RightNow is a customer centric CRM company located in a very nice part of the world, Bozeman, Montana. I just came back from a visit my daughter near there in Jackson, Wyoming as I write this. They have just announced a new version of their August ’08 release that contains a number of new features. I have written about them before on this blog, (see Customer-centric CRM from RightNow and on Fast Forward – Obama’s Answer Center – CRM from RightNow on the Campaign Trail). Last week I spoke again with Andrew Hull, Director of Product Marketing to learn about the new features.

The new RightNow Customer Portal allows organizations to brand and personalize their web service experience with interactive web 2.0 information resources. The portal provides for the integration of company generated content with user-generated content. For example, a customer’s YouTube videos, Flickr posts, or input from an online forum can be added to the online information provided by the company to offer more context, authenticity, and variety. They have also provided integration with Adobe Dreamweaver to help company web designers create a more consistent look for the self service portal with the firm’s other web presence and add other creative design features. They found that a vast majority of their customers were familiar with this tool. Here is an example of a Customer Portal.

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Co-Browse and Proactive Chat lets companies offer live, interactive assistance for online consumers. Co-Browse allows company agents and consumers to be on the same screen. For example, an IT help desk can see what the problem is a caller is encountering or better help a customer complete the final steps in an online shopping experience. Co-Browse can be activated by an agent talking to a customer on the phone or during an online chat session. The configurable Proactive Chat component generates invitations to begin a chat session based on definable circumstances, such as being a premier customer or spending a certain amount of time on a Website. Here is an example of Co-Browse from RightNow’s agent desktop.

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These three components can integrate to follow a consumer through an online experience if necessary. Andrew offered this example. Suppose a consumer needs help with a wifi router. They can go to the self-service web site of the router provider and access the company help augmented by a customer-generated YouTube video of how to resolve the issue. The Proactive Chat can be launched if the consumer is having trouble with self-service. Then the consumer and company agent can move to Co-Browse to see the consumer’s computer screen and help make the final adjustments or settings. Here is a Proactive Chat screen.

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I like these additions as they all support greater communication between companies and their customers and operate in the spirit of web 2.0 to promote greater customer engagement.