Quantcast
Marklives.com

Marklives.com

Covering Africa's changing media, marketing and advertising landscape.

  • Home
  • Sections
    • Media
    • S’HOT
    • Marketing
    • Tech
    • Adland
    • Archive
  • Columns
    • Adnalysis – Bogosi Motshegwa
    • ABC of Scale — Charlie Mathews
    • Agency Leaders – Most Admired Poll
    • Agency Life – TJ Njozela
    • Back2Basics – Mark Eardley
    • Big Q – MarkLives Panel
    • Brand Culture – DK Badenhorst
    • Cartoon – The Marketing Mice
    • Circulation Data – ABC Analysis
    • Clicks ‘n Tricks – Charlie Stewart
    • Cover Stories – Shane de Lange
    • The CX-Files – Julia Ahlfeldt
    • Dear Radio – Paulo Dias
    • Dissident Spin Doctor – Emma King
    • Fair Exchange – Erna George
    • Gestalt – Leeya Hendricks
    • Global Headline Makers – Mark Tungate
    • Headspace – Tenielle Maris
    • Hermaneutics – Herman Manson
    • Hidden Figures – Musaba Kangulu
    • Masterclass Notes – Johanna McDowell
    • Media Future – Arthur Goldstuck
    • Media Redefined – Martin MacGregor
    • Motive – By Invitation Only
    • Only Connect – Bradley Elliott
    • Shelf Life – Cheryl Hunter
    • South African TV Ratings
    • The Interlocker — We cover comms
    • The Martini Shot – Bobby Amm
    • The Real McCoy – Sean McCoy
    • Thinking B2B – Warren Moss
    • Unorthodoxy – Gau Narayanan
    • Fragments – Marguerite Coetzee
    • Young, Gifted & Killing It – Veli Ngubane
  • Find an Agency
    • Shortlist & Compare Agencies
    • List your Agency
    • List as Agency Supplier/Service
    • Register as a Marketer
    • Company News Feed
    • Upgrade to Ramify Premium
    • Add Premium to Cart
  • Data
    • Biggest SA consumer magazines
    • Biggest newspapers in SA
    • Top 50 SA advertisers 2016
    • South African ad agencies by revenue
    • South African TV Ratings
  • Careers
    • Advertising
    • Digital
    • Marketing
    • Media
    • Public Relations
    • View All
  • About
    • About & Contact
    • Advertise
    • Partners
    • Shop
The CX-Files – Julia Ahlfeldt
customer-experience-best-excellent courtesy of Pixabay

The CX-Files: The CX metrics that matter most to customers

  •   April 10, 2018
  •   0

by Julia Ahlfeldt (@JuliaAhlfeldt) The business climate is changing fast, regardless of what sceptics say. To adapt to the new environment, businesses across all sectors need to understand the magnitude of the shifts taking place. They may seem small and incremental right now, but would you know when a critical mass is reached? And would you know well enough in advance to plan for it?

Just think of climate change as an analogy and the City of Cape Town as an example of how catastrophic the results can be when you don’t pay attention to the small changes, or wait and act when it’s already too late.

Major shift

The major shift every business leader needs to appreciate is the ever-increasing power of the customer. In an age of social media, ecommerce, and accelerating AI that has the capacity to understand each customer’s individual preferences and values, focusing on the customer is crucial.

Often when I say this, people will nod and say, “Yes, we know, the customer is king, but it’s always been that way.” To some extent that’s true, but consumers have never had the ability to broadcast their feedback or change behavior as quickly and as effortlessly as they do now. New technology-based products are springing up daily, and local businesses may find themselves having to compete with global companies. The developers of Airbnb, for example, knew nothing about the travel and tourism landscape in South Africa but they built a product centred on universal customer needs, and local travel/tourism industries across the globe have been scrambling to adapt.

As the old saying goes, “what got you here won’t take you there.” Just because you have the customers now, doesn’t mean you always will — just ask Kodak. South African businesses are actually lucky on this front as we can get a glimpse of what the future holds by looking to developed markets.

Four elements

My belief is that the best way to future-proof your business is to prioritise your focus on the customer at every level of your business. They are your greatest asset, they are your best ambassadors, and they offer your biggest opportunities.

These are the four elements of CX* customers say matter most:

  1. Delivering on your brand promise

Clarifying your brand promise and equipping the business to live up to it every time your customer interacts with your brand is the “new normal”. Any business that fails on this front will face trial-by-social-media and lose out on the key currency of the future: trust and loyalty. Just last month, millions of people across SA knew within hours to throw out Enterprise Foods, thanks to the power of information sharing via social media. Given the severity of the brand’s failure, it’s going to be a long, and perhaps impossible, journey to regain trust.

  1. Resolution of issues

Customers have always wanted issues resolved quickly and completely, so it’s surprising how many companies fail here. But, in the age of social media, ignoring your customers’ complaints and hoping they’ll go away is no longer an option. Invest in the staff, systems and procedures that will help you effectively resolve customer issues, rather than doling out for spin doctors and social media strategists once customer outrage has already gone viral and damaged your brand.

  1. Ease of use

Your customers have embraced technology; it’s time your business does, too. Are there ways you may enhance and simplify your processes to reduce painpoints for customers?

I had a recent interaction with my bank, where I needed to submit all my FICA documentation to update my details and get a new cheque card. This is a schlep in itself but, ok, it’s a regulatory requirement, so I understand it needs to happen. A few weeks later, the credit card department at the same bank requested that I resubmit all of the same documents — because the cheque account department has nothing to do with the credit card department.

From my view, as a customer, I’m dealing with one bank, one brand, and it shouldn’t be my problem that there’s an inefficient silo structure in place. This kind of interaction is a weakness that may cost you customers when a simpler, easier alternative becomes available.

  1. A value proposition they believe in

In a world of overwhelming choice and options, customers are drawn to products and services that align with their unique values and preferences. Delivering on brand promises, resolving issues and making experiences easy are the “basics” of good customer experience. These factors are the foundation of customer loyalty but, beyond this, brands must also offer compelling experiences that differentiate them from the rest. This is where the magic happens, and organisations can create branded experiences and foster emotional connections that hopefully evolve into lasting relationships.

Takealot vs. Yuppiechef is one of my favourite examples of this. Both brands have done a good job of delivering on the basics, but they have effectively differentiated their offering: Takealot emphasises a value proposition of price and broad product assortment. Yuppiechef offers a value proposition that is about curated products, expert advice and highly personalised service.

*I developed the Elements of CX after analysing recurring trends among customer wants/needs as I worked with various clients to evaluate their customer’s feedback. These elements are applicable across industries and in a B2B or B2C context.

 

Julia AhlfeldtJulia Ahlfeldt (@JuliaAhlfeldt) is a certified customer experience professional (CCXP). She consults to blue-chips and multinationals, working with Virgin Active, Momentum, Absa, and American Express, Ross Stores and JP Morgan Chase in the US, among others. By tapping into her vast local and international network, she produces a monthly podcast, Decoding the Customer, interviewing leaders on CX trends and adoption (including Michelle Beetar). She contributes the new column, “The CX-Files”, to MarkLives.

— One subscription form, three newsletters: sign up now for the MarkLives newsletter, including Ramify headlines; The Interlocker, our new monthly comms-focused mailer; and Brands & Branding, launching soon!

Columns

  • *Young, Gifted & Killing It – Veli Ngubane
    *Young, Gifted & Killing It – Veli Ngubane
  • ABC of Scale — Charlie Mathews
    ABC of Scale — Charlie Mathews
  • Adnalysis – Bogosi Motshegwa
    Adnalysis – Bogosi Motshegwa
  • Agency Leaders – Most Admired Poll
    Agency Leaders – Most Admired Poll
  • Agency Life – TJ Njozela
    Agency Life – TJ Njozela
  • Back2Basics – Mark Eardley
    Back2Basics – Mark Eardley
  • Big Q – MarkLives Panel
    Big Q – MarkLives Panel
  • Big Reads on MarkLives
    Big Reads on MarkLives
  • Brand Culture – DK Badenhorst
    Brand Culture – DK Badenhorst
  • Brands & Branding – Affinity Publishing
    Brands & Branding – Affinity Publishing
  • By Invitation Only – Motive
    By Invitation Only – Motive
  • Cartoon – The Marketing Mice
    Cartoon – The Marketing Mice
  • Circulation Data – ABC Analysis
    Circulation Data – ABC Analysis
  • Clicks 'n Tricks – Charlie Stewart
    Clicks 'n Tricks – Charlie Stewart
  • Cover Stories – Shane de Lange
    Cover Stories – Shane de Lange
  • Dear Radio – Paulo Dias
    Dear Radio – Paulo Dias
  • Design Indaba – Festival of Design
    Design Indaba – Festival of Design
  • Design Plus – Mark Tungate
    Design Plus – Mark Tungate
  • Dissident Spin Doctor – Emma King
    Dissident Spin Doctor – Emma King
  • Fair Exchange – Erna George
    Fair Exchange – Erna George
  • Fragments – Marguerite Coetzee
    Fragments – Marguerite Coetzee
  • Gestalt – Leeya Hendricks
    Gestalt – Leeya Hendricks
  • Global Headline Makers – Mark Tungate
    Global Headline Makers – Mark Tungate
  • Headspace – Tenielle Maris
    Headspace – Tenielle Maris
  • Hermaneutics – Herman Manson
    Hermaneutics – Herman Manson
  • Hidden Figures – Musaba Kangulu
    Hidden Figures – Musaba Kangulu
  • Masterclass Notes – Johanna McDowell
    Masterclass Notes – Johanna McDowell
  • Media Future – Arthur Goldstuck
    Media Future – Arthur Goldstuck
  • Media Redefined – Martin MacGregor
    Media Redefined – Martin MacGregor
  • Only Connect – Bradley Elliott
    Only Connect – Bradley Elliott
  • Shelf Life – Cheryl Hunter
    Shelf Life – Cheryl Hunter
  • South African TV Ratings
    South African TV Ratings
  • The Ad of the Week – Oresti Patricios
    The Ad of the Week – Oresti Patricios
  • The AdForum Summit – Johanna McDowell
    The AdForum Summit – Johanna McDowell
  • The CX-Files – Julia Ahlfeldt
    The CX-Files – Julia Ahlfeldt
  • The Interlocker — We cover comms
    The Interlocker — We cover comms
  • The Martini Shot – Bobby Amm
    The Martini Shot – Bobby Amm
  • The Real McCoy – Sean McCoy
    The Real McCoy – Sean McCoy
  • Thinking B2B – Warren Moss
    Thinking B2B – Warren Moss
  • Unorthodoxy – Gau Narayanan
    Unorthodoxy – Gau Narayanan
  • View All
  • QA Tester
    April 19, 2018
  • Snr Account Director – Award winning independent agency
    April 19, 2018
  • Junior Digital Account Manager: Retail/FMCG
    April 19, 2018
  • Marketing Coordinator: Sport
    April 19, 2018
  • Mid-Senior Packaging/Product Designer
    April 18, 2018
  • Mid-Senior Graphic Designer
    April 18, 2018
  • Senior UX Designer
    April 18, 2018
  • Marketing Manager: Premium Alcohol Brand
    April 18, 2018
  • Graphic Designer
    April 18, 2018
  • Brand Strategist
    April 18, 2018
  • Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Leave a Reply Click here to cancel reply.

    No comments yet.
    Facebook
    Like us on Facebook
    Twitter
    Follow us on Twitter
    Google Plus
    Add us on Google Plus
    YouTube
    Join us on YouTube
    Pinterest
    Follow us on Pinterest
    Subscribe Newsletter

    Get our round-up of top ad and media industry news every Monday and Thursday.

    Useful Links

    • About & Contact
    • Comment Policy
    • Advertise
    • Partners

    Partner