RightNow Locator 3.0 Connects Web Site Customers With Physical Store Locations, Increasing Sales
New Release Provides PDA Support, Enhanced Store-Selection Rules, and Embeddable Click-to-Talk Functions
Bozeman, MT (March 17, 2003) — RightNow Technologies, the world’s leading provider of hosted customer service and support solutions, today announced the availability of RightNow Locator 3.0. The newly released RightNow Locator can increase customer revenues by more readily directing online shoppers to their bricks-and-mortar stores, dealers, and service locations. Simultaneously, customers also reduce their call center costs by answering common questions about store locations automatically on their Web sites.
RightNow Locator 3.0 adds PDA support, allowing companies to provide store information and maps to customers with mobile devices. Locator also provides more granular store selection criteria, allowing customers to find the most convenient location with a specific model or accessory for a specified product. Sales and marketing managers can now also “weight” stores and/or outlets to preferentially direct customers to favored locations.
Locator’s “Click-to-Talk” functionality – which lets online customers automatically launch conversations with local in-store staff via their PCs – has also been enhanced in a variety of ways, including the ability to embed it in RightNow’s flagship RightNow eService Center. This enables customers to connect with local in-store staff while they are in the process of searching for other types of answers on a company’s Web site.
“Companies increasingly desire their online presence and their bricks-and-mortar operations to work together as a seamless whole in support of their sales, marketing, and service objectives,” Sean Forbes, vice president of marketing and business development at RightNow, said. “RightNow Locator 3.0 uniquely enables this integration of Web sites and real-world locations, allowing customers to find and talk to local stores as a transparent part of their online experience.”
RightNow Locator 3.0, which is available as a hosted solution, incorporates other useful enhancements, including the ability to highlight locations with multiple logos/graphics to support visual branding and simplified administration of locations and selection criteria.
One key customer is Canon Canada Inc., the leader in digital imaging from input to output. “RightNow Locator’s features and ease-of-use made it the clear choice for Canon Canada Inc. over the other location and mapping tools we researched,” Steve Mackay, senior manager, customer information centre for Canon Canada, said. “And, RightNow offers a fully functional pilot of its Locator product, which allowed us to see a tangible ROI before making a big investment. The immediate reduction in emails and calls alone will cover the investment.”
According to Jupiter/NFO, 68 percent of customers researching products online will eventually make their purchase at a bricks-and-mortar store. This makes it imperative for companies to ensure their customers can locate the right physical location of a store – especially if their products are sold through an independent value-added retailer.
“Enterprises that integrate online marketing with retail operations will find Web-based store locators essential,” Scott Tiazkun, research manager, enterprise applications, IDC, said. “RightNow Locator 3.0 is a very effective application that should boost bottom line revenue as well as enhance e-business initiatives.”
More information about RightNow Locator is available at http://www.rightnow.com/products/locator.html.
About RightNow Technologies
RightNow Technologies is the leading customer service and support solutions expert that radically and rapidly improves the effectiveness of service and support operations with easy-to-implement/easy-to-own technology, replicable best practices drawn from the industry`s broadest base of successful implementations, and engagement terms that create accountability for delivering quantifiable results.
Our more than 1,000 customers include Air New Zealand, Ben & Jerry`s, Briggs and Stratton, British Airways, Cisco, Dolby Laboratories, Inc., Electronic Arts, Pioneer, Raymarine, Remington, Sanyo, Specialized Bicycles, and more than 100 public sector clients including the Social Security Administration and the State of Florida.
Founded in 1997, RightNow has offices in Bozeman, Dallas, London, and Sydney, with an associated office in Tokyo. RightNow`s products are available in 14 languages worldwide. For further information visit http://www.rightnow.com/.
RightNow Technologies, Inc.
40 Enterprise Blvd.
P.O. Box 9300
Bozeman, MT 59718-9300
Phone: 1-406-522-4200
Fax: 1-406-522-4227
Toll Free: 1-877-363-5678
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