Tag: customer expectation

Modern enterprises are increasingly leveraging big data to achieve faster and better business decision making power, and as well as to gain useful insights that can drive efficiency and improve the overall customer journey. Big data is essentially a combination of structured and unstructured data that is huge in volume and grows exponentially with time.

We presented our 12th annual Tech Trends report identifying nine trends that are likely to transform businesses in the next 18-24 months. Insights include  strategy, risk, and finance implications that will empower technology leaders, business leaders and board members.

According to a study by Brain & Company, organisations with a Customer Experience (CX) mindset drive a revenue of 4-8% higher than the rest in their respective industries. Having a customer-centric approach is therefore vital for businesses operating in the digital age. Here, data is a key element in driving business operations.

When South Africa entered into a hard and extended national lockdown on 27 March 2020, banks responded rapidly and empathetically to their account holders' financial crisis. According to the Banking Association of South Africa (BASA), as at 24 October 2020, banks had provided over R50 billion in financial relief – R33,61 billion in payment breaks on credit agreements and R16,71 billion under the loan guarantee scheme – to South African businesses and individuals.

As companies increasingly invest in new technologies, one thing is clear: technology is everywhere, but value is not. The return on investment (ROI) is not as expected. According to new research that we have released, today’s business leaders are deploying new technologies in pockets, or silos without effectively scaling them across the organisation to realise the full benefits.

All of us have witnessed immeasurable changes in 2020, with disruptions to the way we live our lives and do business. Customer communication is no exception. While business was already embracing digital, COVID-19 only accelerated this transformation. 

We are on the cusp of the festive shopping season, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday kicking off the spending spree in the run up to Christmas and Boxing Day. However, this year’s shopping season will be very different compared to previous years as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The upshot is that many South Africans are emerging from the pandemic with considerably less spending power.

With the Black Friday shopping frenzy around the corner, the digital economy this year is expected to receive an enormous boost as many people will want to avoid crowds and take their shopping online. After a difficult year marked by severe disruptions and decreased demand, businesses will also be relying on this period to make up for losses due to the pandemic.

Disruption taking place through isolated digital innovations are a thing of the past. Instead, a complete digital policyholder journey is becoming the expectation within insurance. This can be attributed to how innovation has become commonplace for a business to stay ahead of the curve.

The fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic will see the battle of the banks intensify, as both legacy and challenger financial institutions race to use tech innovation to gain a competitive advantage in 2020/2021. To some extent, history may be repeating itself, as the financial pressure exerted by the pandemic forces bank management teams to pursue cost discipline while attempting to meet ever expanding customer expectations.