RightNow and NCsoft Win Beagle Research's ''WizKids'' Award for Innovative Embedded Customer Service Solution
On Demand CRM Helps Interactive Online Gaming Leader Achieve Global Success and Save $1 Million
Bozeman, Mont., January 19, 2006
RightNow® Technologies (NASDAQ: RNOW) today announced it received Beagle Research Group's 2006 CRM WizKids Award for a highly innovative and effective implementation of its on demand CRM solutions by interactive gaming leader NCsoft®, which achieved substantial cost savings and enhanced customer satisfaction as a result.
NCsoft, the world's leading publisher and developer of online computer games, has directly embedded RightNow Service' into its online games, allowing gamers to ask questions from within their active gaming sessions. These messages automatically capture a variety of information about where the gamer is and what they're doing, so NCsoft staff can more quickly and effectively answer their questions. This approach also allows gamers to ask questions without interrupting their gaming experience.
RightNow provides NCsoft with a unified environment for managing customer support issues across its self-service, email and call center channels in English, French, German, Italian, Korean, and Spanish. It also provides powerful analytics that enable NCsoft to respond quickly to customers' changing needs.
By automatically answering a large percentage of its customers' questions via self-service, NCsoft estimates its savings at more than $1 million annually. That savings is projected by NCsoft to rise significantly as the company's business continues to grow.
"RightNow is an extremely effective solution for getting information to customers where, when and how they need it," John Erskine, NCsoft's director of studio services, said. "Regardless of which game they play, which language they speak, or which communication channel they use, RightNow enables us to answer our customers' questions quickly and accurately."
Beagle Research bestows its WizKids award to companies with advanced business technology solutions that have a significant impact on the CRM market.
"NCsoft's use of embedded customer service as a competitive differentiator and a means of maintaining strong customer relationships is a harbinger of things to come," Denis Pombriant, managing principal of Beagle Research, said. "By providing the technology, expertise and vision companies such as NCsoft need to achieve their goals, RightNow continues to demonstrate real leadership in the CRM industry."
This award closely follows several other recent industry honors for RightNow, including its sixth consecutive Product of the Year award from Customer Inter@ction Solutions magazine and a first-place ranking in CRMguru.com's comparative evaluation of CRM vendors.
"It's particularly gratifying to receive an award that is directly based on the success of one of our customers," Greg Gianforte, CEO and founder of RightNow, said. "RightNow will continue to innovate in ways that drive tangible business value for both our customers and our customers' customers."
More information about Beagle Research's WizKid report is available at www.rightnow.com/wizkids
About Beagle Research Group, LLC
Beagle Research Group researches and analyzes trends in the customer relationship management (CRM) market and provides insight and advice to vendors and end consumers. The company's business model is based on the twin beliefs that primary research should drive most aspects of analysis and consulting in high technology markets and that direct and personal customer service should be the foundation of any advisory service. For more information, visit www.beagleresearch.com.
About NCsoft
NCsoft North America is headquartered in Austin, Texas and is part of Korea-based NCsoft Corporation. NCsoft, with its own development and publishing offices in Texas and California, also works with subsidiaries and third party developers throughout North America to develop and publish innovative online entertainment software products. The company launched two massively multiplayer titles on the same day in 2004, Lineage® II and City of Heroes®. In April and October of 2005 the company launched hit games Guild Wars® and City of Villains', respectively. NCsoft also expects to launch another massively multiplayer title, Auto Assault®, in the spring of 2006. More information about NCsoft can be found at http://www.PlayNC.com.
About RightNow Technologies
RightNow (NASDAQ: RNOW) delivers the high-impact technology solutions and services organizations need to cost-efficiently deliver a consistently superior customer experience across their frontline service, sales and marketing touch-points. Approximately 1,800 corporations and government agencies worldwide depend on RightNow to achieve their strategic objectives and better meet the needs of those they serve. RightNow is headquartered in Bozeman, Montana. For more information, please visit http://www.rightnow.com/.
RightNow is a registered trademark of RightNow Technologies, Inc. NASDAQ is a registered trademark of the NASDAQ Stock Market.
Greg Gianforte