Consona White Paper Outlines Customer Experience Management Focus for Successful CRM Initiatives

INDIANAPOLIS, November 3, 2008 - Consona Corporation, a leading provider of customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and services for companies of all sizes, today announced the general availability of its white paper entitled, “The Future of the Customer Experience,” written by Tim Hines, vice president of product management for Consona CRM. The study proposes an innovative and comprehensive approach to CRM that can successfully manage the increasingly complex demands of today’s large-scale customer service initiatives.

Access “The Future of the Customer Experience” now, or read below for further details on the contents of this paper. http://www.onyx.com/Resources/

In today’s highly competitive business environment, customer service contacts are made by an ever-increasing variety of methods including self-service inquiries, e-mail, web chat, text messaging, and telephone, and it is imperative that companies maximize every customer touch. Beyond merely managing each interaction effectively, all contacts must be viewed as aspects of an ongoing relationship. This approach is the crux of customer experience management: a total focus on the customer relationship in all its manifestations to reflect one unified company face to the customer.

Companies continue to seek the best method to maintain an ongoing relationship with their customer base as a means to encourage loyalty and continued business, while customers want high-quality products and services at a reasonable price, and appreciate suppliers who demonstrate an understanding for their needs and treat them as valued business partners. However, according to Consona CRM’s market expertise, “The best companies, in a measure of customer satisfaction, are the ones that have the least opportunity to interact with the customer because there is less reason for the customer to call—but they also maximize every contact to reinforce the relationship and the customer’s perception of the company.” Therefore, CRM system technologies should be harnessed to both improve the responsiveness and efficiency of customer service operations and, at the same time, support product and service improvements to eliminate the need for customer service calls.

In terms of technology, a truly customer-centric CRM project requires a central database of customer information that must be accessible from all customer-related applications, such as sales force automation, marketing automation, and knowledge-centric customer service and support—a daunting task. Disparate solutions can provide some relief, but ultimately create further trials in the form of compatibility snafus and the continual updates and maintenance that software systems require.

“As a company that is firmly rooted in the CRM industry, we understand the need for a complete CRM system, and have a vision of what customer experience management is, and how it can be used to truly improve a company’s customer service,” said Hines. “Furthermore, we’re dedicated to providing a suite of products to manage what we believe to be the future of the customer experience, and we’re committed to being the first supplier to bring this comprehensive CRM system to market.”

About Consona Corporation and Consona CRM

Consona Corporation is a worldwide leader in customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software and services for companies of all sizes. The Consona CRM suite offers companies with vital and multifaceted customer relationships, or companies offering complex or technical products/services, a wide range of fully integrated CRM and knowledge management (KM) solutions that span service and support, sales and marketing functions. Based on a highly scalable technology platform with built-in configuration and personalization tools, the Consona CRM suite allows customers to select products within or across product lines. With several pre-defined bundled solutions, customers can take advantage of cost effective, best-in-class solutions that span industry, departmental, business function and/or methodology-based needs. More than 1300 customers spanning over 50 industries worldwide are using Consona CRM solutions to manage process efficiencies, drive revenue, increase customer satisfaction, and enable unique and extraordinary customer experiences. For more information, visit www.consona.com/crm, e-mail info@consona.com, or call (888) 8 CONSONA.