NetScout's Global Customer Support Organization Boosts Efficiency With RightNow's on Demand CRM Technology  (email this article)

BOZEMAN, Mont., Aug. 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- RightNow® Technologies (Company Profile, Past Stories, Case Studies) (Nasdaq: RNOW - News) today announced NetScout Systems, a leading provider of network and application performance management solutions, is using RightNow's on demand CRM platform in conjunction with new best-practices procedures to improve the efficiency of its global customer support organization. By doing so, NetScout has achieved measurable excellence across all of its customer service performance metrics -- including call resolution times, first-call resolution rates, customer satisfaction scores and overall support productivity.

As an integrated multi-channel CRM solution, RightNow allows NetScout to manage phone, email and web inquiries in a common manner. As a web-based solution, RightNow made it easy for NetScout to deploy a common incident management system across all of its locations. And as an on demand solution, RightNow delivers these benefits without putting any strain on NetScout's IT department.

NetScout tracks and routes every customer request through its RightNow-based system, whether that request comes in the form of a phone call or an email. The system tracks every step in the life of an inquiry -- providing full visibility into tier-to-tier escalations between offices, and tracking the performance of individual agents. With the assistance of RightNow's Professional Services team, NetScout implemented sophisticated incident workflow business rules. These rules allow incidents to be routed based on a variety of factors -- including special handling for strategic accounts and urgent issues.

NetScout also implemented RightNow Metrics(TM) to measure its customers' satisfaction with the support they receive. Reports can be analyzed by customer and by region, allowing NetScout managers to easily identify customer issues.

Within six months of NetScout's implementation of its best-practices procedures and the RightNow deployment, customers became measurably more satisfied with the service they were receiving from NetScout, with strategic accounts giving the company an average score of 4.5 out of a possible 5.

Customer satisfaction is especially critical for NetScout, since a large percentage of its sales are generated from existing customers.

"NetScout's ability to grow revenue from our installed base is to a large degree contingent upon the quality of our customers' experience," said Arthur Parmentier, NetScout's customer service director. "RightNow and our new best-practices approach enable us to optimize this quality-of-experience across all our support channels -- while at the same time increasing our support organization's operational efficiency and our visibility into our customers' needs."

RightNow also helps NetScout fulfill the requirements of its ISO 9001 2000 certification, providing necessary documentation and quality control.

"By creating appropriate customer- and issue-specific business rules for handling incidents, NetScout has demonstrated exceptional commitment to optimizing the performance of its customer service operation," Peter Dunning, president of field operations at RightNow, said. "Their implementation serves as a model for other organizations seeking to maximize the impact of RightNow's uniquely adaptable on demand CRM platform on both the quality of the customer's experience and the bottom-line value generated by the enterprise contact center."

About RightNow Technologies
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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