Nikon's Global Deployment of RightNow Service Delivers Decreased Call, Email Response Times Plus Increased Savings (email this article)

BOZEMAN, Mont., Oct. 18 /PRNewswire/ -- RightNow® Technologies (Company Profile, Past Stories, Case Studies) (Nasdaq: RNOW - News) today announced Nikon's worldwide deployment of RightNow Service(TM) has resulted in dramatic, quantifiable improvements in both the quality and operational efficiency of its digital camera unit's technical support organization. As a result, the company supports its legendary brand with a superior customer experience across all communication channels, while it reaps significant cost savings.

Key metrics that demonstrate the substantial impact of the RightNow system on Nikon's service performance include a 30-second reduction in the time it takes to initiate resolution of a customer's problem on the phone and a 60-percent reduction in email response times. Nikon has also been able to maintain flat department headcount, even as unit sales increased substantially over the past two years.

At the same time, Nikon has been able to achieve customer satisfaction ratings of more than 95 percent.

Nikon uses RightNow Service to manage and automate its phone, email, web, and fax interactions. Nikon Europe has completed an implementation covering the entire continent and 12 languages. The company's Japan office has deployed RightNow to support its Japan market, and a rollout is underway to use RightNow across the rest of its Asian operations.

By giving Nikon's global support staff easy access to all the service-related information they need, RightNow enables them to quickly and effectively resolve customers' issues. RightNow's acclaimed knowledge base management technology helps ensure all answers given across all channels are up-to-date, accurate, and consistent.

RightNow also makes it easy for customers to search this knowledge base on the web, providing a powerful 24-hour-a-day self-service resource and reducing the total number of incidents Nikon's staff has to handle.

"Happy customers are more likely to buy from you again and more likely to generate word-of-mouth, which is the best form of advertising," David Dentry, general manager of Nikon Inc.'s Technical Office for digital camera products, said. "RightNow's on demand CRM solutions have helped us to achieve this critical level of customer satisfaction, while it simultaneously delivers enormous gains in efficiency."

RightNow also provides Nikon with valuable insight into customer needs and behaviors, which can then be used by product managers and marketers for competitive advantage.

"Customer-centric companies make sure they care for and understand their customers," Peter Dunning, president of field operations at RightNow, said. "Nikon is clearly such a company, and its extensive deployment of RightNow is clearly supporting that customer-centricity in ways that are having substantial impact on its bottom-line performance."

About Nikon
Nikon Inc. is the world leader in precision optics, 35mm and digital imaging technology and is recognized worldwide for setting new standards in product design and performance for its award-winning consumer and professional photographic equipment. For more information visit http://www.nikon.com.

About RightNow Technologies, Inc.

RightNow (Nasdaq: RNOW - News) provides organizations with industry-leading on demand CRM solutions to build customer-focused businesses. RightNow's acclaimed technology, comprehensive services and commitment to customer success deliver high returns on investment for its customers. More than 1,300 organizations worldwide use RightNow solutions including British Airways, British Telecom, Cisco Systems, Continental Tire North America, John Deere, Nikon and the Social Security Administration. Founded in 1997, RightNow is headquartered in Bozeman, Montana, with additional offices in North America, Europe and Asia. For further information, please visit www.rightnow.com.

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