Conversica Ends a Record Year of Customer and Company Growth and Notable Industry Recognition

FOSTER CITY, Calif., Jan. 7, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Conversica, the leading provider of artificial intelligence-based lead engagement software for marketing and sales, today announced that 2015 was a banner year for customer acquisition, product innovation, partner integration and company expansion. Conversica was also recognized as the 2015 CRM Market Rising Star by CRM Magazine, won the 2015 SIIA NextGen Most Innovative Award, and received the Gold LEADER Award for Most Innovative Company from the LeadsCouncil.

Conversica provides an artificial intelligence-powered sales assistant that presents itself as a member of the customer's human sales team. The assistant reaches out to leads to engage them in a human conversation and qualify them, allowing the sales team to spend more time closing business. In 2015, Conversica customers used their AI sales assistants to find their next customers more quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively.

In 2015, Conversica continued its successful growth and celebrated these notable milestones:

• Increased annual recurring revenue by 50%, with sales to new customers and expansions in existing accounts
• Grew the customer base to over 700 companies, adding marquee customers in a variety of industries, including automotive, technology, higher education, insurance and financial services
• Released version 2 of their AI platform, introducing new capabilities such as dynamic conversation creation, tailored sales alerts and enhanced integrations with over 30 CRM and marketing automation systems
• Landed top Salesforce ecosystem customers such as Five9, Urban Airship, Centrify and ZipRecruiter
• Partnered and integrated with major automation providers, including Marketo and Velocify
• Added software and SaaS veteran Alex Terry as CEO, as well as Jason Lund as CFO, Carl Landers as CMO and Werner Koepf as Senior Vice President of Engineering
• Grew to 120 employees and opened a new technology center of excellence in Seattle
• Partnered with leading auto manufacturer Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to accelerate adoption in their dealership network
• Launched its Automotive Dealer Advisory Council with members from among its most successful and creative customers
• Secured investment from Toba Capital and welcomed Wilder Ramsey to the Board of Directors

Conversica's innovative artificial intelligence sales assistance platform is enabling businesses to increase customer lead engagement and sales conversions, reduce operational costs and impact growth revenue. For example, the Los Angeles Film School increased its lead engagement by over 33% with "Stephanie," its Conversica automated assistant. Automotive group Faulkner increased showroom traffic by 50% across its 20 dealerships once their inbound leads were qualified by the Conversica platform. Insurance provider Spring Venture Group experienced a 30% decrease in cost per lead acquisition after "hiring" its Conversica automated sales assistant. Video email company BombBomb saw a 43% increase in its conversion rate from free trials to paid subscriptions within 6 months of integrating with Conversica.

"2015 was an outstanding year for Conversica and our customers," said CEO Alex Terry. "More and more businesses leveraged their AI-based Conversica automated sales assistants to significantly increase lead engagement and sales conversions, while simultaneously lowering their overall sales and marketing costs. In 2016 we are well positioned to ride the tidal wave of interest in AI and sales/marketing automation, and I'm proud of our leadership in using AI to change the lives of the forward-thinking humans that put our service to use."

About Conversica

Conversica is the leading provider of lead engagement software for marketing and sales organizations. Driven by artificial intelligence technology, Conversica's automated 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 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, Conversica customers find their next customers more quickly and efficiently, with no leads 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 $8 billion in revenue. Conversica is a portfolio company of Kennet Partners and Toba Capital, and is headquartered in Foster City, California.

To learn more, visit https://www.conversica.com and follow us on Google+, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

CONTACT: Gary Thompson
         Clarity Communications
         +1 (925) 768-2400
         [email protected]