By getting certain fundamentals right, companies can deliver a great customer experience (CX) no matter what industry or region they operate in.
Wayne Haw, regional director for CX customer success: Middle East and Africa at SAP, unpacks what it means to deliver a great customer experience based on observations in 2024.
The customer is still king, and delivering a positive, memorable experience remains a top strategic objective for any company.
A PwC report highlights that nearly three quarters (73%) of consumers say CX is a crucial factor influencing their purchasing decisions. In a survey of 2000 South African consumers, 55% said they’d pay more for a positive experience at a grocery retailer, healthcare facility or fashion outlet.
A good customer experience means different things to different people, however. Regional differences driven by cultural differences and varying levels of sophistication means there is no one-size-fits-all solution to delivering a great CX.
For many consumers, a positive CX means seamless, fast and personalised buying journeys. For others, it’s quick, responsive customer service. Organisations need to put themselves in their customer shoes to understand what the different expectations are for the various customer segments.
Key differences in CX expectations across industries and regions
The regional differences in CX was made clear during a recent trip. Traveling through the US, the experience in bigger cities and metros was built on automation and efficiency, with extensive use of technology. In the smaller towns, the focus was more on personal touch and a slower pace.
Similar disparities are apparent in the Middle East. Companies in Dubai seek customer experiences built on efficiency, with a strong focus on digital experiences. In Saudi Arabia, companies focus on building relationships with customers, and prioritise maintaining those relationships over the long term.
Back home, recent interactions with companies in Cape Town and Johannesburg revealed disparities between two of the main business hubs in South Africa. As the country’s main industrial hub, Johannesburg’s business sector is led by manufacturing and services industries, which have different expectations of CX to those of companies in Cape Town, where the retail and financial sectors dominates.
The danger for companies seeking to enhance their CX efforts is that they fall back on cookie-cutter strategies. A successful CX initiative in the manufacturing sector – for example for Sasol – is vastly different to a successful CX initiative for a retailer such as Shoprite. Getting the balance right for your business will be the fundamental element of CX success in the months ahead.
Fundamentals of great CX
To deliver a consistent, positive experience, companies leverage technologies that can remove friction from customers’ lives and ensure a memorable and seamless journey across every touchpoint.
The use of powerful cloud technologies allows companies to deploy, test and quickly scale up new customer-facing innovations, or wind down CX-related activities that are not producing the desired results. In today’s world this agility is a must have as the days of long go-to-market periods are gone.
However, understanding the fundamentals underpinning a consistently positive customer experience is even more important than the technology mix that is deployed to enable it. Three of the most important CX fundamentals in 2024 and beyond include:
- Understanding unique customer needs – Cultivating a deep understanding of customer needs and expectations is a first step in developing an effective customer experience strategy. By using data and technology to gain insights into customer expectations and preferences, companies can design experiences that feel tailored and relevant. This contributes to increased customer satisfaction, improved retention, and building trust. Companies leveraging advanced analytics and cloud-based CX technology platforms such as SAP Commerce Cloud can shift their CX strategies beyond assumptions to actionable insights. Powerful new AI-powered technologies accelerate companies’ ability to act on data-driven insights, ensuring scalable and adaptive CX strategies that consistently meet or exceed customer expectations.
- Hyper-personalisation – Companies that deliver relevant and meaningful customer experiences have a distinct advantage over their peers. Here, technology is crucial, as it’s the cornerstone of hyper-personalisation. Advanced tools and cloud-based platforms enable companies to collect, process and analyse vast amounts of customer data that can be applied to CX strategies. Tools such as CRM systems and real-time analytics powered by AI enable companies to gain a 360-degree view of each customer, while marketing automation tools ensure each customer receives the most relevant message or offer at the right time and via their preferred channel.
- A focus on building trust – Trust is the foundation of all customer relationships and a key ingredient in effective CX. Without trust, even the most advanced personalisation efforts simply won’t break through. But trust is hard-won and easily lost. Disappearing loyalty points that expire before customers can redeem their value create negative perceptions that erode customer trust. Similarly, rewards campaigns that expect customers to navigate lengthy and complex redemption processes will likely fail to meet customer expectations, undermining broader CX efforts. Modern CX technology solutions help companies build and maintain trust by prioritising transparency, privacy, customer engagement and value. AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants ensure honest and clear communication with customers, preventing misunderstandings. And AI-powered feedback platforms help companies listen actively to customer concerns, ensuring they take corrective steps to protect and reinforce trust.
In conclusion
As we head into 2025 take the lessons from 2024 and do not forget about the customer in your 2025 CX strategy.
Start with understanding their expectations and build appropriate experiences based on their segment, be it regional, industry or even maturity level.