Telerx Introduces Texting Solution for Consumer Product Brands

New SMS and MMS 1-800 Number Solution Enables Customer Care at
Point-of-Sale

KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Telerx,
a 30-year leader in multi-channel engagement of consumers, patients,
healthcare professionals and enterprise personnel, has launched an SMS
(Short Message Service) and MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) text
messaging solution that enables texting to existing 1-800 toll free
numbers — empowering leading consumer product brands to deliver services
via customers’ preferred channel of choice. According to a recent Harris
Poll, 64 percent of consumers would prefer to use texting over voice as
a customer service channel and 77 percent of millennials with texting
capabilities are likely to have a positive perception of a company that
offers text capability for support.

As text messaging continues to emerge as the leading channel of
communication for consumers, Telerx’s cloud-based texting solution
delivers advanced technology that enables a single 1-800 number to
support both texting and multimedia images and video. Through Telerx’s
agent-friendly portal, agents can handle multiple text message
conversations all in one screen, while viewing the history of each
conversation for context — streamlining the process and increasing agent
capacity, while reducing contact center costs. Additionally,
keyword-based auto reply messages can be set up to handle basic
questions such as product location, allowing consumers to receive a
relevant response even during unstaffed hours.

“Telerx researched the top 25 consumer product companies globally to
determine which were providing texting as a customer service channel.
The results of our research were surprising. Only one of the top 25 was
offering texting as an option for a select number of their brands —
revealing the industry is leaving significant opportunity on the table
by not taking advantage of texting as a consumer affairs channel, even
though consumers are eager to engage,” said Mike Brannan, Telerx’s Chief
Innovation Officer. “Core to Telerx is our commitment to technological
innovation to enhance the customer experience. Consumer product brands
are in need of advanced texting solutions that provide the essential
tools to more effectively interact with a prospective customer during a
purchase decision and deliver high-value results, including new customer
acquisition and increased customer loyalty.”

Consumer product companies can leverage texting to engage and support
their consumers throughout a variety of basic and more advanced
scenarios, including:

• Point-of-Sale Consumer Affairs Support: Consumers can text
  brands right from the store — at the critical point-of-purchase
  decision — with their product questions, helping to negate competition
  and improve customer loyalty.
• Offers at Point-of-Sale: Brands can increase sales by providing
  offers such as coupons, recipes and loyalty programs to their
  consumers while they shop.
• Enhanced Consumer Complaint Resolution: Consumers can text a
  picture of a product issue for immediate resolution, and the company
  can gain immediate insights into product quality issues.
• Proactive Outbound Messages: When leveraged strategically,
  brands can let consumers know in advance of upcoming renewals or
  loyalty program offers via their channel of choice.

For more information about Telerx’s new comprehensive texting solution,
please visit www.telerx.com.

About Telerx

For more than 30 years, Telerx, a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc., has
provided customer and patient care services to Fortune 1000 companies in
the pharmaceutical, healthcare and consumer packaged goods industries.
Using advanced technology, the company takes a customized approach to
create highly successful customer experiences for millions of consumers,
patients and healthcare providers each year and provide valuable
insights that help drive better processes and outcomes. More than 90
percent of the company’s clients are FDA-regulated. Headquartered in
King of Prussia, Pa., Telerx has additional contact centers in Horsham,
Pittston and Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; El Paso, Texas; Kings Mountain, N.C.;
Morristown, N.J; Hyderabad, India; Sofia, Bulgaria; and Dalian, China.
For more information, visit Telerx.com
or connect via Facebook,
Twitter
and LinkedIn.

About Merck

Merck is a global healthcare leader working to help the world be well.
Merck is known as MSD outside the United States and Canada. Through our
prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies and animal health
products, we work with customers and operate in more than 140 countries
to deliver innovative health solutions. We also demonstrate our
commitment to increasing access to healthcare through far-reaching
policies, programs and partnerships. For more information, visit www.merck.com
and connect with us on Twitter,
Facebook
and YouTube.

Forward-Looking Statement of Merck & Co. Inc.,
Kenilworth, NJ, USA

This news release of Merck & Co., Inc., Kenilworth, NJ, USA (the
“company”) includes “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of
the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon the
current beliefs and expectations of the company’s management and are
subject to significant risks and uncertainties. If underlying
assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize,
actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the
forward-looking statements.

Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, general
industry conditions and competition; general economic factors, including
interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of
pharmaceutical industry regulation and healthcare legislation in the
United States and internationally; global trends toward healthcare cost
containment; technological advances, new products and patents attained
by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development,
including obtaining regulatory approval; the company’s ability to
accurately predict future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties
or delays; financial instability of international economies and
sovereign risk; dependence on the effectiveness of the company’s patents
and other protections for innovative products; and the exposure to
litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions.

The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any
forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise. Additional factors that could cause results
to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking
statements can be found in the company’s 2014 Annual Report on Form 10-K
and the company’s other filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) available at the SEC’s Internet site (www.sec.gov).

Contacts

Media Contact:
For Telerx
Leanne
Scott Brown, 610-455-2742
lbrown@vaultcommunications.com