|
Press Release |
|||
|
RightNow Technologies Receives Patent for Time-Based Relevancy Ranking of Customer Service Knowledge ItemsUnique eService Solution Ensures Customers Can Quickly Find the Answers They Need MostBozeman, MT (September 17, 2002) – RightNow Technologies, a leading global provider of eService solutions expertise, today announced it has been granted a patent for its time-based ranking of knowledge item relevancy. This is the second patent issued to RightNow, with an additional eight patents pending.Time-based ranking of knowledge items ensures the first topics customers see when they come to a Web site seeking answers are those that are currently of greatest interest to them. This content “freshness” significantly enhances the effectiveness of online customer service and therefore provides RightNow eService Center with a substantial competitive advantage over other vendors’ customer service offerings. This increased effectiveness has been confirmed by independent studies, which indicate that RightNow has been able to consistently deliver an online self-service success rate of 86 percent and higher for companies across all major vertical markets. RightNow combines time-based relevancy rankings with other implicit and explicit ranking techniques to ensure that customers can quickly locate relevant, timely answers to their questions online. This improves the quality of service and support in two important ways. First, it allows companies to provide immediate answers to customers’ questions 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Second, it frees operators from having to answer the relatively small number of routine questions that typically account for the overwhelming majority of support calls – allowing them to focus on the more complex issues that truly require their personal attention. Handling these routine support issues online also reduces the cost of support operations, since it eliminates a substantial volume of help desk calls. “We are very gratified that the U.S. Patent Office has confirmed what technology buyers have already discovered: that RightNow offers some very unique advantages when it comes to provisioning superior online customer service,” said Greg Gianforte, RightNow’s CEO and founder. “We believe this is the first of many patents that will be granted to RightNow as we continue to develop innovative ways to enhance and automate customer-facing information delivery processes in ways that ensure customer delight, reduce operational costs and support business growth.” RightNow’s patent was granted under the case title “Temporal Updates of Relevancy Rating of Retrieved Information in an Information Search System.” The technical document itself can be viewed here. About RightNow Technologies RightNow Technologies, a recipient of UPSIDE Magazine’s 2002 Hot 100 Private Companies Award, is the leading eService solutions expert, engineering business solutions that deliver rapid time-to-benefit and quick return on investment. RightNow delivers these benefits to such customers as: Air New Zealand, Ben & Jerry's, British Airways, Cisco, Fujitsu, Maxtor, Orbitz, Remington, Sanyo, Social Security Administration, Sprint, and more than 1,100 other organizations. RightNow's multi-channel eService suite supports Web-based self-service, email response management, live chat and collaboration, and service analytics. RightNow Locator, which directly links a company’s Web presence with its real-world locations, provides customers the information they need to purchase products or obtain services locally. Founded in 1995, RightNow has offices in Bozeman, Dallas, London, and Sydney, with an associated office in Tokyo. RightNow's products are available in 16 languages worldwide. For further information visit http://www.rightnow.com/ Editorial Contact: Monica L. Remely RightNow Technologies 406/522-4264 mremely@rightnow.com top of page |
|||