PUTTING THE CUSTOMER'S VOICE INTO CRM:

Mindshare Technologies, the fastest growing provider of real-time customer feedback, announces Mindshare CONNECTT Version 3.5.

The process is simple. When a customer completes their service experience or product purchase, the receipt has printed instructions on how to take a quick survey from any touch-tone telephone. Customers listen to recorded voice prompts and answer by pressing the appropriate keys, and by leaving voice recordings. Most surveys take less than three minutes. To get customers to participate, companies generally offer a discount for a future visit. Because the surveys are created and stored using Internet technology, the program that can be operational within hours - with surveys written and ready for customer feedback.

As soon as each customer finishes a survey, a complete set of analytical reports are updated, and immediately retrievable directly from the Internet, via e-mail, or by fax. Reporting is permission-based, with access tailored from frontline employee to executive management. Because the system is centrally hosted and operated, there is no hardware for companies to install and no software to learn. Running reports is a simple 3-step process, with online training accessible anywhere through an internet browser.

Mindshare believes it is the fastest growing customer feedback company in the country, maturing in 18 months from start-up venture to now having customers all over the United States. The company is growing at the rate of over 20,000 incremental calls per month. Is there a limit to the amount of customers? Sperry says, “We are preparing to grow to over one million surveys per month by the end of the year. We’ve load-tested the system to 5,000 calls per hour, with minimal CPU usage. It handled the stress with ease.”

Because Mindshare CONNECT™ was purpose-built, specifically for the service it provides, it is significantly more flexible and less expensive than other means of collecting similar information, such as traditional IVRs (Interactive Voice Response.) Pricing ranges (based on volume) from $69 to $99 per month per store for up to 100 three-minute surveys. Compared to traditional means such as employing ‘mystery shoppers’ the cost is very affordable. Mindshare boasts it can deliver over 100 actual customer surveys for the price of about 2 mystery shops.

“One of the real competitive advantages for us over traditional methods is the fact that we are providing real-time customer feedback, not reports delivered 30-60 days after the fact,” says company President, Richard Hanks. Hanks continues; “The customer completes the survey while the service experience is fresh on their mind, and we provide a large enough volume of surveys to make the results actionable to the level of the associate who delivered the service.” Clients are learning exactly what their customers think within hours of the visit, without intruding on the customer’s sense of privacy

“It’s not unusual for customer feedback systems to be used to take a ‘snapshot.’ What makes our product unique is its ability to provide ongoing, continuous feedback, more like a movie than a snapshot,” said Hanks. While the product can be used to solicit rich demographic and marketing information, the company believes its best and highest use is in delivering specific tactical feedback to allow a company to improve its operations immediately. When asked to distinguish between marketing and operational kinds of questions, Sperry gave these examples, “If I ask you ‘how did you hear about our restaurant,’ or ‘What occasion brings you to eat here tonight?’ I am asking you marketing-oriented questions. If I ask you, “Did your waiter offer you an appetizer?” or “Was your meal cooked to your liking?” I am asking operationally-oriented questions. These operational issues can be fixed immediately by training associates before the next shift begins.” Patti Robertson, one of the company’s hair salon clients put it this way, “Having immediate customer feedback allows us to pinpoint exact problems so they will never happen again.” Conversely, customers are also able to provide positive feedback and suggestions or new ideas that management hasn’t thought of.

By involving customers into the client’s daily operations, Mindshare has been able to markedly increase its clients’ customer satisfaction levels and profitability over time. It’s a simple equation really – Happy customers lead to more loyal customers, which lead to higher profits.

Mindshare has a strong presence in multiple industries, including; restaurants and hair salons, and is currently working with clients in lodging, general retail, home services, and specialty retail. When asked about future applications, Hanks says, “There really aren’t a lot of limits to how the technology can be applied. Anytime there is a situation where customers interact with front-line service associates, there is an opportunity to measure customer satisfaction and glean their feedback and ideas for improving service. We are currently breaking into several new industries, including health care visits to clinics and hospitals, retail banking, and even several airlines.

Mindshare CONNECT™ 3.5: “Turning Customers into Instructors, and Management into Students.”

About Mindshare Technologies:
Mindshare Technologies provides management tools that capture customers’ perceptions on a daily basis and immediately transforms them into actionable customer intelligence. Mindshare’s products provide the “missing link” in CRM efforts: the actual customer experience. Shortly after their service experience, customers respond to a short survey using their touch-tone telephone or web interface. Reports are updated immediately for client management to incorporate customer insights directly into their operations. The company’s customers range from an eight-unit fine-dining restaurant chain to a multi-thousand unit service franchise organization. For more information, call (800) 634-5407 or visit www.mshare.net.

Contact: Mindshare Technologies, Inc.
Richard D. Hanks
(801) 743-7580