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The world looks different today than it did a year ago. No one could have imagined the COVID-19 pandemic and the impact it would have on businesses and livelihoods. Due to the pandemic, 71% of companies have witnessed a revenue decline, forcing some to close down and those that are still in business, are under immense pressure to find new revenue models and offerings.
This new reality we find ourselves in is forcing companies to reconsider whether their current revenue models and offerings are adequate enough. Companies are forced to find new markets and new customers. Today’s customer wants more but is not willing to pay more. How do companies ensure that they give customers the experience beyond the product? The move from offering products to offering experiences shifts the focus from outputs to outcomes, whether for the individual or for wider society. As many companies look to build exceptional customer experiences we recommend they use data to inform the customer experience to be built, they look for partners to collaborate with and lastly they embrace digital.
1. Use data to build new customer experiences
The growing interest in customer experience will require the use of consumer data to allow organisations to capture value, using omni-channel retail and new digital operating models to win in the customer of the future race. In our survey we learnt that 42% of business leaders have a desire to venture into a new customer segment, but have not yet done so. Despite the lifting of lockdown restrictions, most South Africans are still unwilling to physically go to retail stores for goods. This means that stores who sell discretionary goods have to make such products available digitally or risk losing these markets. This is the sentiment echoed by Zumi Njongwe, Chief Marketing Officer at Nestlé, who explained that the Nestlé business is moving much faster than they had thought, in terms of bringing digital and a digital-by-design lens to their products and their portfolios. Since COVID-19, Nestle’s customer experience has changed from out-of-home experience to in-home experience. This means they now have to transform and accelerate their e-commerce to build better customer experiences.42% Desire to Venture into New Customer Segments
42% of business leaders have a desire to venture into a new customer segment, but have not yet done so
71% Revenue Decline
Due to COVID-19 pandemic 71% of business's revenues have declined.
2. Collaborate with partners to build better customer experiences
Companies are also forced to collaborate with start-ups in order to source solutions for their problems. Mbali Ndandane, Head of Digital at Unilever Africa notes that one of the start-ups they work with in Kenya, Twiga Foods, had to collaborate with an e-commerce platform, Jumia, in order to solve the problem of food waste which was happening in the country because of restrictions on movement. Twiga Foods could not serve its customers by delivering their produce, so in terms of their partnership agreement, Jumia sells their produce on their e-commerce platform.3. Embrace digital to build new customer experiences
Despite the challenging times in the market, there is a silver lining, the current pandemic we find ourselves in, has rapidly increased online services adoption, a digital wave has been afforded, an opportunity for companies to re-establish themselves as a product or service provider of choice with its existing and new customers. Progressive companies are looking for new ways to embrace digital offerings for their customers; intelligent multichannel by building on enhanced multichannel experiences using data analytics solutions to engage customers and meet their needs effectively, by being a socially engaging company leveraging social media interactions to increase customer intimacy and offering a digital ecosystem. The customer-centric approach is also visible in the healthcare system. The National State of Disaster has accelerated the need for telehealth and telemedicine in South Africa. Globally, telehealth and telemedicine has grown more in one month than in the last ten years, according to the World Economic Forum. Patients can now have an appointment with a general practitioner or a therapist virtually instead of physically going to the health facilities. This is a good development and it can only improve the healthcare system in South Africa. It will be particularly helpfully to disabled patients who have difficulty accessing health facilities and even those in rural areas with transportation challenges. It is also beneficial to the healthcare providers themselves as it will allow them to become more efficient and cater for more patients. The World Economic Forum notes that the lines have become much shorter at hospitals because of the presence of telemedicine. The South African public health system has also introduced health 3.0 in order to effectively cater for patients. Bandile Ntombela, Chief Information Officer at the Free State Department of Health says that the traditional healthcare system was focused on bringing patients to the facilities, but with health 3.0, the aim is “decanting the health services to the patient”. However, he notes that the bureaucratic nature of the public health system means that implementing it has been challenging, however necessary for government to prepare public health officials to better serve this digitally-inclined generation. This is in line with the recommendations by the World Economic Forum that health officials should receive training on digital tools alongside implementing digital health as part of the medical curriculum at universities.There is a new challenge for businesses and government, to rethink their new markets and new customers and reimagine the experience for their customers. If businesses choose to ignore this challenge, they run the risk of not surviving this era of disruption we find ourselves. Those that will survive will be those who take the time to understand what the customer of the future looks like, question what capabilities as an organisation they have to serve this new customers, and in cases where they do not have the capabilities, learn who they can partner with to help deliver to the demands of the customer of the future.
