Sanitech is the largest sanitation company in South Africa, providing innovative sanitation and hygiene solutions. A division of WACO Africa, Sanitech has a wide network of branches throughout the country, with their toilet hire division operating across 26 branches nationwide. They also have the largest rental fleet in South Africa with over 30,000 units and 330 vehicles.
When companies are operating on this kind of scale, they simply cannot afford to lose site of their customer – as it can have significant negative consequences. Fortunately, Sanitech, who have been around since 1974, wholeheartedly understand this. Not ones to rest on their laurels, they appointed their first National Customer Experience Manager (Carolyn Ryan) in 2022, in effort to maintain their position as market leaders in sanitation and build on customer satisfaction.
While this was an exciting and innovative move by Sanitech (as dedicated CX roles are still a relatively ‘new’ concept), the challenge that lay ahead for Carolyn was achieving strategic alignment across all the different divisions and businesses. This is when she reached out to us, as a third party CX partner to employ our signature True Voice of Customer offering, which is anchored in verbatim customer research.
“Before embarking on nlightencx’s VoC programme, and reading Nathalie and Brendon’s Client Experience handbook, ‘Eat Your Own Lunch,’ I didn’t actually have a lot of insight into CX, as this was a new role for me. I assumed CX was just about how our customers viewed our services, but I quickly learned that it’s so much more than that.”
After engaging with the verbatim customer data, what stood out to Carolyn was how customer experience is a journey. “It’s a not a one-time shoeshine. There’s an entire journey that needs to be considered and it involves so many different stages.”
She found that the deep customer insights made it possible for her to break the customer journey up into these different stages, which made it simpler to strategise. It also enabled her to identify the problem areas that needed attention and put CX measures in place to address these issues.
From the initial set of research we did, the first CSAT score was 73% – fast forward only ONE year later, and the second CSAT score achieved was 80%. This is a significant jump in a short space of time, and a result that Carolyn attributes to implementing what we always call the ‘quick wins,’ or quick fixes.’ These refer to solutions that are quick (and relatively simple) to action but have a large impact.
For Sanitech, the quick fixes entailed focussing on client relationships, as our VoC research revealed that engagement was a low service driver for the company – with customers expecting more regular on-site visits from senior leadership.
“The research highlighted things that we can unintentionally take for granted. It’s easy for managers to get stuck behind their desks dealing with the issues of the day, but if you don’t have that client relationship, you’re heading for trouble. And it’s not going to serve us if only a few branches have great relationships with the clients, we need ALL our branches to be on the same page and to adopt the same approach.”
Sanitech’s goal now is to move the 80% CSAT score to 85%. To achieve this, Carolyn has implemented a robust customer engagement plan that requires area managers to compile a monthly report on the clients they have visited, outlining any issues that require attention.
After reading a copy of EYOL, Carolyn explained that it provided her with a good framework to conduct regular customer journey mapping exercises.“ The book outlines it in a way that is simple to follow and relate to. We can now follow our customers journey, so we know exactly where we are and what we need to do in order to improve upon our CSAT score and reach that 85%.”
– Employee accountability
Carolyn also highlighted that in conducting regular customer journey mapping, she has been able to allocate accountability for the different journey stages to specific individuals. Taking it a step further, this accountability has since been incorporated in monthly employee KPIs.
– Final thoughts
“We have now established what our lowest service drivers are, and we know exactly what we need to do to bring the scores up in these areas. This is thanks to having that deep layer of customer insight. Without it, you can never be 100% sure what your customers think about you. We’ve always had survey forms that have gone out with operational staff, but it’s not enough. And I’m pretty sure that when you as the company engage directly with your customer for feedback, that they are not always going to be honest. So, working with an external CX company has made a big difference for us. We have direction, we have focus, and more importantly, we are aligned!”
ADCORP, one of South Africa’s leading workforce solutions companies, has leveraged our Voice of Customer (VoC) verbatim feedback offering for over two years. This partnership has been pivotal in maintaining their competitive edge and driving meaningful action based on honest customer insights.
Why Impartial Customer Feedback Matters
When asked about the value of verbatim customer feedback, Carlos Rosa, Group Sales Executive at ADCORP, highlighted the critical role of impartiality. “We have a large and significant customer base, and losing contracts would have a substantial impact on our business. Having an independent organization regularly engage with our clients provides us with continuous, candid insights into their experience with us. This isn’t just generic feedback—it’s the kind of honest, unfiltered input that only comes when customers are speaking to an independent third party,” says Rosa.
Managing 17 brands within ADCORP, Rosa acknowledges that internal issues don’t always come to light easily. However, with our verbatim feedback reports, he can accurately identify these internal challenges. From an operational and staffing perspective, this transparency ensures accountability, driving improvements where they are needed most.
Ensuring Accountability and Driving Excellence
“With such honest feedback, there’s nowhere to hide,” Rosa explains. “Our CX reports are shared across the organization, reaching the CEO, senior management, and shareholders. This level of transparency ensures everyone stays on top of their game because if they aren’t, nlightencx will hear about it. Our clients are consistently transparent with nlightencx researchers, which I attribute to their independence from ADCORP, making clients more comfortable to speak their minds. Of course, the positive feedback we receive is equally valuable, reinforcing what we’re doing right.”
Client Retention as a Strategic Priority
In today’s global economy, client retention has become a critical strategic focus for many companies, including ADCORP. Businesses can only retain clients if they continue to add value and adapt to their clients’ evolving needs. This is where innovation plays a key role.
To remain relevant and add value in an uncertain economy, Rosa emphasizes the need to rethink traditional business models. Verbatim customer feedback is a key tool in understanding client challenges and driving innovation. “Clients don’t have the same budgets they used to, which impacts our business. By using the customer research we gather, we can pinpoint their problem areas and find ways to assist them. We’ve shown empathy and asked ourselves, ‘What offerings or products can we provide to help mitigate their risks?’ This approach has strengthened our relationships and kept our contracts secure.”
Innovating with Purpose
A prime example of this approach is seen in ADCORP’s temporary staffing division. Client feedback revealed that unproductive staff were more problematic for clients than for ADCORP. In response, ADCORP implemented assessment tools to evaluate candidates on attributes like honesty, tenacity, and ethics. This ensured that only the highest quality candidates were short-listed for temporary positions, easing clients’ concerns and reinforcing ADCORP’s commitment to excellence.
By analyzing honest customer feedback, ADCORP not only makes necessary internal changes but also innovates with purpose. This isn’t innovation for the sake of it, but rather to make a meaningful difference in their clients’ businesses. This is the true value ADCORP brings to the table.
“I don’t see nlightencx as a supplier; I see them as a partner,” Rosa concludes. “They consistently help me achieve my goal of retaining every single customer.”
TTRO partner with governments, academic institutions, businesses, and industries to create world-class educational experiences for the modern learner.
While we have known TTRO CEO and founder Kirsty Chadwick for some time, she decided to officially engage our CX services 12 months ago on an intentional journey of transformation within the organisation.
“We’ve been in business for 16 years, and most of our staff have been with us for a long time. I was starting to get the sense that there was hesitancy to evolving and changing the way we operate and how we serve our clients. I knew that AI was coming into the picture, the industry was moving forward and that if we didn’t make significant changes to the business that it’s future would be at risk. It was time to get external help.” said Kirsty.
So, we started with internal interviews with her team members, followed by Voice of Customer verbatim research with TTRO clients, and finally an in depth customer journey mapping process.
The input received supported the view that Kirsty had. While the clients enjoyed working with TTRO ( most of them are long-term clients), there were very real pain points for them, mostly in the form of how TTRO showed up collectively as a team. This was echoed in the feedback from the internal staff, who also raised issues and challenges around integrating process and operations. There was a lot of siloed thinking and an isolated mentality, which was impacting the end-experience for the clients.
This insight was further highlighted in the customer journey mapping process, which allowed TTRO to see what the clients were thinking and feeling at each touch point, and what potential solutions could make their experience more seamless.
“What was interesting for me was how nlightencx highlighted every single touch point and pain point in the client journey. And this wasn’t only beneficial in highlighting what we could be doing better, but it identified opportunities we were not realising.”
For TTRO, this entire process became the springboard for a complete transformation in how the company operates.
“It became very clear that we needed to restructure and redesign our operating model, so that we could align our way of working to meet the experience our clients were expecting, and our employee experience to prepare for our future growth. It’s been the most profound shift, and we are already seeing major benefits.”
The changes for TTRO have been extensive, and are still currently being implemented across the following areas:
“We’ve received so much value in working with nlightencx that we see the benefit in adopting their services on an ongoing basis. Our clients feedback was very genuine and constructive, and formed the basis of how we are now operating as a business. It also enabled nlightencx to pick up on opportunities for our business that we would otherwise have missed. I don’t see their work as a cost, but as a significant value-add to our business and how we want to show up for our clients. I would 100% recommend working with Nathalie, Brendon and the nlightencx team.”
DG case study
When we first started working with Digital Generation (DG) a few years ago, we gathered customer feedback with electronic questionnaires.
While this approach produced results, we knew the company could dig deeper and go beyond the generic online survey (which is so often just a tick-box exercise for people). There were more substantial and meaningful insights to uncover. With verbatim feedback, we knew we could make a bigger impact on the success of the company.
The IT industry is extremely competitive and excellent customer experience and service delivery is a key differentiator, so we pitched the idea to DG of looking a little closer under the hood.
To our delight, they agreed to a verbatim offering, which involved more targeted questions via telephonic research with their clients. And the results were really exciting!
“When the data came through from the verbatim research, we could immediately see where the problem areas were and what changes needed to be made. We never had this kind of laser-focused lens with email questionnaires.”
Trevor Naidoo, Managing Director of DG.
According to Trevor, a major appeal of verbatim research is the fact that a real live person is asking the questions, which means that the questions are more varied. “It becomes a proper conversation. It’s not just our clients doing us a favour by answering a questionnaire, and probably doing so half-heartedly.”
Another big benefit that Trevor found with this approach was the kind of ideas that were triggered from verbatim customer feedback. He said that the insights from the client discussions were so in-depth that they allowed the company to make deliberate changes.
“The questionnaire feedback that we had gathered in the past never gave us the information we needed to come up with solutions that would make any real impact. It merely provided a measurement of sorts. With verbatim feedback, the information coming in is a lot more concise. It’s less one-size-fits-all and more controlled, which I have found to be greatly beneficial to our decision-making and planning because it gave us a very clear direction.”
The DG client base relies on frequent feedback from the company on the status of the IT equipment orders they have placed. And while the company is proficient in providing the clients with information, what the nlightencx verbatim research revealed was that clients were not finding this information constructive.
“When this came to light, we sat down with our clients to ask them what they needed from us. They told us that they needed more engagement from our sales team in terms of offering knowledge and solutions. For them, it wasn’t just about our staff taking the orders or responding to queries. They wanted advice, suggestions, and recommendations. This was interesting feedback to receive because a lot of our clients are in the technology space, so it’s easy to assume that they don’t require further knowledge of the products. This presented an opportunity for us to be more than just a service provider to our clients.”
Further to this, a major insight to come out of the verbatim research was the need for the clients to have access to real-time feedback and information regarding their orders. So, the DG team went ahead and designed a platform that provided this data at the click of a button.
“In designing this platform, we gave our clients assurance that we were listening to them. We showed them that we are committed to modifying our business to suit their requirements, rather than them having to adapt to us and how we work. This has been very well received and put us in a good position regarding client retention.”
“Firstly, they are a great partner. They are always looking to do new things for our business and come up with new ideas. And secondly, their approach to customer research is really professional. Their researchers are not intrusive when it comes to engaging with our clients, in fact, our clients are always happy to engage with them. This makes the whole process smooth and efficient.”
Tsebo Solutions Group Case study
For over 50 years, the Tsebo Solutions Group has been providing companies across Africa with integrated workplace management solutions, which include superior facility management and cleaning services. An award-winning service provider, Tsebo attributes their success to their dedication to continued CX improvements.
“Our strategic focus on customer centricity, coupled with a performance measurement culture that is directly linked to customer satisfaction scores, gives Tsebo a key brand differentiator. We acknowledge that CX has become the new competitive battleground. We no longer obsess about the product but about how our customer experiences our product and services. And it’s this approach that has helped us to achieve our overall goals,” says Johan Hoogeweegen, Tsebo Solutions Group Group Customer Service Director.
In order to accomplish this level of customer centricity, Tsebo has undertaken a holistic approach to their CX strategy to include elements like customer-focused leadership, experience design, employee training, and key measurement metrics, but we believe it’s their rigorous approach to engaging data-driven feedback that has served them most of all. In this case study, we take a look at how using our real-time data platform, nsights, has contributed to Tsebo’s CX success, and ultimatley, their ongoing company growth.
The nsights platform gives our clients immediate access to real-time feedback. This allows them to proactively flag issues and address their customers’ needs in real time. For Tsebo, who manage accounts that have a multi-footprint (some being up to 100+ sites), having access to this data at the drop of a hat has been pivotal in retaining key clients. It’s enabled them to consolidate insights on retention by way of assessing the various levels of high, medium, and low risk for the business and the value of profits that are at stake.
“When we are managing so many different brands under one account, it’s critical that we know what’s going on across all of them. Some of our contracts are short-term, so in having a continuous understanding of how the client feels about us or rate our services, we can proactively make adjustments where necessary, thereby keeping them satisfied with our offering and securing contract renewals,” says Johan.
The company also frequently pull data reports from the nsights platform to share with their clients in feedback meetings and strategy presentations. This helps them demonstrate to their clients the areas in which things work seamlessly, and areas that need improvements. Not only is this an exercise in transparency, but also one of trust building. “We’ve found that a lot of our clients enjoy having the detailed information that the research platform provides. They are able to see how different members of their organisation and department heads are rating our solutions and how the customer satisfaction scores are calculated. It opens up a meaningful two-way conversation that engages the client and reinforces our commitment to service delivery,” says Johan.
“ To me, it’s no surprise that since we got a bit more serious about retention , a big part of which involves consistently diving into the real-time data, we have seen our overall CSI numbers grow steadily in an upward trend, roughly by 1 percentage point per year for the last 5 out of 7 years. Through COVID it went up 2 percentage points in one year as we got closer to our clients and cemented our position as a trusted partner.”
According to Johan, another major benefit of the nsights research data is how integral it’s become to their sales and client acquisition strategy. They use the data to represent bundled solutions to prospective clients and to showcase how their offering has been received in similar sectors.
“Our sales team can present real data that is not fabricated. They can showcase verbatim feedback from our clients that have been interviewed and talk through a level of detail that I don’t think our competitors can do. We have access to real-time edits of how we are performing in specific industries, and this is extremely advantageous when pitching for new contracts.”
Finally, in using the real-time research data to identify where their shortfalls are, Tsebo makes a point of upskilling and training staff in these areas. In having all employees on the same page, they are then able to measure performance against key service drivers and quantify how these drivers are contributing to overall company growth.
“If you have measurements in place on an ongoing basis, can you learn from the insights and see what works and what doesn’t. This then translates to how you go about closing any staff knowledge gaps, so that you can continue to build a culture of customer centricity – the holy grail of ongoing success.”
When we asked Johan if he’d recommend the use of our nsights platform, he said “ Absolutely, I’d definitely recommend nlightencx’s real-time research platform, especially for sales teams. It’s been such a useful tool for our sales force, because it’s enabled us to readily analyse trends, assess risk, and most importantly identify opportunities.”
“Offer your customers a long-term relationship, then do everything you can to build and maintain it,” is a quote by author and motivational speaker, Brian Tracy, and one that seems apt to reference when it comes to how the Adcorp Group approach CX.
A leading workforce solutions provider both locally and internationally, the JSE-listed company is in the business of helping organisations to access the skills they need to grow and streamline complex workforce processes. We at nlightencx have been fortunate to have a longstanding relationship with the group as their CX partner, with a large focus on our Voice of Customer (VoC) offering. If you’re not already familiar, VoC research uncovers deep insights into what a company’s clients actually think and feel about their services or products. This feedback then gets translated into actionable CX insights that work to inform operational strategy for overall business growth.
For Adcorp, they have found the VoC programme to be particularly valuable in the area of nurturing client relationships. “As a B2B business and largely a service provider as opposed to a product provider, it’s critical for us to understand what our customers think about doing business with us. Our ‘product’ is our relationship with the client, and this is where the voice of customer programme works to keep us at the top of our game.”
Given that a substantial portion of Adcorp’s offering is considered commoditised services, they frequently compete with other big players on various contracts. So, they use the ongoing VoC insights to react in an environment where the product or service can be easily transferable to a competitor.
In being able to respond quickly to client concerns that have been revealed by a CX interview or customer satisfaction survey, Adcorp has been successful in using client insights to not only retain client contracts but to also upsell and grow their business.
“As a consequence of CX intervention and client interviews, we’ve been able to use CX as our main differentiator. We’ve retained big contracts and picked up on things that have enabled us to redefine, adapt or innovate our offering. Our ability to timeously be both proactive and reactive is what sets us apart from our competitors.”
Case in point, based on VoC insights, the following adjustments mentioned below are just a few seemingly minor (but impactful) examples of why Adcorp has continuously been able to retain its top clients:
A big part of our job is to tailor make the research process for our clients, so that insights are not generic or vague, but meaningful and tangible. In having a thorough understanding of Adcorps offerings, particularly the commoditised services, we’ve been able to customise our VoC programme to uncover the valuable ‘nuggets’ that help to identify key areas of risk in the company, areas in need of improvement or a complete overhaul, as well as growth opportunities.
“The reason nlightencx has been with us for a long time is that they understand our business, they know who we are and what we offer. Even if a CX question seems generic, they can translate client feedback and make recommendations according to the nature of our products and services.”
As an independent party in the CX research process, Adcorp’s clients have been able to share their feedback freely with us, without fear of offending. From a client relationship perspective, which is a crucial element for B2B companies, this is invaluable.
In using our VoC programme as a third-party approach to obtaining CX insights, the group has been able to build and maintain its client relationships in some of the following ways:
“We find that our clients are clearer about future strategy when talking to a third party than talking to ourselves directly. You need to have a professional party undertake the interview process to extract the information you need. It’s this that brings the most value, and why nlightencx are the true experts.”
As one of the leading companies in Southern Africa’s non-life insurance (also known as short-term insurance) Old Mutual Insure (OMI) has been around for almost 190 years. Ranked #3 in the country, it seems this historic organisation is never tempted to rest on its laurels. Instead, OMI consistently evaluates its offering to see how they can do better through ongoing CX improvements.
In 2019, we were asked to work with OMI on a Customer Journey Mapping (CJM) exercise in their claims area. CJM is a CX tool that enables companies to get a better understanding of what their clients, intermediaries, and business partners, are thinking and feeling at each touchpoint. Simply put, it’s one of the most effective ways to theoretically and even literally ‘put yourself in your customer’s shoes.’
For those in the insurance game, claims is often considered the biggest moment of truth, because it’s at this point when the customer finds out if the insurance they have been paying for has added any value. And therefore, OMI wanted to review this critical touchpoint. They were eager to understand how they could make things more seamless, frictionless, and consistent for the customer.
“ Claims is such a critical customer stage for us, so we wanted to zoom in on this area and identify opportunities for CX improvements. There are many different role players in the claims journey, and it’s easy for feedback or status updates from your broker or customer to get lost. Communication gets lazy, loops aren’t always closed, and uncertainty creeps in. This is when all parties get frustrated.” – Antonia Oakes, Customer Experience & Sustainable Business executive, Old Mutual Insure.
To begin the journey mapping process, we gathered OMI employees in each of the different areas of the claims division (including divisions like marketing) to sit around the same table and articulate what they believe is the ideal customer experience for their clients. This crucial step of having more than just one or two department heads and staff in the CJM process goes a long way in both gaining the most thorough insights and getting ‘buy-in’ from all involved on the CX improvements that will need to be implemented.
In the case of OMI, it was clear that the team all wanted the same thing; a claims experience that was straightforward, hassle-free, and would evoke trust.
To make this desired vision for their customer a reality, we needed to first conduct an internal gap analysis. The aim of this was to rate and measure the OMI team’s own understanding of how key CX drivers fit into their claims process (e.g., personalisation, innovation, ease of doing business, staff empowerment, digital innovation, and customer feedback).
The lowest score in this exercise was personalisation, which referred to understanding different client personas and their pain points. What this told us was that this absence of ‘emotional awareness’ by staff, meant there was very little empathy for what different clients were experiencing.
“Learning that there were several staff in the claims division who didn’t understand the pain points of our clients was a big eye-opener for us. This is why journey mapping is so valuable because it reveals truths that are going unnoticed, while silently damaging your CX.” – Antonia Oakes, Customer Experience & Sustainable Business executive, Old Mutual Insure.
As part of the CJM process, we also asked the team to identify the concerns they believed were hindering the client experience. Below are just a few they listed:
● Lack of proactive feedback to brokers
● The need for additional and effective resources to meet client requirements
● Too many contact points within the organisation
“We found that having an independent party facilitate customer journey mapping sessions, and employee training programmes was very beneficial, as staff are more willing to open up.” – Antonia Oakes, Customer Experience & Sustainable Business executive, Old Mutual Insure.
Once we had identified the 297 claims touchpoints and walked through the client’s practical and emotional needs at each of the 12 customer stages, we were able to define what an ‘ideal’ OMI customer journey should look like.
Since you can’t implement all the changes overnight, we then sat with the team to compile a list of feasible ‘quick-win’ solutions (things that can be adjusted or implemented quickly, effectively, and affordably). For OMI, one of the most impactful quick-win solutions was providing brokers and customers with an infographic to guide them through the different stages of the claims process. Another was their windscreen automated claims system which enabled brokers and customers to lodge and finalise windscreen claims quickly and seamlessly without much human intervention.
“The CJM process gave us a much deeper understanding of our customers and brokers pain points, which informed key changes to be made to our claims process. Since implementing these changes, we’ve seen a noticeable rise in client satisfaction. We’ve also been able to identify where our focus needs to be with regards to digital innovation and UX design. Improving client satisfaction is an ongoing task as the ambition is to consistently exceed expectations” – Antonia Oakes, Customer Experience & Sustainable Business executive, Old Mutual Insure.
Further to this, OMI saw that there was an urgent need to embed a customer-centric culture within the organisation, and as a result, 80% of the OMI staff so far have gone on to receive extensive training in customer experience, however post COVID we have had a huge recruitment intake and a need for a repeat of the CX training is needed.
“What we’ve come to understand is that you can’t have a great client, broker, or customer experience unless you have good employee experience and engagement.” – Antonia Oakes, Customer Experience & Sustainable Business executive, Old Mutual Insure.
In line with their mission to inspire a customer-led culture that is based on empathy and understanding, we are now working with OMI on an “I AM OMI” culture strategy, which will help drive their CX vision within the different business focus areas. More on this in a follow-up case study.
“The great thing about working with nlightencx is that they won’t just leave you when the journey mapping is over. They guide you from a thought leader perspective and go on to give you a holistic, well-informed report which guides the organisation on what to fix, what to prioritise, and which remedial actions to implement to be the best in the industry within which you operate.” – Antonia Oakes, Customer Experience & Sustainable Business executive, Old Mutual Insure.
A leader in the global business events industry, the Cape Town International Convention Centre has become the go-to destination for events, conferences, and trade exhibitions. Since becoming their client experience partner in 2010, we have borne first-hand witness to how they maintain their status as best in class, through differentiating with a robust and always-on CX strategy.
Arming the CTICC with in-depth verbatim customer feedback each month has enabled the team to course correct where necessary and to operate with flexibility. This process, while not always an easy one, has made the CTICC proficient in creating memorable customer experiences, which has contributed to its international award-winning status as a first-choice hospitality provider.
In a nutshell, their success can be attributed to their ongoing commitment to CX and a fundamental understanding of their customer. Let’s take a look at how this approach has served them over the years.
Typically, service-orientated businesses require a customised offering instead of a one-size-fits-all solution, but you’d be surprised how many companies forget this. In having access to real-time client data and feedback provided by nlightencx, the CTICC has been able to pinpoint specific requirements across various client segments, and tailor-make solutions to meet these expectations.
CTICC’s large-scale operation depends on seamless communication between all departments. Whether it’s the sales department, events, food & beverage, or commercial department, if there is a breakdown of flow between these divisions, the customer experience can suffer. To avoid this, CTICC uses the latest feedback from clients that have booked with them within that month to assess where there might have been gaps in communication. For instance, in the case of short-term and long-term bookings, the quotation is handled by the sales division as is the client-facing coordination of the event. However, there are other execution aspects of the booking that require input from other departments, but a lot of the client feedback will be directed at the sales team.
It’s this constant drive for efficient communication between departments that have helped the CTICC team break down any silo mentality within the organisation and achieve monthly CSAT scores of up to 90%.
For CTICC, customer journey mapping has been one of the most revealing for them in terms of refining ways to enhance their CX. We’ve taken the team through full-service journeys so that they can experience each and every touchpoint as their customer would. Not only has this instilled a deeper sense of empathy with the customer, but it’s often prompted a unique redesign process that sets the organisation even further apart from its competitors. Companies tend to focus only on the customer that comes through the door, but CTICC is using journey mapping to gain a holistic picture of how all stakeholders and service providers experience their brand.
For example, there is a large pool of service providers that make use of the CTICC building. They have made sure there is a good customer journey in place for these suppliers because they understand that this experience has a direct impact on the overall delivery of an event for the end client.
Covid-19 knocked the wind out of most businesses, especially those in eventing services. In pivoting to provide digital and hybrid virtual events, the CTICC used this opportunity to use their client feedback to build an offering that would meet their clients where they were at.
No one really understood digital events. In the beginning, it was all very expensive, and companies were competing just on price. CTICC’s customers were telling them that it was just too much for them, so instead of compromising on quality, management listened very carefully to their client’s specific digital event needs and adjusted their virtual offering to be one that is affordable, flexible, and technically impressive.
The CTICC has since launched its own digital hybrid event platform called CTICC ENGAGE.
Maitland, a leading fund services provider within excess of US$ 200 billion in assets under administration, first approached us in 2016 to help with their CX. Around that time, they were going through a massive growth phase. The problem, however, wasn’t the growth, but rather the cracks in client relationships that were being revealed during the process.
“We’d always seen ourselves as being good at what we do, acting with confidence in our skills & expertise. We couldn’t understand why things weren’t going better. I guess you could say the problem was that we didn’t know what the problem was.” – Andre Le Roux (Head of Business Development, Maitland)
Many people historically saw Maitland as a back-office operation, but to top management and a lot of its clients, it’s a services business. Miles Osler, Head of Client Management at Maitland summarised their dilemma very well when he told us that the disconnect comes in because it can be difficult for both clients and staff to actually define who they are and what the client experience is. This was a huge red flag for us because one of the first steps in creating a customer-centric culture is to know how to articulate what it is your company offers, the value you provide, and why you are better than your competitors.
The fact that Maitland was willing to acknowledge there was a problem with their client relationships – and indeed the way they approached client management, was a big step, and it meant they had what it takes to commit to a robust CX undertaking.
Our recommendation to Maitland was to invest in a data-driven approach that went beyond just client satisfaction numbers on a survey scorecard. It was important for them to understand the WHY, and to identify what their clients really thought about them. To do this, we used our nlightencx True Voice of Customer (TVoC) programme to dig deeper and uncover some hard-to-hear truths. This process involved us speaking directly to Maitland’s clients, asking the right questions, and compiling in-depth verbatim feedback. Guided by our key CX service drivers (engagement, expertise, value, brand promise, and understanding and achieving client goals), we were able to identify the areas that needed more attention. Achieving a Client Satisfaction Score of 53%, engagement was highlighted as the main service driver lacking (46%), and through this arose more nuanced concerns like authenticity and trust.
“After seeing what the data and the verbatim feedback was telling us, we knew we were heading for trouble if we didn’t act, and in the right manner. Although we had years of operational expertise and a good reputation in the industry, it wasn’t enough. Our clients needed more than just service delivery, and we were prepared to put in the work to meet their needs. So, we decided to work further with nlightencx to do things better.” – Miles Osler (Head of Client Management, Maitland)
Engagement is not an easy service driver to get right, because it’s ‘intangible,’ and qualitative in nature. This can be extended to client management as a whole, which for Maitland had been managed increasingly from people not focussed on client management. They now found themselves in the position of not only knowing they needed to speak more to their clients, but they had to figure out what it was they needed to talk about. This is where the client data played such a critical role in providing a more quantitative benchmark. They were able to share important data points with client and fund managers, which provided them with various artifacts they could engage with the clients on. For example, a client manager could proactively inform a client about how their portfolio was performing across various KPIs, address issues of concern, offer reassurance, etc. And in presenting this information, clients were inclined to ask questions, allowing for further engagement and artifacts to talk about. The more engagement, the more clients could see that Maitland understood their goals and did what it took to help them achieve them.
In addition to sharing data with the internal team, Maitland developed multiple definitive client management programmes and worked regularly with us to gather ongoing client feedback. Over a period of 4 years, their client satisfaction score went from 53% to 86%, with engagement very quickly becoming their highest service driver.
How CX and a data-driven approach continues to serve Maitland
Despite the significant improvements and high client retention rates achieved over the last 5 years, Maitland has not let their CX guard down, and continue to engage CX to improve on their offering. As a result, their data-driven approach to CX has enabled them to monitor client satisfaction trends and client specifics that would have otherwise been unquantifiable.
For example, over the work from home period during the COVID-19 pandemic, they implemented a deliberate set of actions for their clients leading to an additional 12 percentage point improvement from pre-Covid levels.
Furthermore, Maitland recognises that transparency, authenticity, and trust are what builds quality client relationships. It’s for this reason, they consistently provide data-driven statistics that allow their clients and other key stakeholders to effectively look ‘under the hood.’
“A key takeaway for us in working with nlightencx was that they helped us to understand just how important CX is for the ongoing success of our business, and ultimately, to people’s continued salaries and bonus levels.” – Miles Osler (Head of Client Management, Maitland)
