Montréal, April 21, 2005 – The www.videotron.com site placed 4th on the list of the 25 best business-to-consumer (B2C) Web sites in Québec released today, ranking ahead of its main competitor.
The Top 25 list, compiled by the SECOR consulting firm and Concept S2i, is published in the May 2005 issue of Revue Commerce. It is based on an index that measures the performance of B2C sites using three major criteria: value creation, user experience and communicability, a new criterion added this year on which the Vidéotron site scored particularly high. The organizers of the list define communicability as the successful combination of form and content, of the message and the way it is delivered.
THE BEST POSSIBLE USER EXPERIENCE
"Vidéotron's mission is to provide its customers with the best possible experience," commented Robert Dépatie, President and Chief Executive Officer of Vidéotron ltée. "That commitment is our top priority, day in, day out. Therefore, we are constantly upgrading our Web site. I am proud of the work our people have done and gratified that it has been recognized by the experts in the field."
The videotron.com site has both informational and interactive features. It provides consumers with full information on Vidéotron's Internet, cable television and telephone products. Vidéotron customers can also access the self-service section in order to manage their accounts and adjust their services to suit their needs. For example, customers can temporarily boost their Internet connection speed, access their e-mail remotely or add new channels to their cable package for a given period. "Vidéotron lets customers take control of their services anytime, anywhere, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, without necessarily going through a middleman," said Mr. Dépatie. Vidéotron customers can also access many free features and exclusive services on the site.
The home page of the videotron.com site was recently overhauled to make information more readily accessible and easier to read. One example of improved user-friendliness is the section dedicated to residential telephone service. Having launched a major push into the telephone market in January 2005, Vidéotron wants to facilitate consumer decision-making by providing basic information on its new service at a glance, followed by detailed information to help consumers select an appropriate service package.
Vidéotron's popular services and user-friendly Web site are attracting growing traffic. The number of visits to the site increased dramatically during the past year.
"Access for the blind and visually impaired has been improved and the site has been entirely redesigned," said Nicolas Malo, Senior Director, Internet Site, Vidéotron ltée. "The jury noted our work on grayscale to make the text more readable and easier on the eye. And I think people can relate to the images on our site, which are relevant to the Québec lifestyle."
The Top 25 awards were handed out this morning at the Hotel Omni Mont-Royal in Montréal, with approximately 100 decision-makers and executives from major Québec corporations in attendance. The top five, including Vidéotron, received awards of excellence.
Vidéotron ltée (www.videotron.com), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Quebecor Media Inc., is an integrated communications company engaged in cable television, interactive multimedia development, Internet access services and residential telephone service. Vidéotron is a leader in new technologies with its illico interactive television system and its broadband network, which supports high-speed cable Internet access, analog and digital cable television, and other services. Vidéotron serves 1,453,000 cable television customers in Québec; including over 334,000 illico subscribers. Vidéotron is also the Québec leader in high-speed Internet access, with 527,000 subscribers to its cable modem and dial-up services.
