In the News
As the industry leader, Channel Blade always has something new to talk about. Whether we’re joining forces with new partners, signing new clients, expanding our team, or offering new products, you’ll be able to read about it here first.
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Channel Blade Releases Footsteps 2.5 CHANNEL BLADE RELEASES FOOTSTEPS 2.5 Virginia Beach, Va. - January 3, 2008 - Channel Blade, a leading provider of online marketing, lead management and sales education solutions in the marine, RV, and powersports industries, announced today the release of Footsteps 2.5 - a new, feature-enhanced version of its widely used manufacturer and dealer lead management solution."Channel Blade has made significant enhancements to the Footsteps platform, spanning Web site connectivity, reporting capabilities and overall management usability," said Jon Lintvet, Channel Blade's chief executive officer. "Footsteps 2.5 enables our clients to further streamline the sales process and accelerate the buying cycle, enhancing their ability to turn more prospects into customers." Currently free-of-charge for existing users, the Footsteps 2.5 release is the result of extensive collaboration with Channel Blade's clients. The company works hand-in-hand with its clients year-round to deliver industry leading innovation and results-oriented features. Esther Reich, Website Administrator at M&P Mercury Sales Ltd in Burnaby, BC, and M&P Yacht Centre in Vancouver, BC, says that her whole team is thrilled about the new, automatic lead assignment feature in Channel Blade's Footsteps 2.5 release. "Not only will it save us time in administrative processing, but it will also help us serve our customers more efficiently." One of the many benefits of Footsteps 2.5 is that Channel Blade's clients can automatically assign leads to a sales person based on a predetermined set of business rules, effectively eliminating the need for any manual intervention by a sales manager or other associate with similar responsibilities. This is a tremendous win after hours, on weekends and over the holidays. "Leads can be immediately sent to the newly assigned staff member's Blackberry and he or she can reply from anywhere, even while out of the office," says Reich. "This way, no leads are left unanswered and our response time is significantly improved." "When research shows that more than 60 percent of online leads go unanswered, it's clear that the enhanced features provided with Footsteps 2.5 give Channel Blade's clients a competitive advantage," said Lintvet. |
About Channel Blade and ARI
Channel Blade, an ARI company, provides online lead generation, lead management and sales education solutions that drive more leads and sales to manufacturers and dealers within the marine and recreational vehicle industries. Channel Blade supports its clients worldwide with its award-winning, cost-efficient solutions and hands-on education programs -- including 70 percent of Boating Industry's prestigious 2008 Top 100 Dealers.
ARI Network Services, Inc. (ARI) is a leading provider of electronic parts catalogs and marketing services to dealers, distributors and manufacturers in the manufactured equipment markets. ARI currently serves approximately 100 manufacturers and 190 distributors worldwide, as well as more than 25,000 dealers in several markets, including outdoor power; power sports; marine; recreation vehicle; appliance; agricultural equipment; floor maintenance; construction; and aftermarket auto and truck parts. Both of the companies’ products, as well as the websites designed for its customers, have received numerous industry awards, including Editor’s Choice Award for SearchEngineSmart™ in February, 2009 awarded by Powersports Business Magazine and this year’s Best Dealer Website of the Year for MarineMax.com.
For more information on Channel Blade and ARI, please visit www.channelblade.com and www.arinet.com.
Media contact: Lindsay Rapoport, (757) 222-6723; lindsay.rapoport@channelblade.
