FOSTER CITY, Calif., Feb. 22, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Conversica, the leading provider of artificial intelligence-based lead engagement software for marketing and sales, today announced the seven winners of its inaugural Sales Effectiveness: Lead Follow-Up research project. The project assessed more than 300 organizations across nine industries to determine how well they respond to sales leads.
Seven organizations earned an overall "A" grade in the research and received the "Best in Class" award for 2015:
B2B Best in Class:
B2C Best in Class:
- Alfa Romeo Fiat of McKinney, Texas
- Anderson Subaru of Pensacola, Florida
- Bertera Nissan of Worcester, Massachusetts
- Waldorf College in Forrest City, Iowa
The Conversica-commissioned research looked at the four elements critical to the successful engagement of sales leads: promptness, persistence, personalization and performance. 327 companies across nine industries were rated on the speed with which they responded, the persistence of their outreach, the personalization of their email responses and the performance of their email deliverability. Each company received a letter grade in each category based on a best-practices grading scale. The seven winners were the only ones to earn an overall "A" grade.
"I want to congratulate these seven Best in Class organizations for their exceptional lead follow-up practices," said Alex Terry, CEO of Conversica. "Getting everything right every time is more difficult than most organizations realize, as evidenced by the surprising number of poor performers uncovered in the research. And, in addition to seeing iconic sales and marketing companies like Salesforce and Marketo doing so well, it's rewarding to see smaller organizations putting all four Ps into place to deliver a great customer experience."
"But there's plenty of room for improvement across industries," added Terry. "Over 30% of organizations surveyed didn't respond at all to a sales lead, and another 40% received a low C or D grade for their lead follow-up practices. As we kick-off research for the 2016 edition of the report, I'm eager to see how increased awareness of the problem leads to improved performance for companies in all industries."
Conversica's 2015 Sales Effectiveness: Lead Follow-Up report breaks down company performance within B2B (Technology, Media/Publishing and Telecommunications) and B2C (Automotive, Brokerage, Education, Insurance, Mortgage and Real Estate) industries.
The report was derived from research conducted over three months using secret shopper personas seeking information about each company's product or service. In each case, the secret shopper submitted a website inquiry or sent an email request to the company's published "contact us" address. Responses were tracked, tallied and assessed to determine grades.
The full report can be downloaded at http://con.ai/2015-lead-follow-up-report and companies may request their own personalized assessment at http://con.ai/4p-assessment-request.
Supporting information:
- Download the report: http://con.ai/2015-lead-follow-up-report
- Read the blog post, which includes a list of the A and B graded companies: http://con.ai/2015-lead-follow-up-report-blog-post
- Watch a short video introducing the report: http://con.ai/2015-lead-follow-up-report-intro-video
- View the supporting infographic: http://con.ai/2015-lead-follow-up-report-infographic
- Request an assessment of your company: http://con.ai/4p-assessment-request
About Conversica
Conversica is the leading provider of lead engagement software for marketing and sales organizations. Driven by artificial intelligence technology, Conversica's virtual sales assistant automatically contacts, engages, nurtures, qualifies and follows up with leads via natural, two-way email conversations until the lead converts into an opportunity or opts out. The AI sales assistant interprets the lead's intention and sentiment in email replies and extracts key information, such as phone numbers and the best time to call, then expertly hands off the lead to the appropriate salesperson to close the deal. As a result, our customers find their next customers more quickly and efficiently, while ensuring no lead is left behind.
Used by more than 11,000 sales representatives worldwide, Conversica maximizes sales opportunities by optimizing sales team productivity and has helped create more than US$8 billion in sales revenue. Conversica is a portfolio company of Kennet Partners and Toba Capital, and is headquartered in Foster City, California.
To learn more, visit www.conversica.com and follow us on Google+, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.