BOZEMAN, MONT. (November 16, 2004)—RightNow® Technologies (Company
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Uniden decided to insource customer service after it determined its customer relationships were too critical to the company’s long-term competitive position to be left in the hands of an outside organization. To bring customer service in-house, however, Uniden had to build a brand new multi-channel CRM environment. With both time and budget limited, the company turned to RightNow.
RightNow’s on demand technology enabled Uniden to quickly create its in-house CRM environment in about two weeks without putting any additional burden on its corporate IT department. That environment provided complete, customized customer care capabilities—including integrated management of phone, email and web channels; streamlined case management and workflow automation; robust management reporting and analytics; and a dynamic, searchable knowledge base accessible to both customers and Uniden’s brand-new contact center staff.
Uniden’s insourced contact center quickly outperformed its earlier outsourcers, delivering superior service while shaving 30 seconds off the average call. Additional savings were realized by driving a greater number of interactions to the web.
As an added benefit, the data captured by Uniden’s in-house contact center from its interactions with customers is now being leveraged by the company’s sales, marketing and manufacturing departments. Uniden agents capture product codes during their calls that allow factory managers to identify where and when each unit was produced. This helps the company pinpoint and resolve any potential quality problems. Sales and marketing can also use the data generated by customer service to gain insight into buyer preferences.
“Because we sell through distributors, customer service is our primary interface with the actual users of our products,” Steve McKinney, customer service manager of Uniden, said. “The data that we are able to capture in RightNow during the course of our day-to-day activity is therefore of tremendous value to decision-makers throughout the rest of the organization.”
Uniden plans to further expand its RightNow implementation, adding chat and voice self-service to its customer communication channels. Uniden will also take advantage of RightNow’s web-based architecture to allow agents to work from home.
“The success of Uniden’s bold insourcing initiative underscores the growing strategic importance of competitively superior customer care and strong enterprise-wide customer focus,” Sean Forbes, vice president of marketing and business development at RightNow, said. “By enabling companies to rapidly and cost-efficiently achieve these two critical goals, RightNow is having a significant near- and long-term impact on their bottom-line business performance.”
About Uniden
Uniden America Corporation, the North American subsidiary of Japan-based Uniden Corporation, manufactures and markets wireless consumer electronic products including cordless telephones, business telecommunications systems, networking and data products, Bearcat® scanners, FRS/GMRS radios, marine radios and other wireless personal communications products. Based in Fort Worth, Texas, Uniden sells its products through dealers and distributors throughout North, Central and South America.
About RightNow Technologies, Inc.
RightNow (NASDAQ: RNOW) 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 1,100 organizations worldwide use RightNow solutions including British Airways, British Telecom, Cisco Systems, Continental Tire North America, The Dow Chemical Company, 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.
RightNow is a registered trademark of RightNow Technologies, Inc. NASDAQ is a registered trademark of the NASDAQ Stock Market.
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