Applied Biosystems “Right-channels” Customer Support With RightNow
Goals
- Provide high-quality service via online channels
- Optimize phone and email response times
- Get new technical support system up and running quickly
Achievements
- Simplified content publishing enables creation of 1,200 online answers
- Streamlined management of customer emails
- Hosted CRM software system up and running in just three weeks
Different customers prefer different channels for communicating with a company. The best channel for one customer is not necessarily the best channel for another customer, and different issues lend themselves best to being handled by email versus phone or vise versa. The key is to optimize quality and efficiency of all exchanges while working with customer preferences for how to be communicated with as much as possible. This "right-channeling" is, in fact, one of the hallmarks of a great customer service operation.
And, with the help of RightNow, right-channeling is exactly what life sciences systems leader Applied Biosystems (AB) has achieved.
AB's sr. manager of North American technical support, Claire Pairaud, originally hoped to have her corporate IT department develop systems for both managing an "FAQ" (frequently-asked questions) system on the company's website and managing support-related customer emails. But it soon become clear that IT's other development priorities would prevent it from delivering anything with the kind of sophistication she was looking for within the timeframe she desired. So she began her search for a commercially available solution.
That search resulted in the selection of RightNow. Core capabilities sought included the ability to easily create and maintain a knowledge base that could be used for both the web and email response. Other criteria included search functions that made it easy for customers to make full use of that knowledge base online, flexible email routing and tracking functions, and integrated reporting for gaining visibility into online support activities. Just as important, RightNow's hosted CRM software system delivery model offered AB the ability to get up and running much more quickly than it could with either a conventional enterprise software deployment or an internally developed system.
RightNow was deployed at AB in three weeks "Our implementation was incredibly smooth and trouble-free," recalls Pairaud. "RightNow proved to us that hosting is a great way to achieve very rapid time-to-benefit."
AB started with an initial knowledge base of about 50 question/answer pairs and immediately saw results, as customers began to more readily find answers to their most common questions on the AB site. This, in turn, enabled AB's technical support staff to focus more of their time on customer issues that truly warranted their personal attention.
The RightNow CRM software system made it easier for subject-matter experts within each of AB's business units to create new content for the self-service area of the website. Over time, the number of question/answer pairs on the site has grown from 50 to more than 1,200. This growth is a result of the addition of customer-driven content as well as new content being added based on internal observations surrounding customer inquiries as well as when new products were launched. This has made the self-service area even more useful to customers—especially those who prefer using the web to get answers and/or encounter issues during off-hours when telephone support is not available. Additionally, AB customers from around the world are able to access the information when it is easiest for them and do not have to depend on locally available technical resources.
"Before we implemented RightNow, we were dependent on AB's web developers to get information posted on the web," notes Pairaud. "With RightNow, on the other hand, authorized staff can quickly and easily respond to emerging customer needs with new knowledge base content."
AB also used RightNow to better handle customers' email questions. Before, the company had used a set of IBM/Lotus Notes mailboxes to handle those questions. But that approach lacked accountability and automation. With RightNow, the support team can track when questions come in and when they're answered. They can also automate routing of questions using business rules that they can easily modify as required. In addition, RightNow's reporting tools give them visibility into the types of questions customers are asking—so they can respond proactively to noticeable trends. The email functionality within RightNow has greatly enhanced the efficiencies of the technical support groups with respect to email correspondence with customers.
AB has taken advantage of RightNow's support for rich knowledge base content to include more complex documents among its self-service information. "When customers call, we can refer them to the website so they can review the full documentation. That way, we can focus on their specific questions instead of spending time reviewing general protocols over the phone" says Pairaud. "Plus, by referring the customer to the knowledge base, we're 'training' them to use it again when they have a question. We're also reducing the likelihood they will have to call us back the next day about the same issue."
In addition to appreciating RightNow's technology, Pairaud also has good things to say about RightNow as a company. "RightNow's free Tune-Ups are a nice value add and have provided us with a variety of useful, practical ideas for refining our implementation," she says. "It's also been great to exchange ideas with other RightNow customers as we've been able to do through our participation in RightNow's Executive Roundtable program."
This combination of RightNow technology and expertise has enabled AB to effectively right-channel its technical support operations. Depending on their preference and needs, AB's customers can freely use the web, email and phone to get answers to their questions. AB, for its part, can efficiently support each channel and deliver consistent answers across them all. The result is improved customer satisfaction, increased operational efficiency, and a greater ability to respond to the continuous change that characterizes the life sciences testing market.
The fact that AB has been a RightNow customer for several years is a testimony to both the staying power of RightNow's technology and the strong commitment RightNow has made to ongoing customer satisfaction. "RightNow has become an integral component of our business," says Pairaud. "This has been an extremely successful business relationship for AB and for our customers." This success has also resulted in other departments within AB requesting access to RightNow.
Applied Biosystems Support Site | Applied Biosystems Homepage
About Applied Biosystems
Applied Biosystems serves the life science industry and research community by developing and marketing instrument-based systems, consumables, software, and services. Customers use these tools (over 50,000 installed instruments) to make scientific discoveries, develop new pharmaceuticals, and conduct standardized testing, such as forensic human identification. Applied Biosystems (NYSE:ABI), part of the Applera Corporation, is based in Foster City, CA, and operates in over 100 countries.
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