"Once again, our judges were especially impressed by the exceptional level of customer engagement on the Blackbaud site," said Jeffrey Tarter, ASP's executive director. "The company has put a lot of effort into building forums and listening to customer feedback, and that effort has paid off nicely."
The award winners were selected by a panel of judges with expertise in web support design and implementation, using a scoring system based on 25 separate performance criteria. The evaluation process covered overall usability, design, and navigation; knowledgebase and search implementation; interactive features; customer experience; and a major site development challenge. The 10 winning sites will be profiled in a book called "The Ten Best Web Support Sites of 2010," to be published by ASP next month.
"Our customers are at the heart of everything we do, and we want to give them the support they need to make the world a better place and accomplish their missions," said Jerry Zink, Blackbaud senior vice president and chief customer satisfaction officer. "Being selected as a Ten Best Web Support Sites winner for the second year in a row reflects our commitment to providing comprehensive online resources and is truly an honor."
In addition to performance criteria, Blackbaud was honored for key site features including:
· Case Central and Knowledgebase Integration, which enables customers to not only contact Support online for assistance but also potentially answers their questions simultaneously.
· Knowledgebase Subscriptions, through which customers can subscribe to alerts and specific solutions to be immediately notified of changes automatically.
· Knowledgebase Feedback Forms, for customers to rate the effectiveness of their search experience as well as specific solutions, enabling staff to take action accordingly to improve customers' experience.
Additionally, the company was evaluated based on the successful replacement of its Knowledgebase last year. Since its release, the number of customers who use Knowledgebase and the frequency of their visits have almost doubled, confirming the benefits of the new infrastructure and more user-friendly experience. Simultaneously, Blackbaud Support implemented Knowledge-Centered Support (KCS), a business methodology that was developed by the Consortium for Service Innovation, a nonprofit alliance of customer service organizations, to help organizations solve customer issues faster, improve customer success, and build organizational learning.
For more information on Blackbaud Support, visit www.blackbaud.com/support.
About The Association of Support Professionals
The Association of Support Professionals is an international membership organization for customer support managers and professionals. In addition to its annual "Ten Best" awards, the ASP publishes research reports on a wide range of support topics, including fee-based support, services marketing, and support compensation.
About Blackbaud
Blackbaud is the leading global provider of software and services designed specifically for nonprofit organizations, enabling them to improve operational efficiency, build strong relationships, and raise more money to support their missions. Approximately 22,000 organizations - including University of Arizona Foundation, American Red Cross, Cancer Research UK, The Taft School, Lincoln Center, In Touch Ministries, Tulsa Community Foundation, Ursinus College, Earthjustice, International Fund for Animal Welfare, and the WGBH Educational Foundation - use one or more Blackbaud products and services for fundraising, constituent relationship management, financial management, website management, direct marketing, education administration, ticketing, business intelligence, prospect research, consulting, and analytics. Since 1981, Blackbaud's sole focus and expertise has been partnering with nonprofits and providing them the solutions they need to make a difference in their local communities and worldwide. Headquartered in the United States, Blackbaud also has operations in Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.blackbaud.com.
