New ForeSee Results Product Provides Actionable Roadmap for Multi-Channel Retail Integration

Single, Customer-Driven Metric; Clear Evaluation of Positive and Negative Impacts on Customer Behavior; and Built-In Benchmarking Are Key Features that Provide Missing Link

Ann Arbor, MI (February 24, 2004)-A new multi-channel integration solution will provide retailers with a vital missing link--a single performance evaluation scale for assessing web, call centers, in-store customer interactions, customer support and more--that provides retailers with a unified view of the customer experience and its direct impact on loyalty and profitability.

The product, CS Channel Manager, breaks down each channel’s component parts in terms of what drives satisfaction from the customer point of view. The CS Channel Manager system then identifies the degree to which the customer-identified components have positive or negative influence on customer behavior and company revenues-and provides an integrated road map for maximizing multi-channel retail performance.

The comprehensive multi-channel package was developed by online customer satisfaction management firm ForeSee Results, and is offered in partnership with CFI Group, a ForeSee technology partner and international consulting firm specializing in customer satisfaction management. CS Channel Manager was developed in response to customer demand to have an apples-to-apples means of comparing web site performance to other channels, and to get a clear understanding of how online and offline customer touch points can be better aligned to maximize overall customer satisfaction, loyalty, and purchase behaviors. It leverages ForeSee Results’ expertise measuring customer satisfaction the online retail world, along with CFI Groups’ expertise measuring customer satisfaction in offline channels.

The product also includes the capability to benchmark against the overall performance of a wide range of major companies. CS Channel Manager uses the sophisticated and scientifically tested methodology of the University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). The ACSI is a national measure of customer satisfaction and loyalty and research has shown it the metric to be both a driver and leading indicator of earnings growth at the firm level. "As retailers continue down the path of multi-channel integration, knowing precisely how each channel is meeting the needs and expectations of its customers is critical. You cannot manage what you cannot measure and multi-channel retailers will not be able to survive without a comprehensive measurement of customer satisfaction across all channels," said ForeSee Results CEO and online web satisfaction expert Larry Freed.

CS Channel Manager is designed to deliver a unified, system-wide view of the customer experience and actionable guidance for maximizing the performance of each channel individually and collectively. The product produces scores for key components that drive customer satisfaction of each channel, and a score from one channel is directly comparable to a score from another. More importantly, the science of the ACSI shows not just how well a channel is performing but which things that happen in that channel have the most impact on making or breaking customer loyalty and influencing buying behavior.

"It’s not enough to know whether you’re doing well or poorly financially," said Kevin Ertell, Senior Vice President of Online Operations for Tower Records. "The real question is which things customers care the most about, and which things make them decide to buy from you or not, online or offline."

"ForeSee Results’ Satisfaction Insight Reports (or "analysis") have really clarified what matters most to customers so that our site increasingly reflects what they value, and not what some of us dream up in a corporate conference room," said Ertell. "That’s one reason our online channel has grown dramatically while our industry as a whole has been losing ground. It’s amazing what happens when you make the voice of customer metric the one thing everyone goes back to at the end of the day. This has worked well for us on our web site, and I’ll be very interested to see how ForeSee Results starts deploying this across channels. Developing online and offline experiences according to what cu

stomers want and value most is what gets people onto the sites and into the stores."

"The online channel is no longer just a side business for most retailers," said Freed. "Customers jump channels, and it’s now more vital than ever to make sure that the consistency of the customer experience carries from one channel to another, otherwise you undermine yourself. That’s why ForeSee Results and CFI Group have designed a product that shows, very clearly, not only what works best in each channel but also which combination of things, across channels, will orchestrate the optimal performance in ways that impact the bottom line. It’s not always easy to figure that out with reams of different types of raw data. That’s one reason our product yields clear, plain-language analysis and an unambiguous road map for action."

The new, integrated product is far more efficient and precise than the alternative of cobbling together various customer satisfaction measurement solutions. The combination of a proven and accurate methodology along with a single, integrated evaluation and action plan are seen as the pivotal value-add for retailers. The product will be marketed by ForeSee Results.

About ForeSee Results
ForeSee Results is the market leader in online customer satisfaction management and converting satisfaction data into user-driven web development strategies. Using the methodology of the University of Michigan’s American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), ForeSee Results has developed a model that scientifically quantifies the elements that drive online customer satisfaction and predicts future behaviors such as purchase, return site visits, or recommend. Clients include Tower Records, Bluefly, Danskin, HSN, Hallmark Flowers and NHL among others. ForeSee Results, a privately held company co-founded by Compuware Corporation and CFI Group, is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan and on the web at www.ForeSeeResults.com.