Rodolph Khoury, Managing Director – Dubai & Northern Emirates, Avaya, has written a thought leadership article in which he makes the case that only a holistic approach to CX will deliver real customer loyalty.
Having a great product is no longer enough to guarantee loyalty and keep customers coming back. Even brands known for their loyal followings based on their great products, are seeing customers ‘switch sides’, or move to completely different brands.
But there is one thing that can drive both loyalty and business growth – a holistic approach to outstanding customer experience.
The level of competition is strong no matter the industry, and there is an ever-increasing number of brands entering markets to stake their claim.
Add to the mix the impacts of unpredictable global challenges, such as rising inflation and economic uncertainty, and it’s clear why winning and retaining customers – many of whom are tightening their purse strings – is incredibly complex.
Then there’s the ever-evolving criteria which inform customers’ buying decisions. Corporate social responsibility (CSR), sustainability commitments and humanitarian causes are just some of the influential factors everyday citizens research before committing to a brand, whether it’s a bank, insurer, retailer, airline, or fast-food restaurant.
This plethora of variables makes customer service imperative. A report found 97% of consumers feel customer service interactions correlate directly with their loyalty to a brand, and 60% have switched to other brands on the back of a bad experience.
The data correlates with a separate report which indicates 81% of consumers are likely to become repeat buyers following a positive customer service experience. In addition, more than 70% of Middle Eastern businesses understand the significance of service availability and reliability.
But customer service isn’t easy; customers are demanding and can be fickle, and come with a broad range of preferences that businesses must constantly adapt to. Where once politeness and a smile may have appeased customers, today’s expectation is for organisations to accommodate the expectation for completely personalised experiences that can vary day to day.
This is especially true now that brand interactions are becoming more digital. In the UAE and Saudi Arabia, the average percentage of users choosing to interact through digital or remote channels has shot up to 78%. Customers want to self-serve, talk to AI bots, or speak with real people on their own terms, and don’t just expect responses almost instantly, but demand brands to anticipate their queries.
Among the biggest challenges in delivering customer service that meets these requirements is bridging the gap between current capabilities and these evolving customer expectations while mitigating the risks associated with overhauling business communications infrastructure and the costs that come with it. Other contributing factors are the continuing difficulty in finding and retaining top talent, alongside the imperative to drive revenue and growth amid competitive pressures.
Overcoming them relies on a holistic approach to customer experience (CX) – one which integrates CX with employee experience (EX) and business growth.
The formula for Enterprise CX, CX + EX = BG (business growth), reflects a symbiotic relationship whereby organisations are committed to investing in fulfilling customer needs to ensure every interaction is meaningful and contributes to brand loyalty, regardless of a customers’ preferred method of communication.
One part of that commitment means constantly evolving and refining employee training and upskilling programs. The other part is adapting and enhancing communications and engagement strategies to keep up with customer demands.
However, the prospect of making an abrupt change from existing communications infrastructure carries high risks for businesses, including disruptions to operations and customer service continuity. It’s instability that can not only hurt the CX brands offer today, but also cause consequences to future innovation and new business outcomes.
That’s precisely why any such transformation doesn’t need to happen overnight. On the contrary, a pragmatic, step-by-step strategy enables organisations to forge ahead into new territories, introduce new services and channels, and explore advanced capabilities such as generative AI without compromising existing strengths.
It’s about building upon what already works – leveraging familiar processes, systems, and technologies as a foundation for introducing new innovations. For most companies, the safest route to innovation is identifying specific functions or departments primed for change, and uphauling those before a new service is rolled out across the whole organisation.
This approach is especially pertinent for implementing AI, which, while far from a new concept, is still an early-stage vision when it comes to customer service.
Companies looking to supercharge their employees’ productivity while removing cumbersome administrative tasks have the opportunity to test a large language model (LLM) within a specific team, evaluate the outcomes, and make necessary amendments to ensure the final product that other teams gain access to won’t create disruption or demand steep learning curves.
This method is equally valuable for chatbots; research shows 94% of leaders believe AI can enhance customer self-service, but before all customers are asked to engage with a chatbot, it must be trusted to handle complex and unexpected enquiries.
CX, can make or break a brand in a world where customers are more willing to jump ship than ever before. By adopting a holistic approach to CX, rather than being tempted by a rapid overhaul that only solves for one part of the equation, organisations and their teams will be geared to meet the expectations of customers without exposing their existing successes to high-risk disruption.
