EStara Sells Click to Call to IdeaForest's Joann.com

By David Sims

TMCnet Contributing Editor

 

EStara, a vendor of conversion products for enhancing online sales and support initiatives, has announced that IdeaForest, which owns and operates Joann.com, has selected eStara Click to Call to round out its online customer service offerings.

Already a customer of eStara's parent company, ATG IdeaForest's selection of eStara "demonstrates the synergies and customer centricity between the companies' products," eStara officials say.

Joann.com will use eStara's rules-based click to call capability to engage consumers interested in high-value purchases. This allows customers to access an expert over the phone to handle complex sales without burdening IdeaForest's contact center with calls about lower ticket items.



Juan Gonzalez, IT director, IdeaForest, said the company wanted to "find ways to capture online browsers during the buying process." eStara's Click to Call offers online retailers the ability to engage browsers either when they are likely to abandon a Web site or during key points in the sales cycle where up-sell or cross-sell opportunities exist.

EStara is used by Continental Airlines, DaimlerChrysler, Dell Financial Services and Superpages.com, among other companies.

Last September Art Technology Group (News - Alert) and eStara announced that the two companies signed a definitive agreement for ATG to acquire eStara in a stock and cash merger transaction. At the time ATG had several customer relationship management (CRM) products and e-commerce enhancing software tools -- knowledge base and help-desk solutions, live chat, content management, analytics, and more. EStara's click-to-call technology was a good complement to their existing portfolio.

According to eStara officials at the time, eStara's Click to Call, Click to Chat and Call Tracking solutions would "advance ATG's mission of enabling online sellers to find customers, convert them to buyers and ensure their satisfaction so they become loyal, repeat, and profitable customers."

EStara's Click to Call allows an online consumer to request an immediate call from a salesperson or customer care agent, via the telephone or computer.

"Over the last two years, we have consistently expanded our end-to-end commerce solutions to make it easier for companies to create more relevant interactions across the entire customer life cycle," said Bob Burke, ATG's President and CEO at the time of the acquisition.

--------

David Sims is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To see more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.