Edmunds Launches Paid Online Services to Enable Efficient Delivery of Quality Customer Care

Highly Effective Web Self-Service and Enhanced Email Management Play Key Role in Auto Information Leader's Business Strategy

BOZEMAN, Mont., June 22 -- RightNow(R) Technologies, the leading on demand CRM company focused on customer service, today announced premier automobile information resource Edmunds.com has successfully implemented RightNow Service(TM) to support its new paid online services.

Merely two months after implementation, the number of incidents Edmunds.com subject-matter experts had to personally handle was reduced by more than half-from approximately 2,000 per month to fewer than 900. For Edmunds.com, RightNow's on demand CRM solution boasts a knowledge base efficiency rate of 95 percent.

RightNow's streamlined email workflow management tools ensure the remaining incidents are handled with tremendous efficiency. Brian Terr, Edmunds.com's Director of Advanced Products, says that RightNow's automated rules-based approach to incident workflow is much more effective than the Talisma and Outlook-based systems Edmunds.com used previously.

"With RightNow we don't need to have someone dedicated to distributing and routing customers' questions as they come in," he said. "Our specialists can quickly deal with whatever customer service questions come their way and get right back to their other responsibilities."

As a result of this improved operational efficiency, Edmunds.com is able to provide its paying customers with the highest quality service.

Edmunds.com selected RightNow after an extensive evaluation of offerings from competing vendors, including Siebel Systems. RightNow was selected because of the proven effectiveness of its knowledge base management technology, its greater ease of use and its hosted delivery model, which eliminates the ownership costs and implementation headaches associated with traditional enterprise software. Edmunds.com's decision was also influenced by the positive experiences of other companies, such as Carfax and MyFamily.com, who are using RightNow to support paid services.

"RightNow enables us to deliver great customer support with extreme efficiency," Mr. Terr said. "By keeping our costs down and our quality high, RightNow has been of extraordinary business value to us as we have brought our new paid services to market."

In addition to helping Edmunds.com get information to its customers, RightNow also ensures the company can get important feedback from them as well. RightNow's analytics provides complete visibility into emerging trends. And Edmunds.com's Quality Assurance staff gets copied on incidents relating to site and service problems, so they can quickly respond to any problems that may arise.

"The ability to deliver excellent customer service is absolutely critical to the success of any business," Sean Forbes, vice president of Marketing and Business Development at RightNow, said. "RightNow's repeatedly proven ability to meet this difficult challenge has made it the consistent choice of companies that spend their business dollars wisely."

About RightNow Technologies

RightNow Technologies is the leading on demand CRM company focused on customer service. RightNow improves the effectiveness of service and support operations with easy-to-implement technology, replicable best practices drawn from the industry's broadest base of successful implementations, and engagement terms that create accountability for delivering quantifiable results.

RightNow has delivered these benefits to more than 1,000 customers worldwide such as: Air New Zealand, Ben & Jerry's, Briggs and Stratton, British Airways, Cisco, Dolby Laboratories, Inc., Pioneer, Raymarine, Remington, Sanyo, Specialized Bicycles, and more than 150 public sector clients including the Social Security Administration and the State of Florida.

Founded in 1997, RightNow has offices in Bozeman, Dallas, San Mateo, New Jersey, London and Sydney, with an associated office in Tokyo. RightNow's products are available in 13 languages worldwide. For further information visit http://www.rightnow.com/.