How real-time insights give Tsebo Solutions Group the competitive edge

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. 

Transparency and customer retention 

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.” 

Client acquisition 

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.”  

Company culture 

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.”