RightNow in Europe

Quite a score for RightNow Technologies this week, as Nikon Europe announced the extension of its relationship with the solutions provider and deployed RightNow Marketing as its out-bound customer communication system.

The first promotions deploying RightNow Marketing are on, um, right now. In France, Nikon’s new D80 camera is being plugged to consumers, replete with offers for a free SD card.

Nikon Germany and Austria are using RightNow to run a sales promotion to target eligible customers with what company PR describes as involving “either a six month ‘all risk’ insurance policy or a cash back incentive.”

Reportedly, Nikon is currently standardizing inbound and outbound customer touch points on RightNow’s CRM suite.

Deployment of the system has been reported as “still in its early stages.” Some two million pieces of email were planned for the system to produce annually, but this number will rapidly be far exceeded, perhaps by Nikon Germany alone in 2007.

The rolling out of RightNow Marketing across Nikon’s Europe is part of a greater global program which has seen RightNow Service and Marketing also deployed in the United States.

Meanwhile, RightNow Technologies – conveniently remembering that the present is in fact the holiday season – has released its top five pieces of advice to retails on “how to help their customers have a relaxing online shopping experience in the penultimate weeks (sic) and, as a result, encourage customer loyalty and ultimately profit.”

Those five tips are:

• 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.”);

• provide in-stock notice;

• streamline the order process;

• provide context sensitive help; and

• supply live chat capacity.

Said RightNow VP of the UK and Ireland Wayne Foncette, “At the busiest time of the year, with less than 24 online shopping days to go, even well known stores are still not getting their online presence right.” (Shudder – we’re now referring to them as “online shopping days?”)

By the way, RightNow reminds that recent studies forecast internet sales in Britain to top £7 billion (approximately $13.86 billion), up from last year’s £5.5 billion (approximately $10.89 billion). Just so you know.

Founded in 1997, RightNow Technologies itself is billed as the firm “leading the industry beyond CRM to high-impact customer experience management solutions.” RightNow boasts a clientele of more than 1,500 companies around the world, including Alaska Air, Andrews Federal Credit Union, Banknorth Group, Bell Microproducts, Briggs Corporation, Cendant, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, Dow Chemical, Dun & Bradstreet, Friend Communications, Germany Pioneer, International Rectifier, Kodak, Merry Maids, Paddy Power, Sketchers, The Right Start, Thomas Cook, Victoria International, and Victoria University of New Zealand.