Tag: CustomerExperience

What is the biggest benefit of your customer portal? Is it the cost and efficiency savings you achieve by reducing reliance on call centre staff? Or perhaps it is the increase in customer satisfaction that comes from allowing customers to manage their accounts on their own terms, whenever it suits them?

Digitalisation has brought, and continues to bring, sweeping advancements in how companies go to market and how customers engage with brands. Agentic AI is now poised to disrupt even these developments. As a result, organisations are scrambling to invest in the "next big thing" because they fear being left behind. However, history shows that when speed becomes associated with winning, companies often blur the line between operational effectiveness and strategy.

Most loyalty programmes are built once and then applied across the board. While this approach may seem logical from an efficiency perspective, what works in aviation does not carry into hospitality or retail. Yet many programmes are still built as though customer behaviour follows a single pattern.

The Chief Marketing Officer role has transformed - but most organisations are still hiring as if it hasn’t. Artificial intelligence (AI), smartphones, social media, influencers and shifting customer expectations have transformed the way growth is achieved. Yet many organisations continue to misunderstand the evolution of the role.

Resilience and agility are key competitive advantages for companies. CRM is still one of the most reliable ways to activate these qualities. When it comes to Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software, the conversations are complicated.

Buying the right tools is the easy part. However, orchestrating technology, people and process at the standard global customers expect is why specialist Customer Experience (CX) outsourcing exists. There is a seductive logic to the way the CX technology market presents itself. A new platform promises unified customer data. A new AI tool promises faster resolution.

Customer Experience (CX) outsourcing is entering a new era. For many years, the industry measured success through scale, including seat counts, headcount and cost-per-contact. While those metrics still matter, they no longer define success on their own. Brands expect far more demanding outcomes. They want measurable business impact, stronger trust protection and seamless customer journeys delivered at scale. These expectations are shaping the new rules of CX.

In 2029, tokenised transactions are expected to double in value from $283 billion in 2025 to $574 billion. This market growth largely stems from the rapid rise of mobile payments, digital transformation and expanding ecommerce activity. In addition, security, personalisation and privacy continue driving adoption. While tokenisation applies easily across multiple industries, retailers increasingly use it to secure transactions.

What are the many AI voice bots about to help companies with customer engagement actually going to say? For all the hype and buzzwords around Artificial Intelligence (AI), what really counts is everything behind the voice. Ultimately, customers expect AI that actually listens.

South African businesses are showing real interest in Artificial Intelligence (AI) voice agents, and for good reason. The technology has advanced significantly. These technologies can now respond quickly, hold more natural conversations and create a better, locally relevant customer experience.