Compass Intelligence Ranks Key Small Business Portals in 3Q 2011 - Verizon Ranks #1 Again

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Nov. 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- According to strategy acceleration firm Compass Intelligence, in 3Q 2011 Verizon had the highest ranked portal of 49 leading sites. This period's rankings examine more than 20 capabilities and show that the margin is narrowing among the top ranked. The vendors are ranked quarterly in terms of their ability to provide relevant online experiences to Small Business decision-makers. Aspects, such as online learning, site design and messaging, and ecommerce capabilities are examined, using monthly research with Small Business decision-makers as guidance. Portals must be tailored specifically for Small Businesses (<100 employees) and offer more than ecommerce to be considered.

"The Web channel is a powerful environment that enables two-way discovery: Small Business decision-makers discover your capabilities while you discover their needs and preferences," says Kneko Burney, Founder & CEO of Compass Intelligence. "We recommend vendors create experiences to get to know their customers online and use this knowledge to respond to them more intelligently everywhere – online and off."

In 3Q a number of vendors improved their Small Business support capabilities, as well as their general site design – with Sprint showing the greatest improvement. In terms of online support, Verizon and AT&T are the most capable, offering a number of options – including live click to chat. Sean Rowe, Portal Researcher at Compass Intelligence adds, "While design and support are key online, providing access to local resources, such as directories of agents, business-focused retail sites and local events, was rated as very influential in last month's Small Business decision-makers study. So moving forward, is something to explore."

Key Findings include:

• 3Q 2011 Top 10 – Verizon, AT&T, Sprint, Cisco, Dell, IBM, Windstream, cBeyond, XO Communications and CenturyLink
• Best Practice: Help & Support online is becoming more important. Companies that made improvements this period include Time Warner Cable, Cox and Comcast.
• Click to here to download a summary of this period's customer research

About Compass Intelligence

Compass Intelligence specializes in decision-support from idea to execution and customer analytics for the hightech and telecom industries. Our Experts make an impact through consulting, market sizing and segmentation, as well as in information portals, like SBOnline and www.ne2ne.com (an M2M community). Find us on http://www.compassintelligence.com or follow us on Twitter (www.twitter.com/CompassIntel).

For Interview or Other Requests
Kneko Burney
CEO
[email protected]
Sean Rowe
Portal Researcher
[email protected]

SOURCE Compass Intelligence