case studies — armstrong

Armstrong is a global leader in the design, innovation and manufacture of floors, ceilings and cabinets. Its commitment to customer satisfaction, innovation, marketing and manufacturing is a core function of its business. Its primary website, www.armstrong.com, along with its other websites - www.bruce.com, www.hartcoflooring.com and www.robbins.com - help its customers design, install and maintain Armstrong products. Among the website's most popular features is Design-a-Room, a tool that enables customers to interactively customize a room using different style and color combinations by incorporating Armstrong products.

background

Over the past few years, Armstrong has recognized its website as an increasingly important venue to promote its products. However, based on anecdotal feedback, Armstrong's Web team believed its online user experience, in particular its navigation scheme, had room for improvement. Unfortunately, they lacked the data to identify and diagnose specific areas of concern. Therefore, when Armstrong decided to redesign its website, it subscribed to the OnlineOpinion system to better listen and learn from its users.

implementation

Armstrong already had a 'Contact Us' link on its website to collect customer service requests. However, that section was not intended to gather page-specific, website-oriented user feedback. "Properly responding to customer opinions about our website helps increase satisfaction and loyalty," said Armstrong's E-Business Manager. "We looked to the OnlineOpinion system as a way to quickly and efficiently manage website feedback without replacing or overburdening our existing Customer Service process."

Armstrong installed the OnlineOpinion feedback collection tool, "O", across all pages of the Residential section of their site to learn more about their website visitors' experience. OnlineOpinion worked with Armstrong to customize the message on the Comment Card to clarify that the feedback was website-related only. Additionally, for Customer Service requests, the Comment Card directed the user to the appropriate Web page.

benefits & results

Once implemented, Armstrong's website users eagerly used OnlineOpinion to provide valuable feedback such as suggesting ways to improve online tools/features and alerting Armstrong of technical problems encountered on the site. Armstrong successfully channeled website feedback away from Customer Service resources and towards their Web management team.

Armstrong is impressed by the feedback they receive. "Because the OnlineOpinion system does not ask for personal information, it places a very low burden on our users," commented their E-Business Manager. "We believe the tool also serves as a 'release valve' if users get upset while they're on the site. They've got a simple, accessible way to communicate their frustration before they move on."

To ensure the data remains manageable, Armstrong utilizes two of OpinionLab's analysis tools: the 24/7 Metric and the O-Trend report. "After our redesign, we saw in our monthly O-Trend report that our Site Opinion Index jumped by 60 points." said their E-Business Manager. "At that point, we knew our changes were having an impact and we were headed in the right direction. We look forward to seeing next month's score."

going forward

Armstrong originally implemented the OnlineOpinion system only on the Residential portion of its website. Since then, Armstrong has expanded the system's use to the Commercial portion as well. OpinionLab delivers a separate report for each section.

	Timeframe	March 1, 2002 - March 31, 2002
	Ratings collected	1,960
	# of pages rated	304
	# of CDU ratings	151
	# of comments	126
	Analysis tools used	24/7 Metric Toolkit and O-Trend report