [From obsolete bogus, a device for making counterfeit money. names; testing each email address See Internet address. ; and implementing website screening designed to separate car shoppers from buyers. As online car buying approaches mass-market adoption, Autobytel has taken the lead in developing a customer verification system designed to send only Purchase Requests from serious buyers to its dealer network. Statistics from Autobytel's own websites (Autobytel.com, Autoweb.com, Carsmart.com and Autosite.com) indicate that by 2003 the online car buyer will be a different customer, one more reflective of the general population and less familiar with shopping online. This new system is designed to allow dealers to spend more time with serious buyers and less time educating non-serious customers about the process. "Autobytel prides itself on providing high-quality, ready-to-buy customers to its dealers and, in turn, giving consumers a positive car-buying experience," said Jeffrey Schwartz Jeffrey Schwartz is a research professor at the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA) who is a major proponent of the idea that human will, intention or consciousness is nonmaterialistic and dualistic, possibly even being a "mental force" similar to that of gravity. , Autobytel Inc.'s President and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. . "Ensuring that customers submitting Purchase Requests on our web sites are serious buyers is key to Autobytel's success. Last year, it cost the Autobytel dealer an average of $114 to sell a car through Autobytel, over $300 less than the cost of using traditional media. We believe that our new Quality Verification System should help to drive this number even lower, reinforcing our pricing strategy and further increasing dealer satisfaction with our service." Since the inception of automotive e-commerce, Autobytel has consistently generated the most e-commerce business for its dealer network. Again, this year, Autobytel was number one in business generation according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. J.D. Power and Associates' 2002 Dealer Satisfaction with Online Car-Buying Services Study(SM).(1) The study also shows that Autobytel's closing ratios increased over last year. In addition, Autobytel offers dealers a customer call center to make sales appointments and begin the buying process on behalf of the dealership. The Company plans to launch new programs designed to ensure that its dealer network has the best practices in place to turn the Internet car shopper -- who is expected to represent over two thirds of a dealership's customers in 2003 -- into a car buyer. "Many of our dealer and manufacturer customers are already experiencing increased closing ratios. While we may experience some short term loss in Purchase Request volume, the long term benefits of our Quality Verification System should benefit Autobytel and its drive to generate 10 percent of all car sales," concluded Schwartz. About Autobytel Inc. Autobytel Inc. (Nasdaq:ABTL), a leading Internet automotive marketing services company, helps retailers sell cars and manufacturers build brands through marketing and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) An integrated information system that is used to plan, schedule and control the presales and postsales activities in an organization. (customer relationship management) programs. Autobytel Inc. owns and operates the popular websites Autobytel.com, Autoweb.com, Carsmart.com and Autosite.com, as well as AIC AIC Association des Infermières Canadiennes. (Automotive Information Center), a leading provider of automotive marketing data and technology. Autobytel Inc. generated an estimated four percent of all domestic new vehicle sales -- $17 billion in car sales in 2001 -- for dealers through its websites. Autobytel Inc. is the largest syndicated car-buying content network, reaching millions of unique visitors A count of how many different people access a Web site. For example, if a user leaves and comes back to the site five times during the measurement period, that person is counted as one unique visitor, but would count as five "user sessions. as they are making their vehicle buying decisions. Autobytel Inc. content and technology has potential exposure to over 90 percent of total web traffic.(2) (1) J.D. Power and Associates 2002 Dealer Satisfaction with Online Buying Services Study(SM) Autobytel Inc. press release 7/31/02 (2) Jupiter Media Metrix October 2001 Digital Media Audience Report (Autobytel Inc. sites is the unduplicated audience of the Autobytel and Autoweb properties and Carsmart.com. The car-buying and ownership category as defined by Autobytel. Autobytel Inc. provides content to Yahoo! Inc., AOL (A division of Time Warner, Inc., New York, NY, www.aol.com) The world's largest online information service with access to the Internet, e-mail, chat rooms and a variety of databases and services. websites, MSN (1) (MicroSoft Network) A family of Internet-based services from Microsoft, which includes a search engine, e-mail (Hotmail), instant messaging (Windows Live Messaging) and a general-purpose portal with news, information and shopping (MSN Directory). .com and Lycos.com. The unduplicated audience of these four sites accounts for over 90 percent of total traffic.) |
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