RightNow moves to mobile

RightNow Technologies has added mobile support to its CRM software-as-a-service offerings in order to enable consumers to interact with brands while they are on the move.

RightNow Mobile, which has been included in the vendor’s CX May 2010 suite, is available now. It supports mobile devices ranging from smartphones, tablet PCs, games consoles and GPS systems.

David Vap, RightNow’s chief solutions officer, said: "The challenge for organisations is to tie existing customer experience strategies with mobile devices. RightNow Mobile provides everything organisations need to make mobile devices a seamless part of their strategy to meet the needs of today’s connected consumer and provide consistent experiences, no matter the device."

The offering comprises three elements. The first is web self-service, which enables customers to search for help, view and rate responses, see related questions and submit an email enquiry from their mobile device.

The second is web chat to enable them to instant message with customer service representatives, while the third is guided assistance. The latter is self-service functionality, which enables customers to engage in question and answer dialogues during complex trouble-shooting scenarios. It helps them to find the right answers using a mobile guide, which employs question branches to steer them to an appropriate resolution.

Dan Hong, lead analyst for customer interaction at researcher, Ovum, said: "The mobile device is fast becoming the customer experience ‘choke point’ for organisations as more consumers use their mobile devices to conduct transactions via voice, email, web and chat."

As a result, it was crucial for enterprises to start implementing mobile customer care applications that were aligned to their "overarching, multi-channel customer experience strategy", he added.