BuilderMT, based in Lakewood, Colo., which sells production management software for residential homebuilders, was finding its customer support organization stretched to the limit.

They wanted to offer their customers an easy-to-use, Web-based support system for instant 24/7 support from any Web browser, as well as a closed-looped system to integrate multiple communication and productivity applications.

So they selected Parature's customer support software, with BuilderMT officials citing the product's due "integrated support portal, flexible knowledgebase, and closed-loop ticketing system."

The online support portal is incorporated into BuilderMT's company site and serves as the starting point for customers seeking assistance, according to BuilderMT officials, explaining that from the support portal, customers can access knowledgebase articles to quickly find answers to questions on their own.

"The knowledgebase has made a significant impact in reducing the volume of support requests we receive, and our customers appreciate having direct access to helpful information," said Brett Parkhurst, BuilderMT's Chief Technology Officer.

Parkhurst described the knowledgebase as an effective training vehicle for new support staff, "who use the articles to learn about our software. This has significantly reduced ramp-up time and enabled more consistency in answering our customers' inquiries."

Customers also submit trouble tickets from the portal, which are directly routed to the most appropriate customer support representative based on the workflow.

BuilderMT consistently receives rave reviews from customers about the support portal and the great service they receive.

Today, customers can submit potential bugs, or non-working software functions, directly from the support portal. This, BuilderMT officials say, "speeds up the process of tracking and fixing software issues, while keeping customers abreast of their issue status by automatically e-mailing them whenever the status changes along the resolution path."

Before they installed Parature (News - Alert), "our customers could e-mail us with potential bugs, but it was difficult to efficiently communicate back to all of them that their concerns were being addressed, and how they were being fixed," said Parkhurst. "Now our communications are proactive, and our customers have reassurance that we're listening closely to what they're telling us and taking the necessary steps to correct problems quickly. That's a huge step forward for us."

To download a free customer case study and learn more about how Parature improved BuilderMT's operations, click here.