CKSW (MM)

BURLINGTON, Mass., Oct. 5 /PRNewswire/ -- ClickSoftware Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: CKSW), the leading provider of automated workforce management and optimization solutions for the services industry, today announces enhancements to its ServiceTycoon software to help small and mid-size service businesses deliver a high-touch customer experience with minimal cost and effort.

Available now, new features -- like a customer portal and email communications templates -- make it easy for service businesses to win loyalty by demonstrating an information-rich customer relationship across the entire service ecosystem.

The business case for improving the customer experience is, in most cases, unquestionable: Customer expectations for service have never been higher. They have amplified power to recommend a company or damage its reputation on online feedback sites and social forums. Sophisticated customers increasingly prefer to self-serve online. And the cost of acquiring a new customer is five-to-seven times as much as maintaining a profitable relationship with an existing customer. The lesson, especially in today's economic environment, is to keep customers happy at the right level of spend.

"A strong reputation and positive word of mouth is absolutely critical to the success and growth of any small service businesses," said Hannan Carmeli, President and COO of ClickSoftware. "CKSW brings to the small business market all the capabilities which, in the past, were only affordable by large companies.  This latest version of ServiceTycoon includes templates so businesses can easily and quickly send professional communications to their customers, a customer portal so their customers can view estimates or invoices, as well as the AnswerZone where our customers have access to online help twenty-four hours a day. We're proud to help our customers grow their business by providing superior customer service."

New features in ServiceTycoon include:

• Customer Portal Access gives customers online access to historic data regarding appointments and bills, as well as the ability to email their vendor directly from the portal. Customers can log-in directly from a company's Website or a URL sent via email, increasing the account transparency and open communication that customers have come to expect.

• Email- and Print-Ready Communication Templates allow companies to create and design customizable communications. From thank-you notes, appointment reminders, estimates, work orders, invoices and more, the version is Microsoft Word compliant enabling quick and easy creation of personalized documents for customer communications.

• Best-Practices AnswerZone gives a whole host of resources to ServiceTycoon users including Frequently Asked Questions, "how-to videos," training session sign-ups, and a portal to submit support request and feedback.

"Our customers play an instrumental role in our product development," continued Carmeli. "Customers from various service industries including residential and commercial cleaning, lawn care, landscaping, irrigation and pest control agreed that customer service is their number one differentiator. This version of ServiceTycoon gives our customers an advantage over their competitors when it comes to customer service."

As a web-based software application, ServiceTycoon helps small and medium sized service businesses streamline and gain control over the entire service cycle – from the initial customer call to invoicing and payment.  It gives all stakeholders a centralized solution to manage all service requests -- from the office to the field, via mobile devices -- making it easy and efficient for businesses to consistently deliver high levels of service.

To learn more about ServiceTycoon 2.0.7, visit: http://www.servicetycoon.com/

About ClickSoftware

ClickSoftware is the leading provider of automated workforce management and optimization solutions for every size of service business. Our portfolio of solutions, available on demand and on premise, create business value through higher levels of productivity, customer satisfaction and operational efficiency. Our patented concept of 'continuous planning and scheduling' incorporates customer demand forecasting, long and short term capacity planning, shift planning, real-time scheduling, mobility and location-based services, as well as on-going communication with the consumer on the expected arrival time of the service resource.

As the pioneers of the 'W6' concept more than 20 years ago, we have perfected solutions for solving a wide variety of problems on Who does What, for Whom, with What, Where and When. The combination of proven technology with educational services helps businesses find the right balance between reducing costs, increasing customer satisfaction, employee preferences and industry regulations/legislation. ClickSoftware's solutions manage over 200,000 resources in service businesses across a variety of industries and geographies. Our flexible deployment approach, breadth and depth of solutions and strong partnerships with leading CRM/ERP vendors and system integrators makes us the number one choice to deliver superb business performance to any organization. The company is headquartered in the United States and Israel, with offices across Europe, and Asia Pacific. For more information, please visit www.clicksoftware.com. Follow us on Twitter.

About ServiceTycoon

ServiceTycoon is ClickSoftware's web-based scheduling, billing, and contact management application for small and medium service businesses.  ServiceTycoon allows companies to schedule appointments, dispatch technicians, complete estimates, work-orders, and invoices, and track contact management online from any web connection or web-enabled mobile device. Simple drag-and-drop scheduling ensures easy management of your employees and contractors. You get the agility and flexibility to handle last minute requests and run your business from anywhere. Free 30 days trial with Pay-as-you-go pricing works with your business.

SOURCE ClickSoftware Technologies Ltd.