BenchmarkPortal Receives Patent for Online Benchmarking

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially issued Patent #6,877,034 to BenchmarkPortal, Inc. for Performance Evaluation through Benchmarking, Using an On-line Questionnaire Based System and Method.Santa Maria, CA (April 5, 2005) - The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially issued Patent #6,877,034 to BenchmarkPortal, Inc. for Performance Evaluation through Benchmarking, Using an On-line Questionnaire Based System and Method. The issuance of this patent puts BenchmarkPortal in a unique position in terms of online performance benchmarking. BenchmarkPortal, working closely with its academic partner, the Center for Customer-Driven Quality at Purdue University, has been building a performance metrics database on customer service contact centers since 1995. This propriety database includes best practice statistics on thousands of contact centers in forty-three different industries and in 28 different countries world-wide. The International Benchmarking Community managed by BenchmarkPortal has over 25,000 current members. BenchmarkPortal's patented performance benchmarking system, officially called RealityCheck, is a Web-based quality tool that allows contact center managers to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of their Center's performance as compared to those in the same industry and/or a more selected peer group of similar centers. "Our database is widely recognized as the largest and most useful in the area of contact center performance", noted Dr. Jon Anton, Director of Research at both BenchmarkPortal and the Purdue's Center for Customer-Driven Quality; "The issuance of this patent underscores the unique and proprietary position we hold in terms of the online manner in which we gather the data. We are very pleased with this legal recognition." RealityCheck includes a Balanced Performance Scorecard, which plots one center's efficiency and effectiveness against its industry peer group. Call quantity (efficiency) is plotted on the x?axis, and call quality (effectiveness) is plotted on the y-axis. Combined, these performance indices provide contact center mangers with a high-level view of their Center's performance. Contact centers that are able to optimize customer-centric results, while containing costs can apply to become a Purdue University certified "Center of Excellence." Doing a RealityCheck of a call center's performance is very much like doing an annual physical health examination with your family doctor. By comparing a center's performance with a Peer Group of similar contact centers, it immediately becomes clear where the gaps in performance are, and this leads to finding the process or processes in the center that need improvement. About BenchmarkPortal BenchmarkPortal is the custodian of the Purdue University Center for Customer-Driven Quality database of contact center metrics, the largest in the world. It provides reports, products and services for contact centers in the areas of operational metrics, customer satisfaction measurement and agent satisfaction measurement. BenchmarkPortal's Web site can be found at: www.BenchmarkPortal.com For additional information contact: Susan Hampton BenchmarkPortal, Inc. (805) 614-0123 ext. 36 SusanHampton@BenchmarkPortal.com