Press Releases

SAN FRANCISCO – May 27, 2009 – Today, Lithium Technologies, the leading provider of on-demand customer community solutions for the enterprise, and Redfin, the real estate industry's first online brokerage for buying and selling homes, announced that 51% of people who bought a home through Redfin reported that the company's online community influenced their decision to work with the brokerage, an increase from 30% the year prior. Prior to making a purchase, over 22% of Redfin buyers had posted a question to the community.

Visits to Redfin's online community have increased 415% year over year. In that time, Redfin's revenues have increased by more than 40%, while the company has reduced marketing program expenses 82%; Redfin's Net Promoter Score, a measure of customer satisfaction, has increased by 5%.

Redfin's community is one of the only forums for real estate consumers to ask one another about pricing trends, neighborhood guidance, and local best practices; it is the only such forum hosted by a major brokerage. The community allows customers to comment on individual agents' service, and to suggest improvements to Redfin's website. Community postings appear throughout Redfin's site, with each agent's contributions appearing on a profile page that also includes the agent's entire deal history as well as customer reviews and ratings.

"In competing against traditional brokerages several thousand times larger than we are, our only advantages are transparency and customer service," said Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman. "Redfin gives consumers four times more information about a listing than most other websites, and thousands of customer reviews of our agents, but this data just sits there without a place for people to discuss it. An open community where anyone can agonize over what to offer on a listing or rant and rave about our service is the key to Redfin's credibility, and the only sustainable way to drive revenues. For too long, real estate has been a monologue, with the brokerage doing all the talking. Lithium is helping us make it a dialog, which we think goes a long way toward restoring consumer trust in our service."

"Redfin is not only changing the dynamics of the real estate business by empowering customers and amplifying their voices, the same initiative is simultaneously generating revenue growth," said Lyle Fong, CEO of Lithium Technologies. "Lithium has seen over and over that giving people an outlet to connect with and learn from one another online enhances the customer experience, boosts marketing efforts, and drives sales."

Redfin is one of the only real estate brokerages expanding into new markets and growing sales in the current economic climate.

About Lithium Technologies

Lithium is the leading provider of customer-centric social networking solutions for the enterprise. Working with market leaders such as Best Buy, Sony, AT&T, Research In Motion Limited (RIM), Univision, and PayPal, Lithium delivers online customer communities that work. Lithium solutions inspire customers to share knowledge, connect with each other, and connect with the enterprise, thus providing a unique method for companies to identify, engage, and understand customers. As a result, businesses measurably improve their marketing and sales, accelerate innovation, and increase customer satisfaction. Lithium's platform is proven in high-volume, growth environments and provides the security, analytics, APIs, and multi-language support that enterprises demand. Founded in 2001, Lithium is privately held with headquarters in Emeryville, California. For more information, visit www.lithium.com.

About Redfin

Redfin (www.redfin.com) is the real estate industry's first online brokerage, combining a customer-focused team of real estate agents with online tools for making the process of buying or selling a home easy. Redfin is the only major search site to feature listings direct from broker databases as well as for-sale-by-owner and foreclosure properties from across the Internet. The company pays its agents customer-satisfaction bonuses, not commissions, and surveys every client, publishing each survey as well as details on the agent's negotiating performance and deal history. Redfin's service is available in the metropolitan areas of Boston, Chicago, Seattle, Washington DC, Baltimore, New York's Long Island and Westchester County as well as most of California, including the San Francisco Bay Area, Southern California and Sacramento. To keep track of our daring exploits subscribe to blog.redfin.com.

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Lithium Media Contacts:

Michael Paige, Corporate Headquarters & Global, michael.paige@lithium.com , +1 (510) 318 7014
Sandra Teuber, Central & Southern Europe, sandra.teuber@lithium.com , +41 (79) 223 7356
Prelini Chiechi, UK & Northern Europe, prelini.chiechi@lithium.com, +44 (7826) 912788
Imogen Riley, APAC & Australia, imogen.riley@lithium.com, +61 413 274 210