Leading Golf Equipment Manufacturer Provides Superior Consumer and Customer Interactions Through Intelligence and Automation
Menlo Park, Calif. - Oct 9, 2001 -KANA (NASDAQ: KANA), the leading provider of external-facing eCRM solutions, today announced that leading golf equipment manufacturer TaylorMade-adidas Golf is forging stronger consumer and customer relationships, gaining valuable marketplace insight, and reducing the cost of its consumer service operations using KANA`s Web-architected contact center solutions. TaylorMade-adidas Golf saw a need for a scalable external facing customer service application and implemented KANA Response and KANA Connect in July 2001 to manage its consumer and customer (retailer) interactions. Since that time, TaylorMade-adidas Golf has gained a better understanding of consumer issues, significantly improved response times, reduced staffing, and created an effective conduit for an ongoing dialogue with its consumers.
Before implementing KANA, TaylorMade-adidas Golf needed to overcome several consumer service challenges that stemmed from turnover in consumer service positions. Training consumer service representatives was a major issue due to the technical nature of equipment questions from avid golfers. KANA Response enabled TaylorMade-adidas Golf to reduce training time and assure the quality of consumer service responses through an automated solution suggestion system that provides consumer service representatives with a database of answers to common consumer inquiries that are instantly accessible via hotkeys. The system also enables them to funnel highly technical questions to product engineering and marketing experts and ensure their timely response, while simultaneously allowing managers to monitor each representative`s work.
"After evaluating several vendors, we chose KANA for its proven track record and because KANA solutions are completely Web-architected, enabling us to continually improve and expand our consumer service initiatives," said Rob McClellan, TaylorMade-adidas Golf`s global eMarketing manager. "As a result of the KANA implementation, TaylorMade-adidas Golf now provides faster and higher-quality consumer service with one-third fewer resources. We also have a more productive connection with our consumers, providing us with a better view of what`s happening in the marketplace and empowering us with information that we can pass on to our internal teams for immediate action."
"We look forward to utilizing KANA Response with our retailers as an integral component to our upcoming world-class business-to-business solution," continued Mr. McClellan.
By implementing KANA Connect, TaylorMade-adidas Golf is able to offer proactive consumer service by delivering information to consumers, retailers and employees based on what is most relevant to them, by geographic location, golf skill level, previous product registrations, or specified interest. "We provide targeted information to consumers and give them compelling reasons to visit our retailers for product trials, a proper fitting, and purchase," said Mr. McClellan.
KANA`s web-based reporting system also benefits TaylorMade-adidas Golf by allowing the company to categorize and report the most frequent consumer service inquiries, enabling issues to be better addressed in the future and to better understand what interests consumers most.
"TaylorMade-adidas Golf, like many KANA customers, defines itself both by the quality of its product and the service it provides," said Bud Michael, executive vice president of marketing for KANA. "KANA is enabling TaylorMade-adidas Golf to increase interactions, improve customer and consumer experiences, and decrease overall costs in the contact center, while benefiting from enhanced satisfaction and loyalty that directly translates into increased revenue for the company."
TaylorMade-adidas Golf has plans to add KANA Response iMail, a component of KANA Response, so that service representatives can communicate with customers and consumers live, online.
About TaylorMade-adidas Golf
TaylorMade Golf has led the golf industry`s technological evolution since being founded in 1979. In 1998 the company joined with adidas Golf, becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of adidas-Solomon AG. Dedicated to being the best performance golf brand in the world, consumers can find more information on TaylorMade-adidas Golf at (800) 888-CLUB or www.taylormadegolf.com or www.adidasgolf.com.
About KANA
KANA (NASDAQ: KANA) provides the industry`s leading eCRM solutions to the largest businesses in the world, helping them to better service, market to, and understand their customer and partners, while improving results and decreasing costs in contact centers and marketing departments. Through comprehensive multi-channel customer relationship management that combines the best-in-class KANA eCRM Architecture with enterprise applications, KANA has become the fastest-growing provider of next generation eCRM technology. The company’s customer-focused service, marketing and commerce software applications enable organizations to improve customer and partner relationships by enabling them to productively interact when, where and how they want - across all touch points, including web contact, web collaboration, e-mail, and telephone. KANA`s global customer base includes Global 2000 organizations in the financial services, manufacturing, high technology, communications, retail and services markets. ADP, Chase, E*Trade, GAP, GM, Hewlett-Packard, Kodak, Sony, United Airlines, Verizon, and Williams Sonoma are among the Industry leaders that have implemented KANA’s eCRM solutions. KANA has locations in 22 countries worldwide, in addition to an extensive global network of channel partners. For more information, please visit www.kana.com.
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NOTE: Kana Software, Broadbase, KANA and the KANA logo are trademarks of Kana Software, Inc. All other company and product names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Information in this release that involves KANA’s financial forecasts, projections, expectations, beliefs, hopes, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements may include statements about KANA’s strategies in the marketplace, its market position and its relationship with customers. All forward-looking statements included in this release are based upon information available to KANA as of the date of the release, which may likely change, and we assume no obligation to update any such forward-looking statement. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results could differ materially from our current expectations. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, risks associated with the merger with Broadbase and integration of the companies; slowing economic conditions; competition in each of our marketplace; risks associated with the evolving and varying demand for eCRM customer communication and similar software; lack of market acceptance of KANA’s products or services; inability to integrate and enhance existing products and services within budget and on schedule, and develop new products and services on a timely basis; introduction of new products or services by competitors; inability to attract and retain qualified employees; the ability to manage cash and expenditures; KANA’s history of losses; the ability to expand sales; inability to manage business in light of recent management changes and personnel reductions; litigation over property rights; and general economic factors, particularly as it affects spending by our prospective customers on software products such as ours. These and other factors are risks associated with our business that may affect our operating results are discussed in KANA’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), including our most recent annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly report on Form 10-Q, and registration statement on Form S-4.
Jessica Hohn
KANA
(508) 653-4000
jhohn@KANA.com
PAN Communications
Jennifer Meyer/Ken Peters
978/474-1900
kana@pancomm.com
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