Content provided in partnership with

Business Services Industry

Advanta Logs Millionth User Session On Web Site; 'Sticky' Site is a Relationship Builder with Small Business

Business Wire, Dec 9, 2002

Business Editors

SPRING HOUSE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 9, 2002

Advanta Corporation (NASDAQ: ADVNB; ADVNA) - A small business owner from Dallas, Texas, who owns a title company, conducted the millionth user session on Advanta's website for small business credit card holders, the Company announced today. Brett M. Poston, who uses the site almost weekly, logged on to the millionth session, clocked just 11 months and two days after the soft launch of the site on December 18, 2001.

Most Popular Articles in Business: Research and Markets : Tesco Plc - SWOT Framework Analysis; Do Us a Flavor - Ben & Jerry's Issues a Call for Euphoric New Flavors; eBay made easy: ready to start an eBay business? These 5 simple steps will ...; Katrina's lawsuit surge: a legal battle to force insurers to pay for flood ...; Wal-Mart's newest distribution center opened last month near the southwest ...; More »

"This is an exciting milestone for us," said Ami Kassar, Advanta's Vice President, Internet Strategy. "We are delighted to have reached this benchmark so soon, and we are gratified by the feedback we have received from our customers. Advanta's "sticky" site is designed to increase the number of useful functions available to the busy entrepreneur, around the clock. The site allows the user to monitor the spending of several employees at once, to view a year's worth of business data, to project monthly cash flow, and to generate reports for tax purposes.

"More than 70 percent of the customers that visit Advanta's site come back, and the majority of them return regularly," Kassar added. "Our goal is to become a key part of the way they manage their businesses. Our web customers have higher activation rates, higher purchase volume, higher balances, fewer delinquencies and lower charge-off rates than non-website users." Site usage for 2002 to date is up 100 percent from the first 11 months of 2001, Kassar said.

"I think it's one of the easier Web sites to navigate," Poston said. "I use the site to keep track of current charges, review my outstanding balance, and make online payments. I like the ease of use and the fact I don't need to wait for customer service. I've been able to address all my needs over the Internet."

In honor of the millionth user session milestone, Advanta will donate $5,000 to The Rise School, an early education center focused on children with Down syndrome, the charity designated by Mr. Poston.

"Our focus on providing the best service in the credit card industry to the small business customer means that our website must be customer friendly and offer real-time information at any hour," said Advanta Chairman and CEO Dennis Alter. "We have worked hard to anticipate our clients' needs - whether it's extending a line of credit or providing reports that make bookkeeping easier. Timing is crucial to the small business owner, and our combination of Web tools and phone accessibility allows us to be available for our customers when they need us."

In a 2002 report, The Gomez Internet Quality Measurement service stated that Advanta "leads competitors by providing business cardholders with comprehensive e-mail alerts and on-line service requests to manage their accounts and multiple cardholders on line."

Other customers have commented on the site's ease of use.

"Advanta's customer service, Web access and billing procedures are top of the line," said Robert J. Gauvin, owner of Snack Express Inc., a full-line vending business serving southern Massachusetts. "The line of credit Advanta has provided us has been instrumental in allowing Snack Express to succeed."

"I was extremely pleased with how fast and efficient the on-line application method (to obtain the credit card) was," said Kevin F. Brough, president of Glen Street Subways, Inc., a multi-unit Subway franchisee in upstate New York. "I was approved on the spot and had two extra cards for my associates sent to me also."

As for future site plans, Alter stated that "with one million user sessions we're just getting started." Advanta is committed to continuing to invest in web technology as a means to developing ongoing continuous relationships with its customers. Future plans for the site include new functionality for managing multiple employee accounts, a new rewards center, and new ways to present customers with small business tools and information that is relevant to them.

About Advanta

Advanta is a highly focused financial services company designed to meet the changing needs of the small business market. Advanta leverages direct marketing and information-based expertise to identify potential customers and new target markets and to provide an unmatched level of customer service. Using its distinctive capabilities, Advanta has become one of the nation's largest issuers of MasterCard business credit cards to small businesses.

Founded in 1951, Advanta has pioneered many of the marketing techniques common in the financial services industry today, including remote lending, direct mail, and affinity and relationship marketing.

Forward Looking Statements

This Press Release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. The most significant among these risks and uncertainties are factors affecting the Company's ability to continue to grow its Internet presence. Additional risks that may affect the Company's future performance are detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.

Business Services Industry

Advanta Logs Millionth User Session On Web Site; 'Sticky' Site is a Relationship Builder with Small Business

Business Wire, Dec 9, 2002

Find Research Guides for:

Find Featured Titles for: News

Most Popular Articles in Business

Most Popular Publications in Business