Tag: customer service

New guidelines coming into effect from 1 July 2021 include that for the first time, owners of new vehicles will be able to choose where they service their vehicles, without risk to their warranty. Prior to this landmark decision, motor manufacturers could cancel a warranty if a vehicle was not serviced at the dealership, a practice now declared incompatible with the Competitions Act.

The retail supply chain is large and complex, and constantly needs to adapt to meet changing demand from end consumers. The need for multi-channel fulfilment across online and in store adds to this complexity. Accurate demand forecasting is critical to every part of the chain, from manufacture to distribution to sales.

2020 has presented a myriad of new challenges for the food industry. Against a backdrop of increased demand, stringent safety measures, and the risk of shutdowns resulting from outbreaks, have converged to create a perfect storm.

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.

A global pandemic and the ensuing lockdown implemented in South Africa disrupted businesses across most sectors, putting small and medium sized businesses, in particular, under immense pressure. If 2020 has taught us one thing it is the extent to which we have come to rely on the internet.

As traditional media strategies faltered, 2020 highlighted the growing relevance of social media marketing and the need for businesses to relook customer engagement. Social media usage soared – both in number of users and amount of time spent on social media platforms.

If there is one thing 2020 has shown, it’s that the late Romantic poet Robert Burns was right, when in the 1700s he wrote, 'The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry'. COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on our ability to predict the 'what’s next' factor in our business environments and this year has seen businesses scramble from Plan A to Plan B, before working their way through the rest of the alphabet.

Even before COVID-19 plunged the world into crisis, artificial intelligence (AI), and more specifically conversational AI was fast becoming a key feature in the digitisation of customer-facing industries like insurance. In fact, Gartner had predicted that 85% of customer interactions will be managed without humans by 2021.

COVID-19 is a global pandemic, evolving at unprecedented speed and scale. It is creating a universal imperative for governments and organisations to take immediate action to protect their people. Self-quarantine. Social distancing. Community spread. These formerly obscure terms are now everyday words

Decades of research show that the most important key to success and happiness is the strength of our relationships. Winning at life depends on knowing how to win with people. In this book Justin Cohen, one of the world’s leading experts on human potential, will show you how to win with people.