RightNow 8.2 Zeros In on Emotion Detection

RightNow (Nasdaq: RNOW) continues to build out its multi-channel capabilities with its latest quarterly upgrade, version 8.2. New features in this release include emotion detection and other customer feedback capabilities as well as the ability to turn on certain parts of a knowledge base to the public.

"The overarching theme is our continued investment in multichannel service," Sandy Erickson, director of applications product management, told CRM Buyer. "Customers want to be able to choose the channel by which they interact with you, not vice versa."

New Features

RightNow has incorporated emotion detection into its Feedback module. This capability measures how a customer feels about the organization by rating the text-based customer communications. The customer service rep uses this rating to personalize the service the customer receives -- meaning she wouldn't try to cross-sell a new product to a customer who is irked by the service he or she is already receiving.

A new site map feature exposes information in the corporate database over the Internet to external search engines. The point, Erickson said, is to ensure that the information customers receive about the company is uniform and most current through any channel -- not just the ones under the company's direct control. Control features limit which information is open to the public.

Personalized routing is another addition to RightNow in version 8.2. The function enables companies to route callers to certain agents.

The chat channel has been enhanced with multi-agent conferencing, automatic reconnect -- a feature that automatically logs a customer back online to the same agent if they are disconnected -- integrated incident management, embedded offer advisor and one-click opportunity creation. This later function gives agents the ability to extend impromptu sales offers during customer chat sessions.

Channel-Agnostic

These new features are all channel-agnostic, Erickson emphasized. "We have put a lot of investment into developing these capabilities."

The company's efforts have paid off, according to Rebecca Wettemann, vice president of Nucleus Research. "RightNow has made significant incremental increases in its support of multi-channel communication and customer feedback with this release," she told CRM Buyer.

"Whether it is e-mail, fax, the phone, they have taken the necessary steps to integrate those communications."

Perhaps more importantly, she said, the application provides the necessary links from customer feedback to the marketing and product development functional areas. "Now a company can not only measure customer satisfaction data but also harness it to solve problems or enhance revenue."