Version 5.5 Empowers Small-to-Midsized Businesses To Build and Fine-Tune Web Sites for Lead Generation
Barrie, ON, and Menlo Park, CA - March 7, 2007 - Hot Banana Software, Inc. (www.hotbanana.com),
a leader in Web content management for marketing, today announced that
it has launched Version 5.5, which takes Web CMS to the next level by
integrating Web site optimization and marketing automation features.
The company also made significant changes to its SaaS and licensed
pricing, squarely focusing on small-to-midsize marketers.
"Hot
Banana is throwing down the gauntlet and claiming the mid-market Web
content management space," said Krista LaRiviere, general manager, Hot
Banana. "We're now giving midsize marketers advanced tools and controls
for creating Web sites that are designed from the ground up to generate
and convert leads and to handle complex online marketing campaigns. And
we're giving it to them at a price they can afford, in an off-the-shelf
SaaS or licensed package that they can implement with or without IT
assistance."
As part of its re-positioning strategy, Hot Banana has re-launched its own corporate Web site using Version 5.5, at www.hotbanana.com.
The
company's innovative new release, Hot Banana Version 5.5, is first to
focus on three areas: (1) Web content management, empowering marketers
to build Web sites and take control of their content, (2) Web site
optimization, giving marketers the tools they need to fine-tune the
marketing performance of their sites, and (3) marketing automation
tools for capturing Web site visitors, turning them into qualified
leads and transferring the leads to CRM systems.
The
one-of-a-kind Web CMS integrates best-of-breed, third-party Web
analytics, email marketing and CRM solutions. It also consolidates all
the capabilities from Hot Banana's formerly optional Active Marketing
Suite into one core product.
At the same time that the company
has increased product functionality, it has also made its pricing
structure more affordable. The company created a three-tier model based
on usage: one to five users, six to 25 users and unlimited users. Hot
Banana SaaS, the company's hosted offering, starts at only $329 per
month, while Hot Banana Licensed Software starts at $4,999.
The most expensive package is a licensed-software offering that handles an unlimited number of users and URLs for only $27,999.
Pioneering Web Content Management for Marketing
Version
5.5 builds Web site optimization tools and marketing automation
processes directly into the core product. This approach empowers
marketers to maximize inbound Web site traffic, launch email campaigns,
leverage landing pages with A/B testing and Web forms, and transfer
leads to CRM systems like salesforce.com.
"We're the only Web CMS
vendor with this laser focus on giving marketers total control," said
LaRiviere. "Our approach lets marketers focus all their energy on
making sure the Web site content is fully optimized and automated, so
their marketing campaigns can perform and outperform."
Among the most innovative features are:
- An
industry-first "Analytics Center" that integrates several leading Web
analytics tools, including ClickTracks, Google Analytics, IndexTools
and WebTrends. Hot Banana automatically adds the proper tags to each
Web page, based on the user's preferred analytics vendor. Users can
easily add additional Web analytics vendors.
- Email marketing
capabilities that transfer Web form data to the email marketing
provider of choice, so this data can be leveraged in the next campaign.
Best-practice design templates are included, so users can create
emails, landing pages and corporate sites, all with the same consistent
look and feel. For example, email HTML pages can be created in Hot
Banana and exported to any email-marketing software, such as EmailLabs,
for delivery.
- The ability to transfer Web form data to CRM
systems, such as Salesforce.com. Hot Banana's landing pages enable
users to build sophisticated Web forms that track lead sources and
conversions. All the data captured in the Web form can be transferred
to CRM, database or email-marketing software of choice.
- A new
"SEO Center" that consolidates Hot Banana's numerous built-in SEO tools
and controls. Enhancements include 301 redirect and automated title
attributes in hyperlinks. Users can also automatically create XML
standards-compliant sitemaps, such as Google Site Maps, and register
them with Google, Yahoo! and MSN.
- An improved Rich Text Editor
that enables users to quickly and cleanly cut, paste and filter
documents and tables from Microsoft Office and other programs.
- A
"Dynamic Content Engine" that borrows tagging tricks from social
networking sites - so content authors can categorize and tag their own
content. This feature is ideal for managing large volumes of content
for online publications and publishers. Web site visitors can search
content by tag, categories, title, author and abstract.
Link to the full release document
Visit Hot Banana Software