Lexus and Clarify Announce Initial Results
14 September 1998
Lexus and Clarify Announce Initial Results Of World-Class Call Center Initiative
Firms to Co-Present Case Study in Keynote Address
At DCI's Sales Force Automation Conference
SAN JOSE, Calif., Sept. 14 -- Clarify Inc. , a
leading provider of integrated front office solutions, and Lexus, a division
of Toyota Motor Sales (TMS) USA, Inc., today announced the successful
implementation of the Clarify FrontOffice(TM) system in Lexus' call center.
The new installation provides the technology foundation for a broad TMS
initiative to improve customer retention and increase sales by providing
proactive, personalized service to customers. The project's initial results
will be presented in a keynote address on Thursday, September 17th at
1:00 p.m. at DCI's Sales Force Automation Conference in San Jose, Calif.
Titled "Driving Sales with Superior Service," the keynote will be presented by
Tony Zingale, Clarify's president and chief executive officer, and Carroll
Gordon, Lexus' customer satisfaction operations manager.
Lexus competes with several auto makers for a niche market of luxury car
buyers with high expectations for both product quality and service. As
differences in product features and quality have narrowed among these
competitors, Lexus has focused on personalized service as a key strategy for
attracting and retaining customers. By improving customer satisfaction and
loyalty, Lexus expects to significantly improve customer retention and
increase sales. "In the luxury car market, there's no question that customers
are getting a quality product, that's a baseline standard," said Gordon.
"What differentiates us from the competition is service, the way we handle our
customer relationships. We want to be sure their experience with Lexus as a
company matches their experience with the car they buy."
Clarify's integrated call center solution is helping Lexus deliver that
luxury model of service to its growing customer base. Using the Clarify
system, less than 25 dedicated call center agents manage approximately
120,000 calls per year from customers requesting information on a huge variety
of topics -- from general requests about new vehicle availability to very
specific questions on topics such as vehicle repair.
"The Lexus case study is proof positive that companies using front office
solutions for customer relationship management are achieving significant
business results," said Zingale. "Lexus has proven that, with the help of
Clarify's integrated front office solution, even a relatively small call
center can meet and exceed the high expectations of the most demanding
consumers." Renown for its superior customer service, Lexus has won more
JD Power awards in its 8 eligible years than any other automotive
manufacturer. In addition, Lexus is ranked number one by the National
Automotive Dealers Association for franchise value.
This year, Lexus will sell more than 140,000 new cars -- a nine-fold
increase over 1989, the year the division was founded -- bringing the total
number of units in operation to more than 700,000. With this rapid growth
rate, Lexus recognized there would be a corresponding increase in customer
requests, and therefore needed to ensure it could continue to provide
exceptional service while controlling costs. "Unlike our previous,
mainframe-based system, Clarify is allowing us to manage additional workload
without adding substantial headcount," said Gordon. "With Clarify, even new
agents can quickly become experts. Our efficiency has greatly improved -- by
an estimated 10 percent -- while our training time and costs have been
reduced."
Clarify Helps Lexus Deliver Personalized Service
To ensure each customer receives personalized attention, Lexus is using
Clarify to automate a unique case management process in which customer
requests are handled from start to finish by the same call center agent.
Previously, this process was mainframe-based with paper reporting, requiring
agents to hang up and research hard copy files for information, then call the
customer back. Using Clarify's front office solution, Lexus has streamlined
that process to improve efficiency and customer responsiveness. For example,
the Clarify system automatically routes each incoming call to the appropriate
agent and creates a "screen pop" that provides the customer's name, account
history and other relevant information. "With Clarify, our agents have all
the information they need at their fingertips, and our customers know they're
talking with someone who understands their request."
Improving Agent Productivity
In addition to streamlining customer request management, the Clarify front
office solution integrates functions such as word processing and literature
fulfillment to improve agent productivity. "Previously, our customer
satisfaction representatives had to spend time away from their desks to look
for information and send literature," said Gordon. "Now with Clarify, our
agents are where they want to be, on the phone with customers. They're less
stressed and more efficient, and our customers are getting better service."
Proactive Service a Key Benefit
Lexus plans to go beyond providing its customers with fast, responsive
support. The company will also use the detailed VOC (voice of the customer)
information it gathers through the Clarify system to deliver more proactive
service, and to improve its processes and products. According to Gordon, this
VOC data is crucial to Lexus, and is reviewed on a monthly basis by executive
management, as well as major departments (e.g., sales, technical, parts,
service). Using Clarify, Lexus managers can quickly create and analyze
detailed reports on customer requests and preferences -- enabling the company
to improve its response time to new trends and customer issues.
Toyota is also planning to provide its extensive network of dealers with
Web access to the Clarify system, giving them the same capability as its call
centers to view customer information and manage requests. "A large portion of
our calls are customers seeking product information and vehicle availability,"
said Gordon. "The Clarify system is going to help us provide those answers a
lot quicker, and allow our more than 175 dealerships to deliver the same level
of personalized attention we provide in our own call centers."
About Lexus
Lexus, the luxury vehicle division of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc.,
markets and sells luxury cars and sport utility vehicles through 178 dealers
in the United States. Lexus prides itself on providing the best in vehicle
quality, service and customer satisfaction. The company's dealers have
achieved the highest honors in customer satisfaction seven out of the last
eight years from the independent research firm J.D. Power and Associates.
Additionally, with record-setting sales in 1998, Lexus is one of the fastest
growing luxury nameplates in the industry.
About Clarify Inc.
Clarify Inc. is a global leader in integrated front office solutions that
unite companies and their partners around customers. The company's integrated
front office suite provides organizations with an infrastructure that uniquely
leverages every interaction with customers and partners, increasing customer
loyalty and maximizing sales at significantly reduced costs. Clarify is the
choice of industry leading corporations including Amoco Corp., Cisco Systems,
Compaq, GE Medical Systems, Georgia-Pacific, Hewlett-Packard Co., MCI,
Microsoft Corp., Procter & Gamble, Sprint PCS, Toyota and Transamerica Corp.
Founded in 1990, Clarify is headquartered in San Jose, Calif. Its
products are sold through sales and service offices in the United States,
Europe and Asia. Clarify can be reached at 888-CLARIFY; or via e-mail at
info@clarify.com; or via the Web at http://www.clarify.com.