Marketing & Selling

Nerina van Niekerk is 24 and lives in Stellenbosch, some 52 kilometres from Cape Town, capital of one of Africa’s most wired provinces. In the Western Cape, 75% of people who are 16 and upwards have access to the internet. This compared to Gauteng, at 55%.

Mobile apps are the easiest way to connect and communicate with customers and they are also changing the way clients interact with brands and businesses. Business leaders are fast realising that mobile apps are one of the most effective strategies to boost business growth.

Thanks to digitalisation and the effective analysis of data, marketing continues to become more personalised and contextual. In fact, digital technologies enable companies to provide customers with relevant and quality experiences reflective of today’s real-time world. 

South Africa’s latest Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) for the second quarter of 2019 shows a three point increase to 93, presenting a marginally more positive quarter on quarter picture for consumer sentiment in South Africa. 

Customer experience is a growing priority for organisations, as it should be as it is becoming the most critical factor for customers selecting your brand over another. As such companies need to implement measures to meet customer expectations and deliver consistent customer experiences at every customer touchpoint.

Technology enabled Local Marketing Strategies (LMS) help leading franchises grow at a rate three times faster than competitors. One of the great challenges facing franchise businesses is to maintain their group brand identity while enabling LMS at branch level. Those that do, grow at a rate of about three times than that of their competitors.

The local contact centre industry is thriving and has seen substantial growth over the last four years, as South Africa became an enticing destination for offshore business. Concurrently, telcos across the world are seeking to improve their customer experience and reduce operating costs, largely due to disruptive business models, ever-increasing competition and the rising digital wave.

Despite the slowdown in the global economy, the luxury sector is seeing continued rapid growth. Given the declining economy, the question is, which South Africans can still afford luxury goods? From research conducted we see that the luxury culture is evolving and there are two main sets of luxury consumers in South Africa; traditional and non-traditional.

Few people find it easy to get up and give a speech in front of their professional peers, but a degree of public speaking is required in most professional spheres.

As digital transformation continues to evolve the business landscape, the market remains fiercely competitive for businesses and brands – especially when it comes to customer loyalty and retention. One industry where this rings especially true is aviation, where customers’ requirements for on-demand access to expert airline consultants must be met through a variety of channels when navigating their travel experience.