Customers today can interact with organizations across multiple platforms. So how do you track the unique and complex experience of every customer? NICE Customer eXperience Analytics (NICE | cXa) created the digital and analytical transformation necessary for organizations to monopolize the global consumer-centric economy.

Their commitment to end-to-end visualizations of the customer journey has greatly helped organizations recognize pain points and engage insights to transform customer experiences. This is how they won the Silver Stevie Award for Best Cloud Contact Center Technology and the Bronze Stevie Award for Sales Performance Management Suite in the 2017 Stevie Award for Sales & Customer Service.

Elevating the Standard of Customer Journeys

Attempting to elevate the standard of customer journeys more broadly, using both innovative technologies and practical thought leadership, is a real challenge. Robert Zoch, head of Customer Journey Solutions, believes their ‘Total Voice of the Customer and Customer Journey Solutions’ are the most capable tools now available for helping large businesses optimize their customer experiences. Zoch shares why winning a Stevie matters in their industry.

“We can make our case loudly and continuously, but the judgment of professionals through the Stevie Awards will always mean more for a great many enterprise technology users.”

Keeping Up with Continuous Change

It's become imperative for brands to have technologies keep up an expanding array of channels by which customers interact with brands. NICE knows customers want low-effort experiences that are enabled by capable self-service tools; but NICE also knows they need to ensure brands can live up to these expectations. Zoch says NICE is proud of how long they’ve been able to meet these demands.

“NICE celebrated 30 years as a global brand. Our particular division finished 2016 with a bang, forging contracts to provide several global brands with Customer Journey Solutions. Among other highlights, we were able to demonstrate an annual ROI surpassing $130 million for five such brands, which include telecommunications, healthcare and financial services. That type of performance is hard to ignore, and these awards represent another rung in our climb to market dominance.”

People are Key to Our Business Success

NICE believes their client relationships are "partnerships," and not only does this help ensure they achieve their goals, but also provides insights to continuously refine solutions to serve the needs of their marketplace. Zoch explains how placing a strong emphasis on customer success with a special team ensures their technologies’ best practices and strategies to accomplish their goals.

“Our value proposition lies in helping brands understand their customer journeys, and fittingly, we apply that same principle to the way we interact with our customers.”

Zoch continues to say they also have a strong commitment to their own people and they're proud to offer benefits to their employees that “many companies do not have.” Just some of the benefits they offer include: paid travel insurance, legal and pet insurance, generous paternity leave, benefits for children with disabilities and much more.

“As a collective body we are deeply committed. So, we respect and listen to each other, drawing from our experiences and learning from our respective skills and backgrounds. That’s why people want to work at NICE.”

Do a web search for custom signage, and you’ll find a multitude of businesses from which to choose. Needless to say, it’s an industry where separating oneself from the pack can be a difficult proposition.

Since its inception in 2012, the management team behind Signs.com has believed an unparalleled level of customer service is a big part of the answer. From the beginning the company has guaranteed 100% satisfaction to its customers, many of them individuals and small businesses.

By 2015, the Salt Lake City-based organization decided to take things a step further. Internally, the team posed a central question: “If we had the best customer experience in the world, what would we do?”

The answer to that question was creating a new mindset that put the customer experience front and center. In order to help make that happen, the customer service department was renamed the “customer experience department.” Instead of focusing on individual interactions, the staff would focus on the entire consumer relationship.

Shortly thereafter, the company hired Madison Page, its first Customer Experience Officer, to oversee the department and make that transformation a reality.

A Recipe for Success 

Among the new key decisions was opting to use live agents for its customer interactions, rather than following the trend for automated solutions. That approach made it easier to provide consumers with the level of service they sought.

To maintain a customer-first philosophy, the company has also formulated four habits for success that its team tries to uphold:

1. Easy

“Nothing is worse for our customers than going through a hard, cumbersome process to order signs,” says Page. “The customer experience department tries to make things as simple as possible so customers want to keep coming back.”

2. Helpful

One of the team’s priorities is consistently providing accurate, useful information. Representatives logged more than 50 hours of training in 2016, even learning about graphic design so they can aid clients on the fly with basic design issues.

3. Fast

Page has helped Signs.com achieve a company-wide chat response time of less than 10 seconds and an email response time of about 2.5 hours. That’s more than seven times faster than the industry average.

4. Friendly

“Part of giving clients a great Signs.com experience includes being kind and friendly no matter what outlet you’re using,” Page explains.

One of the keys to staying upbeat is maintaining a close-knit team that doesn’t take itself too seriously. After weekly meetings, for example, staffers can be found playing games like trying to eat donuts from a string or playing a fierce game of Spoons. The group even has gold and silver medals that get handed to the winner.

High Customer Satisfaction

The result of that emphasis on the consumer experience has led to overwhelmingly positive feedback on social media that helps attract even more customers. Of the 27,000 reviews it tallied as of December 2016, the average reviewer gave the company a 4.7 out of 5.

The company’s philosophy reflects a growing body of research suggesting that better customer care leads to increased loyalty, thereby lowering the cost of customer acquisition. For example, the research firm Access Development found that as many as 79% of customers would shop elsewhere within a week of receiving subpar customer service. 

At Signs.com, a consumer-centric strategy has clearly helped fuel the company’s rapid growth. Last year, Signs.com earned the No. 6 spot on the Utah Venture Entrepreneur Forum’s list of the top 25 companies in the state under five years old.

In February, the company added to its plaudits by grabbing the Gold Stevie^® Award for “Customer Service Department of the Year” in the 2017 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. In addition, Page received a Silver Stevie for “Contact Center Manager of the Year.”

“It is so nice to win, but it reminds and motivates us to keep innovating, helping and serving our customers,” Page says.

Capturing moments through the art of photography can be powerful when done right. C.Mae Design is an eight person photography team based out of Wisconsin who believes photography boils down to light, laughter, trust, and the power of capturing the connection between individuals. Their business has doubled in sales every year since 2013, and they are delighted to have captured over 437,000 smiles since C.Mae Design’s opening.  In the 2017 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service C.Mae won the Bronze Stevie Award for Sales Turnaround.

Keeping Good Company

The company likes to accept clients who cherish other people in their lives, and customers who want to capture the beauty in real moments. Cassandra Spiegelhoff, owner of C.Mae Design describes their ideal customer.

“The C.Mae Design client is someone who cherishes the people in their lives. Someone who finds beauty in real moments that include tears of joy, warm hugs, and loud laughter.”

With their team of 8 photographers and 2 office assistants, many of their photographers do double duty as editors, teachers and mentors. Coming into their 5th year of business, Cassandra expresses their excitement about celebrating a 50th wedding anniversary with 500 couples.

“We are obsessed with finding and creating beautiful light and turning sweet moments into stunning imagery”

Chasing Moments

Photography is always changing. The editing styles, posing styles, new innovative techniques, and the evolving technology always makes for improvement. C.Mae Design staff enjoy doing what they love and are always learning how to service their clients better.

“At our sessions, you will find us playing music, laughing, lifting things, and maybe even climbing trees or jumping into water for the perfect shot.” Cassandra relayed, “Each session really is a new adventure with new friends and we can’t wait for you to be part of the experience.”

As passionate storytellers and don’t-care-who’s-watching dancers, what they ask of you is to fully, authentically, and awkwardly just be yourself. This is where the magic is. At C.Mae Design, they focus heavily on capturing you. THE REAL YOU. The real, funny, gorgeous you.

Awards Capture Moments Too

Like photos, awards can signify a moment in time when your hard work was cherished by your peers. Cassandra recalls the time their supervisor had recommended them to apply to the Stevie Awards, and then they won.

“We are so excited to show it off! The acknowledgment of our organization and staff is wonderful and uplifting!!”

Since then, they’ve also been awarded Best Of Weddings on The Knot in 2016 and Couples' Choice Awards from Wedding Wire in both 2016 and 2017.

“We simply believe in what we do and enjoy it! We are motivated by spreading the love! The truth is that life is hard and any time you can devote to appreciate the people in your life is beautiful. Our photography sessions highlight the love shared between individuals and their stories. What is more beautiful than that?” Cassandra concluded, “Always do your best! The golden rule of ‘treat others how you would like to be treated’ is great. We like using the platinum rule of ‘treat others the way they want to be treated.’"

How does a company cultivate future success when many of its sales leaders are nearing retirement age?

That’s a question The Horton Group, like a lot of insurance firms, has wrestled with lately. Their solution: make sure that new, young hires have the skills they need to develop a productive, lasting career.

According to one report, half of the industry’s current workforce will retire within 15 years. “The No. 1 challenge facing insurance agents and brokers is attracting and developing talent for the future,” says Beth Ottolini, a member of Horton University, the company’s educational arm.

The Horton Group created a customized, diverse learning program to help ramp up the skills of new employees. Over a six-month period, its instructional team developed a sales training program called “Journey to Validation” that’s already made a difference.

The Journey to Validation, received a Gold Stevie Award in the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service for the Sales Training or Coaching Program of the Year. The Journey to Validation consists of four stages of learning that provide rookie sales executives with the knowledge base and skills necessary to successfully progress from their first day in the program to ultimate validation with the company.

A New Learning Paradigm

Founded in 1971 as a small, family-owned insurance agency, The Horton Group now provides insurance, employee benefits and risk advisory services to a wide range of business clients. Based in the Chicago suburb of Orland Park, Ill., the organization employs more than 350 employees working out of 10 locations, most of them in the Midwest.

Prior to the development of Journey to Validation, most of the company’s training was done through apprenticeships and job shadowing. Whatever formal training the new hires needed was provided by external vendors.

But company leaders realized that in order to overcome the unmistakable demographic changes within the industry, they needed a more robust approach. Journey to Validation was the company’s first internally-developed tool for making sure that every new hire had the knowledge and foundational skills he or she would need to launch a successful career.

In 2016, the company hired a four-member team to help build the program from the ground up. That was a definite departure from the way holistic learning programs ‒ often the byproduct of large development teams and consultants ‒ are typically designed.

And in this case, the development team, led by Director of Training and Development Jay Fortuna, wasn’t much older than the rookie salespeople who would eventually use their modules. The average age of the members was just 30.

But what the group brought to the table was a fresh perspective and forward-thinking approach to the way younger associates digest information. Developed in just six months, the Journey to Validation program would ultimately incorporate newer ideas like gamification and micro-learning ‒ a system in which learners concentrate on small, focused lessons ‒ along with proven techniques like shadowing.

The program consists of four steps, which combine online learning as well as in-person training. One of its strengths is the ability to track the progress of brokers to make sure they’ve developed the basic industry knowledge and sales skills they’ll need in their new role.

Along with the Gold Stevie for “Sales Training or Coaching Program of the Year”at the Las Vegas awards ceremony, The Horton Group also walked away with two Bronze Stevies, including one for “Sales Training or Education Leader of the Year” for Fortuna.

Continuous Improvement

Ottolini says the program was the result of a highly collaborative atmosphere that puts a premium on continuous improvement. “The pride that the team takes in its work and the extreme ownership of training strengths and shortcomings has led to a recognition that is both humbling and motivating,” Ottolini says.

One of the ways the team helps establish a sense of trust is by sitting down for lunch together every day and bouncing ideas off one another, explains Ottolini.

The group also makes it a point to put themselves in the shoes of new hires. Towards that end, all Horton University team members participate in monthly team-building events with rookie sales executives as part of the training program.

So far, the team, which initially had some trouble achieving buy-in for its novel approach, has won plaudits throughout the organization.

“The infectious enthusiasm and passion emanating from the Horton University team has set a new standard within the company and continues to positively influence the culture of the corporation as a whole,” she says.

Now, the organization is building on its success by developing other learning initiatives, like a service training module and a continuing education program that enables employees to hone their leadership skills.

The internal expertise they’ve demonstrated could also provide a benefit to other members of Assurex Global, the network of commercial insurance, risk management and employee benefits agencies to which Horton belongs. “In the coming months, the team is expected to provide consulting services to other Assurex-affiliated organizations,” Ottolini adds.

These latest Stevie accolades will only help give the program further credibility, she notes. Fortuna originally learned about the Stevie Awards while working at a previous employer. When he joined The Horton Group, one of his goals was to help create a sales training program that merited recognition from Stevie panelists.

In a matter of months, their goal has already come to fruition. “Horton University’s recognition at the 2017 Stevie Awards has done wonders to bolster The Horton Group’s culture of learning,” says Ottolini.

Interested in submitted nominations for the top sales awards and customer service awards in 2018? Request the entry kit for the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service and it will be emailed to you in July 2017.

When a company launches 23 newly engineered and redesigned e-STUDIO multifunction printers before the annual dealer meeting even kicks off, you'll likely turn a lot of heads.

Such was the case with Toshiba, when they won the Gold Stevie Award for 'Best Sales Meeting of the Year'  in the 2017 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, in recognition of its 2016 LEAD (Learn Engage Act Deliver) conference.

The LEAD conference included record attendance and stylish new machines that bolstered technology, customization, and training for attendees to try out.

Connect, Integrate, Simplify

Joe Contreras, Global Marketing Executive at Toshiba, revealed that the machines represented a value statement that could be summed up in three words: connect, integrate, and simplify.

“The machines don’t just connect to the network, they can connect customers with their businesses and workflows...to become an integral part of a customer’s business, and they can simplify tasks and operations.”

Politics and Party Tricks

Toshiba made sure to pull out all the stops for LEAD. In addition to hosting LEAD at one of the more luxurious properties on the Las Vegas Strip, graffiti artist business guru Erik Wahl was the featured evening keynote speaker to close LEAD’s first day. Toshiba’s second day lineup featured a variety of entertainment, including keynote speakers James Carville and Mary Matalin (who gave the now classic quote “If you have ADHD, are over 30, and like a glass of wine - you probably shouldn’t have a Twitter account”.) Closing-night entertainers, The B-52s, with such hits as “Rock Lobster,” “Party Out of Bounds,” and, of course, “Love Shack.”

Surpassing Expectations

In addition to the large Toshiba booth, their floor space had been doubled to complement the exhibit hall that featured 60 companies from across the industry looking to do business with Toshiba’s dealer community.

"LEAD 2016 was a definitive success from every perspective and surpassed expectations," said Bill Melo, Toshiba America Business Solutions chief marketing executive. "Our new products were met with enthusiasm from every segment of our diverse audience and are generating new business for our resellers, business partners and Toshiba."

Interested in applying for the 2018 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service? Request the entry kit and it will be emailed to you in July when nominations are accepted.

Most of the time, the engineers and other professionals at software firm Olark are busy manipulating code as they try to push their product forward. But once a month, those computer gurus tackle a much different task: handling customer service inquiries from their users.

The company calls it their “All Hands Support” policy, intended to keep staffers throughout the organization in tune with the needs of clients. “Everyone in our 40-person company continues to contribute to our customer service efforts in some way,” says Karl Pawlewicz, the company’s spokesman.

Customer service is, in fact, at the very core of the San Francisco-based company. Founded in 2009, it offers a live chat platform that businesses large and small can use to address the real-time needs of their buyers. Today, more than 12,000 organizations around the globe use Olark’s easy-to-implement solution in order to address customer needs.

By giving all of its employees a taste of the customer service experience, they’re able to create a better product, Pawlewicz suggests. “It keeps our entire company in close contact with our customers' successes and frustrations, and ensures each department is aligned on customer priorities,” he says.

The idea originated from the early days when Olark’s four founders were living together in Palo Alto and developing the software platform. “They each took turns on customer service so they wouldn't burn out and so they could stay close to customer feedback,” according to Pawlewicz.

At a time when a lot of customer service is being automated through artificial intelligence and bots, Pawlewicz says it was important for Olark’s principals to create a solution that was simultaneously economical and person-oriented.

“We’re looking for ways to develop a hybrid approach, ensuring technology makes humans more efficient, rather than replacing them,” he notes.

Building Empathy

Creating a better customer service experience is about more than spreading the workload around ‒ it’s also about developing a culture that turns employees into advocates for the company. That can can be a challenge for a geographically-diverse organization, where many employees work from home throughout North America, South America and Europe.

To develop that cohesiveness, the company, which recently won the Gold Stevie Award in the 2017 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service for Customer Service Department of the Year ‒ Computer Software, hosts in-person retreats once a year. There, the company leaders preach Olark’s core values. Among them: “assume good faith,” “practice empathy” and “help each other grow.”

But the most unconventional of the company’s axioms is “chill out.” As its website describes, Olark  wants its employees to “seek activities that recharge you and allow you to bring your best self to work.” So it’s no accident that the company has amateur musicians and even a couple of part-time farmers among its ranks.

Olark has some off-beat customs, to be sure. Its employees join in to sing Darius Rucker’s  “Wagon Wheel,” the firm’s unofficial anthem, whenever they get together. And they have secret, gift-giving gnomes to celebrate birthdays, since they’re apart for the other 51 weeks each year.

“Creating this positive environment helps our team maintain a healthy work/life balance and come to work every day refreshed and renewed,” explains Pawlewicz. (L1)

That balanced approach has paid off in the form of excellent customer service, decided by Stevie Awards judges. Pawlewicz says the honor has been a major shot in the arm for workers at the burgeoning company.

“It's a testament to the hard work that our customer service team puts in every day, and we hope it will be a compelling proof point for future candidates who consider working at Olark,” he says.

• Learn more about Olark
  
  
• Learn more about the 2018 Stevie Award for Sales & Customer Service

Drug and alcohol testing mitigates the risk of injury and property damage to help companies establish a strong safety culture. Stevie Award winner Drug Tests In Bulk (DTIB) provides instant drug testing kits for businesses ranging from correctional facilities, corporate accounts, government offices and anyone who wants to detect the use of abused substances.

The company recently won the Silver Stevie for the e-Commerce Customer Service Award - All Other Industries in the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service, in addition to gaining media attention for filling an invaluable need for organizations.

Sumant Vasan, Director of Digital Marketing at Drug Tests in Bulk told us, “We have been mentioned in many notable publications, such as Forbes, The Huffington Post, Entrepreneur, Chicago Tribune and Buzzfeed for our product selection, customer service, and marketing prowess. We are also recognized by DATIA, SAPAA, and SHRM and BBB with an A+ as an exemplary provider.”

The Best and Affordable

DTIB finds the change from lab testing to instant tests to be the most profound as of late. While most lab tests can cost up to $120, instant tests can go for as little as $2-$10 per test. This opportunity helps DTIB help businesses keep a safe workplace, without causing them the difficulty of choosing a sizable investment to do so.

Knowing Your Customer

Regular "Power Hour" meetings to review customer inquiries help address any concerns in a uniform and a thoughtful manner. They also look at customizing the best products for certain industry types, to reduce customer confusion and increase trust in their customer service team.

“We also have a catered lunch every Friday, where we all get a chance to eat, laugh and get to know our fellow team members better.” Said Sumant.

Growing Up With The Company

DTIB believes they’re much more than a drug testing company.  Implementing drug testing policy, protocol, and regulations is a serious responsibility. They also design exercises that include friendly competitions, collaborative projects and focus group sessions to maintain their family oriented environment that sets them apart.

“Our team members have ‘grown up’ with the company. Many of us have gotten married, had children, and bought homes while working here.” Recalled Sumant, “The company definitely has a family feel to it, and we often do things in the community together. For example, we support local food banks, girl scouts, boy scouts, drug rehab centers, and animal shelters.”

Passing With Flying Colours

DTIB customers constantly save on service that matches expensive lab based tests, with an instant solution that delivers the results in less than 5 minutes without sacrificing the quality of the test itself. With more than 15,000 businesses and clients in the U.S., DTIB has definitely tested positive for stellar customer service.

Learn more about Drug Tests in Bulk and the Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service. 

When a company needs protection from issues related to safety, quality assurance and loss prevention, streamlined data can make a world of difference.

RizePoint is a global leader in enterprise compliance for both internally imposed standards and externally imposed regulations. Their software builds and protects brand equity by enabling a consistent customer experience. Considered the industry standard for food service, hospitality, and retail, RizePoint mobile and cloud-based solutions serve nearly 2 million audits with 200 million questions answered annually. 

Rising to The Challenge

2016 was a whirlwind year for RizePoint. The company rebranded themselves (formerly Steton Technology Group) and brought on a new executive team that launched two major software updates—a first for the company.

They took their motto to heart by hiring the "best and the brightest" and that strategy paid off with awards, increased revenue and low turnover rates.

Their successful transition lead them to winning the 2016 Silver Stevie Employer of the Year Award in the Computer Software category and the Silver Sales and Customer Service Award in the Business Intelligence category for 2017.

The 2018 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service opens in June. Request your entry kit here.

“Winning the Stevie validates our efforts to create industry-leading business intelligence solutions. It helps us talk about our software to potential clients, partners, and investors.”

A Special Thanks

The compliance software industry is a growing space. RizePoint has nearly 20 years of experience in this industry but there are now more than 5 dozen startups doing some form of compliance software. Rizepoint attributes a lot of their success to Jesse Dowdle’s award-winning leadership style for paving the way for success at Rizepoint. They also thank continued partnerships with their clients in the foodservice and hospitality industry.

While RizePoint works with the world’s most recognized brands to deliver audit tools and reports, they make it their mission to give clients their full attention and address any concerns in their day-to-day operations. RizePoint believes their unique culture can be best understood by watching their introductory video exemplifying their dedication to making clients feel RizePoint is their “home away from home.”

Providing the best customer service for homes and businesses is what Stevie Award-winner Signs.com is all about.

Signs.com is the industry leader in a variety of indoor and outdoor custom signage options for businesses and homes. They also offer one day turnaround time on most of their products. If clients need assistance, they proclaim, “no problem!” by providing free design services and “world-class customer service.”

This is how they garnered such high customer satisfaction rates all the way to win the Gold Stevie Award for Customer Service Department of the Year.

Interested in entering the 2018 Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service? These are the top customer service awards, sales awards, business development awards, and new product and service awards around the world.

Request the entry kit here and it will be emailed to you in June.

No Small Parts

Signs.com believes each of their team members bring unique qualities to the table. Whitney Pikula (nee Matagi) is their “bubbliest” customer experience agent on the Signs.com chat service. Whitney was hired as a temp while she finished school and immediately charmed everyone, leading her to land the Customer Experience position.

“She's helpful, sweet, and endearing...Her vivacious spirit is infectious. She's such an asset to our customer service team!”

Whitney has also been a professional dancer for most of her life. She danced for the University of Utah (her alma mater), the Utah Jazz basketball team and the Arizona Cardinals football team. She also traveled through China cheering on the United States Basketball team. Whitney has made it her mission to always keep clients happy and her co-workers laughing.

Smooth Strides to The Stevie Awards

Signs.com made the UVEF (Utah Venture Entrepreneur Forum) top 25 companies under five years old for the second year in a row, before placing sixth in the top ten.

In 2015, they were awarded "Utah's Emerging Elite," an award that honors Utah's fastest growing companies.

In 2017, they plan on applying to be on the INC 500 list.

“We pride ourselves on being on the forefront of these innovations. Who knows where the future of printing will take us.”

Signs.com considers the Stevie Awards a great place to share their company success.

“What a great place to showcase our amazing company. Upon learning of the Stevie Awards' tremendous reputation, we couldn't think of a better match! We became obsessed with creating the best submission out there!”

All Work and No Play...

Working hard but also playing hard is very important to Signs.com. Team building activities include escape rooms, games of darts, nerf gun wars and frequent pranks keep a sense of play for a company in the business of creative council for signage.

“To shake things up, we always play a game after each meeting! We've done some crazy things we aren't really proud of, including putting nylons on our head, eating donuts from a string and playing aggressive games of Spoons. We even have gold and silver medals to hand out to the weekly winners. Yeah, not competitive at all. And TOTALLY normal.”

Samantha, their resident baker, always makes snacks for meetings and birthday celebrations. Because of this, they have sage advice:

“Invest in treadmill desks.”

Winners in the eleventh annual Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service, recognized as the world's top customer service awards and sales awards, were unveiled on Friday night at a gala ceremony in Las Vegas, Nevada attended by more than 650 executives from around the world.

The complete list of Stevie Winners by category is available at http://www.StevieAwards.com/Sales.

DP DHL, with Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award wins for activities worldwide, in Argentina, Lebanon, United Arab Emirates, and the U.S.A., among other nations, was the most honored organization this year, earning the top Grand Stevie Award trophy for the fourth consecutive year. Other Grand Stevie Award winners, in descending order, include Visualize, HomeServe USA, Delta Air Lines, GuideWell Connect, IBM, VIZIO Inc., Carbonite, Inc., WePay Inc, and Concentrix.

Among other Stevie winners, Carbonite Inc., HomeServe USA, IBM, and iHeartMedia won four Gold Stevie Awards, the most from all organizations. Cisco Systems, ClearVision Optical Company, Optum Consumer Sales and Services, UNOX, Vivint Smart Home, and WePay Inc took home three Gold Stevies. Winners of two Gold Stevie Awards include Ally Bank, CAC 2000 Ltd, Delta Air Lines, Inc., Dow Jones & Co., GuideWell Connect, Imparta Inc., Inci Akü GS Yuasa, Infinity, John Hancock Financial Services, ListenTrust, Network Alliance, Odeabank, VIZIO Inc, and Wilson Learning.

Winners in the People’s Choice Stevie® Awards for Favorite Customer Service, as determined by more than 149,000 public votes, were also awarded at the event to organizations including Bombardier Aerospace, Chewy, CommonBond, CubeSmart, Distinguished Programs, FieldEdge, GPS Insight, j2 Global, Inc., Marriott Vacation Club Owner Services, Ultimate Software, Unitrends, and Zelis Payments.

The presentations were broadcast live via Livestream, and are still available to watch online..

The awards are presented by the Stevie Awards, which organizes several of the world’s leading business award shows including the prestigious International Business Awards and The American Business Awards.

More than 2,300 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were evaluated in this year’s competition, an increase of 10% over 2016. Finalists were determined by the average scores of 77 professionals worldwide, acting as preliminary judges. Entries were considered in 61 categories for customer service and contact center achievements, including Contact Center of the Year, Award for Innovation in Customer Service, and Customer Service Department of the Year; 53 categories for sales and business development achievements, ranging from Senior Sales Executive of the Year to Sales Training or Business Development Executive of the Year to Sales Department of the Year; and categories to recognize new products and services and solution providers.

More than 75 members of several specialized judging committees determined the Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award placements from among the Finalists during final judging, that took place January 23 - February 1.

Sponsors of the 11th annual Stevie Awards for Sales & Customer Service include Sales Partnerships, Inc. and ValueSelling Associates, Inc.