[December 16, 2006] CRM's RightNow Places In Fastest-Growing Software Companies Tweet By David Sims TMCnet Contributing Editor   RightNow Technologies has announced that it has been ranked 34th in Baseline Magazine's list of the 50 fastest-growing software companies in 2006. The ranking was based on RightNow's 41.1 percent growth rate for the twelve months ended June 30. Baseline compiled its list after reviewing the performance of 304 publicly held software companies with annual revenue of more than $10 million. RightNow has achieved 35 consecutive quarters of revenue growth and in October reported third quarter consolidated revenue of $30.1 million. Driving the company's continued growth is "the business value provided by its next-generation CRM solutions, its on demand delivery model, and its commitment to the success of its diverse global clientele," according to company officials. A couple weeks ago Nikon Europe said it has extended its relationship with RightNow and deployed RightNow Marketing as its out-bound customer communication system. The new deployment gives the camera manufacturer "increased capabilities and capacity for all types of communications including information about latest offers and promotions, training and seminars, and newsletters," according to RightNow officials. Individual countries will be responsible for driving local marketing campaigns and will be able to segment the registered user base as they please. In France a promotion for Nikon's new D80 camera is already underway. This entitles newly registered users to a free gift. As soon as they register, the marketing tool sends an email to them with an offer for a free SD card. Deployment of the system is still in its early stages; however projections suggest that the original specification of 2 million e-mails per year may fall short of actual usage, with Nikon Germany already anticipating that it will send 1.5 million emails to customers in 2007. The pan-European roll out of RightNow Marketing is part of a global program which has seen RightNow Service and Marketing also deployed in the US. Oh, and remember RightNow's Christmas tips: First, provide self-service. Customers need to get knowledge when they want it -- even on Christmas Day. Make sure your site is easy to navigate and your Frequently Asked Questions section isn’t just a static portal of data. Secondly, watch your in-stock notices. Ensure that your site is clearly marked with the availability of products and information such as how long delivery will be. This will help to reduce stress levels when a product customers were expecting doesn’t arrive. Thirdly, spruce up your order process. Does your site enable customers to see where they are in the order process? Are they able to get help at every step of the purchasing process? You need to ensure that the order process is transparent so customers know how many steps they have left, enabling them to gauge how long the process is going to take. Watch the context-sensitive help. Does your site support your customer to enable them to go from ‘browse to purchase’? By providing context sensitive help; knowledge relevant to each page, you will ensure that the online experience is positive for your customer and abandonment rates are lowered. And finally, let's talk about live chat. Does your site enable your customer to have direct contact with your contact center via an instant messenger capability that remembers your last live chat conversation? This will enable your customer to raise any incidents that can be immediately resolved via an online agent that knows the customer’s interaction history. David Sims is contributing editor for TMCnet. For more articles please visit David Sims’ columnist page. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]