Gartner & 1to1 Media Announce Winners of the 2009 Customer Experience Excellence Awards

Winners to Present Their CRM Case Studies at the Gartner CRM Summit in Scottsdale, AZ., September 14-16

STAMFORD, Conn., September 10, 2009 —

Gartner, Inc. and 1to1 Media announced today the three winners of the Gartner & 1to1 Customer Experience Excellence Award. The winners are Cigna Corporation, iRobot, and Oriental Trading Company.

Each company will present their winning case study to conference attendees at the Gartner Customer Relationship Management Summit, taking place September 14-16 at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, Arizona.

The awards are given to the companies that most clearly demonstrate exemplary customer relationship strategy and an unrivaled level of excellence in delivering the customer experience. The three Customer Experience Award winners were selected by a panel of judges, including Gartner analysts, 1to1 Media editorial staff and business and academic experts.

“These organizations are prime examples of how to drive the delivery of increased value to the customer, value that can then be captured as higher satisfaction and loyalty as well as increased profitability,” said Johan Jacobs, research director for Gartner.

“Our mission at 1to1 Media is to demonstrate the value of building deeper, more loyal customer relationships by delivering on the promise of superior customer experiences. The winners of the Gartner & 1to1 Customer Awards are the best examples of companies that are driving financial impact directly from the customer initiatives,” said Ginger Conlon, editor-in-chief of 1to1 Media.

Gartner and 1to1 Media also presented Customer Awards to an additional 15 organizations in six categories:

• Customer Strategy — Excellence in establishing an enterprise-wide customer strategy
• Enterprise CRM Optimization — Excellence in the use of full-suite CRM technology
• Marketing Optimization — Excellence in the use of marketing automation
• New Media Optimization — Excellence in the use of Web 2.0 and new media applications
• Organizational Transformation — Excellence in transforming a product- or sales-driven organization to a customer-centric one
• Service Optimization — Excellence in customer service and support that is enabled by technology

This is the second year of the Gartner & 1to1 Customer Awards. The goal of the partnership is to establish a standard of excellence for customer-focused organizations and honor those companies that provide value to customers and shareholders by effectively bringing together strategy, technology and execution to deliver ideal customer experiences.

All of the winners will be featured in the Fall 2009 issue of 1to1 Magazine in a special issue of 1to1 Weekly and on both the Gartner Events and 1to1 Media Web sites.

The identification of a Gartner Award winner or finalist is not an endorsement by Gartner of any vendor, product or service. More information on the Gartner & 1to1 Media Customer Awards and the online entry forms are available at http://www.gartner.com/it/summits/838231/crf11_awards.jsp or on the Gartner CRM Summit Web site at www.gartner.com/us/crm.

About Gartner Customer Relationship Management Summit
The Gartner CRM Summit will be held at the Westin Kierland Resort & Spa in Scottsdale, Arizona. The Gartner CRM Summit is a comprehensive event offering the latest customer strategies and technologies, how those technologies affect your customer relationship initiatives, and what organizational and cultural changes must occur to meet your company’s goals. Additional information is available at www.gartner.com/us/crm. Members of the media can register by sending an e-mail to Christy Pettey at christy.pettey@gartner.com.

 

Contact:


Christy Pettey
Gartner
+1 408 468 8312
christy.pettey@gartner.com


About Gartner:
Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world's leading information technology research and advisory company. Gartner delivers the technology-related insight necessary for its clients to make the right decisions, every day. From CIOs and senior IT leaders in corporations and government agencies, to business leaders in high-tech and telecom enterprises and professional services firms, to technology investors, Gartner is the indispensable partner to 60,000 clients in 10,000 distinct organizations. Through the resources of Gartner Research, Gartner Consulting and Gartner Events, Gartner works with every client to research, analyze and interpret the business of IT within the context of their individual role. Founded in 1979, Gartner is headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut, U.S.A., and has 4,000 associates, including 1,200 research analysts and consultants in 80 countries. For more information, visit www.gartner.com.