CEDARBURG, WIS.
USA - June 10, 2003 - Oncontact Software, a leading provider of customer
relationship management (CRM) software for the mid-market, today
announced it has captured the exclusive CRM Excellence Award,
sponsored by Customer Inter@ction Solutions magazine, for the fourth
consecutive year.
The CRM Excellence Award honors Oncontact Software as a CRM software
leader that truly understands first-rate customer service and what it
ultimately means to the bottom line. Oncontact Software was chosen for
the CRM Excellence Award for the outstanding quality of its CRM
software suite and the success that it has brought to Oncontact
Software customers.
Oncontact Software demonstrated that success by showing Customer
Inter@ction Solutions editors how it improved business for its client,
CARFAX. CARFAX has revolutionized the used car industry with its
Vehicle History Reports. The reports reveal background information and
unearth "hidden problems" in a car's past that may affect its resale
value and safety. Thanks to CARFAX, used car buyers can regard their
purchase as a solid investment rather than a crapshoot.
CARFAX uses Oncontact Software's customer relationship management
(CRM) application suite to cultivate relationships with the car
dealers who are its customers. Having one comprehensive system that
allows all users to share customer contact and usage information,
comments from interactions, customer demographics and marketing
collateral helps CARFAX communicate better internally, build strong
bonds with dealers and provide top-notch customer service. The data
CARFAX captures really lets the company get to know the customer and
thus be able to accurately gauge their wants and needs.
CARFAX has customized Oncontact's CRM application suite to track basic
demographics, state auto dealer association affiliations, franchises
carried (i.e. Ford, Honda, Subaru), affiliations with large dealer
groups (i.e. Carmax, AutoNation, Sonic), call history and number of
vehicle history reports run in current, most recent and all previous
months. This process helps CARFAX identify at-risk customers and
develop strategies to increase their usage of and satisfaction with
their CARFAX subscription. Oncontact's CRM application suite also
creates a complete history of every account to track each customer
interaction, purchase and support incident. CARFAX's users report
their findings directly in Oncontact's CRM system, which allows
CARFAX's marketing information group to immediately aggregate and
analyze the data, then advise the customer service team how to act on
it.
Oncontact's CRM application suite helps CARFAX execute proactive
customer service. CARFAX has set up its CRM system to remind customer
service reps to routinely call contract signers and users to outline
new service elements that they might not know about, such as 24-hour
phone-in service, reduced access fees for new customers and co-op
advertising opportunities.
CARFAX has also configured Oncontact's CRM application suite to let
customer service reps know when an at-risk customer runs a CARFAX
report revealing a problem with the vehicle the customer is
considering, thereby rescuing that customer from buying a vehicle with
hidden problems. This alert allows the rep to contact the dealer right
away to reiterate the value of the service and the importance of using
it on a regular basis. The dealer benefits because it is more likely
to use the service in the future and thus "save" itself from investing
in faulty vehicles. The call positions CARFAX as a company that cares
about its customers and is very much in touch with their business.
This could explain why 21% of formerly at-risk customers today are
satisfied CARFAX subscribers.
After the first twelve months of use, CARFAX's customer retention was
up 3.2 percent. Although 3.2 percent might not sound like much, to
CARFAX every six-tenths of a percent difference in customer retention
adds up to approximately $1 million in annualized revenue. So 3.2
percent actually translated into more than a $5 million revenue
increase for CARFAX in its first year. This figure doesn't even
include the additional revenue the company sees from increased use of
CARFAX products.
Oncontact's CRM application has boosted productivity among CARFAX's
customer service reps. CARFAX's reps now service 33 percent more
customers than they could previously serve. By increasing the ground
the customer service reps can cover, Oncontact's CRM system is helping
CARFAX convert more and more at-risk customers into happy users. As we
mentioned earlier, 21% of formerly at-risk customers are now satisfied
CARFAX subscribers.
Oncontact has truly helped revolutionize the way CARFAX's does
business.
"Customer Inter@ction Solutions magazine implemented the CRM
Excellence Awards as a way of commending the companies that have
proven to be true CRM partners to their customers and clients.
Oncontact Software has demonstrated to the editors of Customer
Inter@ction Solutions that their products and services have
substantially improved the processes of their client's businesses by
streamlining and facilitating the flow of information needed for
companies to retain their most precious asset...their customers," said
Nadji Tehrani, Chairman & CEO, TMC.
"We are very proud to partner with CARFAX and the success CARFAX has
demonstrated with their customers over the years," said George Kofman,
president of Oncontact Software. "We are again extremely honored that
Customer Inter@action Solutions has recognized the achievements that
Oncontact Software has made with customers such as CARFAX."
About Oncontact Software
Oncontact Software develops award-winning CRM software for mid-market
companies. Client Management Software (CMS), Oncontact Software's CRM
solution that automates the sales, marketing and service areas of an
organization, can be run in a Windows and/or Web environment.
ClientNet and PartnerNet are Oncontact Software's audience-specific
Web portals that enable a company to share information with all
business channels.
Oncontact
Software is a privately held company whose applications are marketed
and implemented throughout North America, South America, Europe,
Asia/Pacific and the Middle East. Oncontact Software's products are
available through its corporate headquarters in Wisconsin and an
international alliance network of value-added resellers, system
integrators and distributors. Oncontact Software has over 350
customers worldwide, including Prudential, Sears and CARFAX.
Additional
Oncontact Software information is located on the Internet at
www.oncontact.com or via phone at
800.886.0866.
About TMC
Since 1972, Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC ) has produced
industry-leading trade magazines and events focused on technology and
telecommunications. TMC publishes two magazines: Customer Inter@ction
Solutions and Internet Telephony , two online publications, Planet PDA
Magazine and BiometriTech Magazine, and a series of e-mail
newsletters. TMC is also the first publisher to test new products in
its own on-site laboratories, TMC Labs , and provide factual and
unbiased product reviews. TMC also produces INTERNET TELEPHONY
Conference & Expo, Planet PDA : The Enterprise PDA Event and
BiometriTech Conference & Expo. TMCnet.com publishes more than 25
topical online newsletters. For more information about TMC, visit its
Web site at www.tmcnet.com.
In Italy, Oncontact Software's products are available through its
partner Tradital Srl e-crm company.
Further information on Oncontact Software is available on
OnContact Products
