Outbound Outstands in Consumer Preference Survey Commissioned by Nuance

New Study from Harris Interactive Finds that People Do Want Proactive, Automated Messaging

05 February 2009, London - UK – According to a study conducted by Harris Interactive for Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN), consumers are enthusiastic to receive proactive communications, mostly by email or text message, from pre-selected companies to deliver imperative information. Harris Interactive, a global leader in custom market research, designed the study to uncover attitudes toward outbound messaging, perspective on current usage and usage preference in the United Kingdom.

Findings from this study illustrate that not all calls and messages, even at home or in the evenings are frowned upon. The Harris study found that over 80 percent of consumers surveyed wanted to be alerted when there is a threat of fraud or a home visit from a service technician is cancelled. The most common outbound messaging services are order status and account information, but as consumers become more engaged with electronic communications, the applications for outbound messaging will grow as other business segments want to keep their customers informed.

Other findings include:

• Interest level in proactive communications was highest under the following situations:
  • Retail and consumer: product delivery notice, product recalls
  • Finance and insurance: potential fraud alerts, payment reminders
  • Travel and tourism: flight and travel updates
  • Healthcare: appointment reminders
• Utilities and telco: disconnect warnings, staff call outs, service outage alerts, service activation, payment reminders
• 87 percent are receptive to receiving a proactive communication from a company with whom they do business if they allowed you to `opt-in` to receiving this service
• While the majority felt their permission is needed before proactive communications about marketing/sales promotion are sent, a significantly lower percentage felt they needed to give permission to receive proactive communications about outage notifications, order status, and travel status updates
• Most respondents would not pay for the convenience of proactive alerts
• Almost half, or 48 percent had received a proactive alert by SMS or text messaging, reflecting a significant opportunity in the future

Theses facts indicate demand for a full end-to-end customer care solution from enterprises wanting to deliver a superior experience to its customers. With inbound and outbound solutions, as well as an on-device mobile solution, Nuance’s customer care products provide the customer tools to help drive a consistent, user friendly consumer experience at every touch point. With text messaging on the rise and the availability of automated customer service solutions to ease call centers and alert consumers of imperative information, Nuance is well-positioned to ensure that customer service evolves to meet and exceed expectations for consumers as well as the enterprise.

“The private and professional lives of today’s always-on generation of consumers, is far busier and more complicated than ever before. Proactive outbound messaging can make their lives easier through measures such as timely reminders or helpful information alerts. This service is not invasive, and it has been well received by consumers who have come to value its efficiency”, said Ian Turner, General Manager, Northern EMEA of Nuance. “From an enterprise perspective, the survey results from Harris Interactive are especially compelling for those companies looking to reduce agent costs, while still delivering an exceptional experience for their customers. With its breadth of solutions, Nuance is delivering a relevant, compelling brand experience across all touch points in order for enterprises to stay connected to customers”, he added.

This survey was conducted online within the United Kingdom by Harris Interactive on behalf of Nuance. There were 622 respondents, all UK. residents, age 18 or above, who had received some form of proactive communications in the last six months. No estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated; a full methodology is available.

About Nuance Communications, Inc.

Nuance is a leading provider of speech and imaging solutions for businesses and consumers around the world. Its technologies, applications and services make the user experience more compelling by transforming the way people interact with information and how they create, share and use documents. Every day, millions of users and thousands of businesses experience Nuance’s proven applications and professional services. For more information, please visit: www.nuance.com.

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