The Weather Channel Interactive Forecasts Customer Trends and Provides Proactive Support with Parature (email this article)

VIENNA, VA – September 11, 2006 - Parature (Company Profile, Past Stories, Case Studies), provider of award-winning, on demand customer support software, announced today that The Weather Channel Interactive is leveraging Parature’s Customer Support Solution across seven departments to gain detailed insight into customer perceptions and behaviors, and provide high quality, proactive support. “Parature has become a trusted partner, and has consistently delivered on their pledge to help us meet our customer support goals by providing dedicated staff and excellent technology,” said Michael Buckham-White, Manager, Customer Data and Systems, The Weather Channel Interactive. “The comprehensive, integrated nature of Parature’s solution enables us to provide a very positive support experience and meet customer needs quickly.”

Prior to using Parature’s Customer Support Solution, The Weather Channel Interactive was using a mix of solutions developed internally that served their purpose in supporting customers, however the integrated in house solution lacked the flexibility and functionality desired. One of the reasons Parature was selected is due to the highly customizable online support portal that is seamlessly integrated into The Weather Channel’s website. This support portal serves as the gateway for customers to receive support directly from The Weather Channel Interactive support team, or via self-service options that enable customers to assist themselves any time of the day or night. New key support tactics The Weather Channel Interactive now offers their customers include a knowledge base of helpful articles, surveys for customer feedback, and the download center where software, documents and other files can be obtained by customers via secure login.

A unique way that The Weather Channel Interactive is using Parature’s online support portal is in their business development division, in which they have designed a separate portal specifically for partners to obtain information, such as how to join their partner network, marketing and sales materials, updates on company happenings, events and networking opportunities, and who to contact with questions. “We started out with four departments using Parature’s solution, but quickly expanded it to seven departments with more soon to come,” said Mr. Buckham-White. “Being able to use one solution across so many areas is very helpful for collaboration and sharing information securely.” “Providing an exceptional customer experience has become an effective differentiator for consumer services providers,” stated Duke Chung, CEO and President, Parature. “By working with Parature, The Weather Channel Interactive is moving aggressively to ensure that it listens closely to customer needs and feedback, in order to deliver the positive customer experience that keeps customers loyal and motivates them to enthusiastically recommend the company’s services to others.”

To learn more about the value that Parature’s Customer Support Solution can bring to your organization, please visit http://www.parature.com/landing/whitepaper/supportportal

About The Weather Channel
The Weather Channel, a 24-hour weather network, is seen in over 90 million U.S. households. Its website, weather.com, reaches more than 30 million unique users per month. Its content is currently ranked the 11th most popular in the U.S. by Nielsen//NetRatings. The Weather Channel also operates Weatherscan, a 24-hour, all-local weather network available to 22 million households, The Weather Channel Radio Network, The Weather Channel Newspaper Services and is the leading weather information provider for emerging technologies. This includes broadband and interactive television applications and wireless weather products accessible through high-speed Internet services, phones, and mobile devices. The Weather Channel is owned by Landmark Communications, Inc., a Norfolk, VA-based, privately held media company.

About Parature
Parature provides on demand customer support and help desk software, enabling companies to improve their internal and external support while reducing costs. Through its suite of modules, Parature allows companies to provide critical service information on a 24x7 basis via the Internet, resulting in reduction of inbound support load and significantly decreased support costs. With a consistent growth rate of over 100% year over year, Parature serves industry leaders such as Office Depot, ATI Technologies Inc. and Florida State University. For more information on Parature, or to sign up for the FREE 30 Day Trial, please visit www.parature.com. ###