Your trusted CX partner -
Our services at a glance
VOC (VOICE OF CUSTOMER) RESEARCH
Our in-depth Voice of the Customer research (VoC) uncovers deep insights into what your clients actually think about doing business with you. Our promise with our VoC offering is to give you meaningful, actionable insights that work to retain your clients and grow your business.
Good VoC research goes beyond just sending out surveys hoping for kind comments. It digs deeper, and shifts from collecting aggregate data to collecting information about each individual. Most importantly, it asks the right questions.
While collecting feedback has always been an important part of marketing, it’s knowing how to use this feedback to constantly improve on your offering that will set you apart from your competitors. You need to be speaking directly to your customers’ ever-changing needs.
Take a look at our 10-minute explainer video on how we use our True Voice of Customer Programme to increase a company’s sales by up to 30%. Purposefully designed with three unique stages, this framework is a game-changer for businesses as it takes them from being genuinely customer-unaware to customer-centric.
Interested to see how our True Voice of Customer programme can increase your sales by up to 30%?
Watch our Explainer Video now.
Strategic client research
This involves performing research at a strategic level with key decision makers and stakeholders. Results of this research will reveal to what extent you are satisfying the needs and demands of your customers, as well identify key areas of risk. This type of strategic research plays a huge role in client retention.
Operational research
The operational research we undertake takes place at management level, providing insight into your day-to-day operations. You’d be surprised how much of the ‘going-ons’ at this level are either enhancing or harming your clients experience. A key takeaway from our operational level is understanding what needs to be improved upon internally in order to meet the expectations of your customers.
Customer focus groups
Our team of expert research facilitators lead targeted focus groups to gain feedback and actionable insights from your customers. Our approach is one of collaboration, which makes participants feel comfortable and engaged. Not only does our collaborative methodology test customer sentiment, but given that we are independent from your business, customers are more likely to be truly open and honest. While feedback can sometimes be negative, this feedback is invaluable in building deeper relationships with your clients.
Employee engagement research
Often an overlooked area in companies, employee research helps us to gain a thorough understanding of employee work satisfaction and involves a deep dive into what’s making them happy or unhappy. We then work closely with your team to design practical solutions that empower them, improve productivity, customer service and overall performance.
Mystery Guest Shopping Experience
Sometimes the best way to understand your customers is to become one yourself. Our mystery guest and shopper services allow you to experience what your customers do first-hand. We use a network of highly experienced mystery shoppers who gather information across all sectors to rigorously test your operations, products, and customer service. By the end of the process, they will have a list of what you’re doing well, what needs work and how you can improve upon the experience for your customers.
"nlighten has a very professional approach and attitude; the way they treat their clients is second to none. They are honest and do not mince their words, which we appreciate. I’ve had this experience with both Nathalie and Nicola."
"nlighten consistently demonstrates that they understand our expectations. The qualitative feedback they have provided in terms of our client’s perception of our service has helped us to keep on top of our game. We have transformed the business as a result. There is a growing trend globally to provide evidence of the CX. We have an internal process at Tsebo to monitor client feedback and the research from nlighten provides the qualitative element. They have been a great support on this journey."
"nlighten will always be a partner that we can use for research and as a sounding board. They have assisted with tactical business projects where we needed some immersion work to be done to inform the way forward for those projects We see them as a trusted partner who offer thought leadership and insight into global best practice. We need to continuously be innovative, and I believe that this is the area that nlighten adds value."
"nlighten delivered on their promise and our expectations were fully met. They took the time to scope the interview questions with me and the feedback that we received was spot on. They are extremely professional. We see huge value in engaging with nlighten. They offer a personal touch in hearing the voice of the customers. I much prefer this approach to an online survey. The interviews are professionally conducted, and the feedback has been trustworthy and informative. This speaks volumes about nlighten’s credibility."
"nlighten is passionate and enthusiastic about what they do. They display a keen willingness to help us get to the top of our game, and their research questions to clients are well-structured."
"nlighten is really good at relationship building and they quickly got to know our business. They present themselves and their services in a very professional manner and we consider them an important strategic business partner. Over time, they have come to understand our business well."
"nlighten very quickly came to understand the specifics of Maitland’s various business streams. They are open, available and approachable, and it’s a real pleasure to do business with them. nlighten is good at pushing the conversation forward and quick to suggest next steps. Information is always presented in a logical and easily digestible format, and their follow-up is also exceptional. They drive an objective hard, and we appreciate that."
"nlighten has become a real business partner to us. They are involved with and interested in our success, offering an integrated service, although we haven’t always been fully aware of all that is on offer. They are flexible in their reporting and when co-creating research questions with us. Once a problem has been diagnosed, they quickly offer recommendations about the way forward. nlighten takes its relationship with us very seriously indeed."
"nlighten are experts at customer service, drawing analytics from their research and getting relevant information from our clients."
"nlighten’s response times are good. They are excellent communicators and have a comfortable and relaxed way of communicating, while their reports on and presentation of research are of an exceptional standard."
"Our business is based around our clients and the relationships we have with them. Nathalie and her team took the time to understand our business and our desired outcomes. The process has been extremely informative, added tremendous value, been easy to develop and represents value for money to us. We will continue to work with nlighten in the future and highly recommend their business and the process."
"The feedback we get from nlighten regarding our guest experience is concise, understandable, well-presented and includes very relevant strategic insights. Our partnership with nlighten has added untold value to our business. So important is the nlighten feedback to us, in fact, that it has been included as an essential component of our staff incentive programme."
"It’s not often you find exactly the right service provider for your needs via an internet search, but with nlighten, that’s exactly what Nashua Mobile has done. I have been so impressed with the quality of research, the presentation of results and the strategic understanding I’ve enjoyed from nlighten that I have already recommended them to a number of my colleagues in other areas of our business. nlighten has become an integral part of our service strategy."
"nlighten is good at building relationships and they make a huge effort to understand our business. nlighten’s output is excellent, as is their attention to detail. They are passionate about making a difference…and they do!"
"nlighten has become a real business partner to us. They are involved with and interested in our success, offering an integrated service, although we haven’t always been fully aware of all that is on offer. They are flexible in their reporting and when co-creating research questions with us. Once a problem has been diagnosed, they quickly offer recommendations about the way forward. nlighten takes its relationship with us very seriously indeed."
"nlighten’s execution is always top drawer, reliable, trustworthy and consistent. Nathalie and Brendon offer a service that is different from other service providers - we get the sense that they consider our business their business. They always have their ear to the ground for international best practice."
Real-Time Research Platform
To help our clients proactively address their customers’ needs in real-time, we have developed nsights; our proprietary online platform that allows immediate access to customer feedback in a seamless easy-to-use way.
To really have your finger on the pulse of your customer and client experiences (CX), you need to have access to all the relevant data at the click of a button. Having the ability to quickly and effectively access and analyse client data means you can address problems early on, before clients make a run for it, or worse, their complaints go viral in the public domain.
Our state-of the-art Real-Time Research platform, nsights, is designed to equip you with the most up-to-date, accurate information. Available anytime, anywhere, you can sign into your account and check the status of a project. A great tool for identifying customer behaviour patterns and trends with a quick tap of the finger.
"Our experience with nlighten has been excellent. We have derived a lot of value out of what they have done in helping us to see our customers in a different way for the first time. They have collated information in a very digestible format and have positioned the good, the bad and the ugly in a way that is easy to understand. "
"nlighten deliver what they promise and consistently supply proactive intelligence, which plays a strategic role in how we manage our business. What’s more, nlighten is quick to identify on-sell opportunities and point out problem areas that we can respond to promptly. "
"Their reports are detailed, and we learn from both the positive and negative comments. We take both seriously and take cognizance as to what we are doing right and wrong. "
Strategy
By extracting key customer research insights, we develop an action-focused CX strategy that is in line with your business goals. This strategy provides your team with a CX blueprint that they can follow, which will ensure everyone is on the same page, working toward a shared vision.
At the core of it all, Customer Experience cuts across every part of an organisation:
The success and smooth working of each aspect of your business stems from your Customer Experience. A CX strategy supports this success, by keeping one objective in mind – keeping your customer happy.
Most businesses focus on the organisation instead of their number one asset, the customer. This is called the inside-out approach, which puts you at risk of high customer churn, and often results in having to invest in an expensive client acquisition strategy. Acquiring a new customer can cost you 5 times more than retaining an existing customer (Invesp Consulting :Customer Acquisition vs Retention).
To avoid having to go down this expensive road, the best thing your company can do is have a robust CX strategy in place that is geared toward client retention, risk mitigation, and identifying cross and up-sell opportunities.
Did you know that the online marketplace has led to the number of customer touchpoints growing by 20% every year? This means that having an integrated customer journey becomes vastly more complex, and why having an effective CX strategy in place will serve you.
With cross-sector experience and expertise, we will work with you to design and implement a CX strategy that is underpinned by data-driven customer insights. This will ensure you offer a market-leading customer experience that is streaks ahead of the competition.
"We value their input offering us an independent view in terms of strategic alignment. We are confident that they are the experts and they have enabled us to take CX to the next level. We have been tracking the client experience since 2017 as a result of the intel that nlighten provides, it has improved. nlighten is an integral part of that improvement I see Nathalie and Brendon as friends as well as trusted partners with a great deal of integrity. "
"We have received very valuable feedback which highlights where we are at risk of losing a client and also where we are doing well and what opportunities we can build on. Getting closer to the customer is of top strategic importance. nlighten has helped us start that conversation with our clients, which is something we haven’t been very good at in the past. They are very hands on and involved. They are the easiest service providers that I have had to deal with. "
"nlighten have made us sit up and think. The issues that they have raised have informed our business strategy and we have taken very specific actions as a direct result. We can rely on nlighten to tell us the truth. Often the client might tell us one thing that is not necessarily the whole truth (clients want to protect us because there is a long-term relationship in place) so clients are generally more frank with nlighten and the feedback is more balanced and more mature."
"nlighten live what they stand for, setting an excellent example of creating good customer experiences. The nlighten team are good communicators, making sure they remain top of mind. They are incredibly professional and efficient. We appreciate nlighten’s high standards."
"The Singita Directors were in agreement that the format of the programme, the delivery thereof and the outcomes were of a quality and level that exceeded our expectations. This has ensured that we have invited nlighten to facilitate a strategy session for the group, in the near future. There is no better endorsement than to be invited back."
Training
Equip your management teams with the framework, knowledge, and skills to deliver world-class customer experiences. We offer various open and customised CX training, as well as our signature SETA-accredited Train-the-Trainer Programme.
We always say, we don’t want ‘happy’ staff, we want ‘engaged’ staff. We want them to be a part of the bigger picture, to be committed to a shared vision and purpose. If your staff are engaged in their work, not only will you retain their skill and talent, but they will be proud to work for you. And this is the golden thread of creating a consistently superior customer experience for your clients.
Our training programmes will help you transform your business culture into one that is laser-focussed on the customer. Designed to suit all business objectives and budgets, our various programmes will inform, motivate, and empower your teams to deliver on the highest standard or service.
Still not sold on the power of staff training? Consider this stat – if you have engaged employees, you can see a 65% greater share price increase. It just makes good business sense!
CX MASTERCLASS
This two-day workshop is a highlight on the CX calendar and is open to anyone. Hosted by our dynamic CX duo, CEO Nathalie Schooling and Director, Brendon Bairstow-klopper, the class is a must for any company looking to take their CX to the next level. With an action-packed agenda and top industry guest speakers, delegates will walk away with CX tools they can start using right away.
To find out more about our upcoming CX Masterclass, click here
CUSTOMISED TRAINING
In this programme, we create a bespoke training solution that is tailored toward your specific business needs and outcomes.
TRAIN-THE-TRAINER
The ultimate sustainable CX solution, our market-leading SETA-accredited (NQF level 5) Train-the-Trainer programme is the perfect way to give your staff the knowledge and tools to train the next generation of CX champions within your organisation. Ideal for executives, learning & development facilitators, and even junior managers.
"The nlighten team were entertaining and informative. They give everyone in the room actionable tools to immediately improve CX across any corporate structure. It was great value and something I would recommend to any company or team looking to survive the next decade."
"nlighten is very focused on what they do, and great at engaging people. There is a spark you can feel the very moment you meet the nlighten team. They are inspiring and have a refreshing ‘tag team’ way of presenting their content. This keeps audiences interested and engaged."
"The feedback has been great from those who have attended the @your service programme. The delegates have never received anything like this before. The content has stood up to the test of many delegates. "
"The quality of nlighten’s work is exceptional. The content is of a high standard and the feedback has been excellent."
"nlighten’s approach to training made it really come alive for our staff. They took the time to understand our brand, values, and business challenges and then tailored the training to those aspects of our business; while the facilitator took the time and effort to ensure that all the attendees were always on the same page. In meetings, many of our staff members still refer back to what they learnt during their nlighten training sessions."
"nlighten is good at building relationships and excels at developing customer-centred mindsets."
Customer Journey Mapping
Used by the world’s most successful businesses, Customer Journey Mapping (CJM) has become the go-to method for designing and redesigning the customer experience. An indispensable business tool, we teach you how to think like your customer and experience your product or service as they do.
Customer journey mapping gives you the ultimate ‘outside-in’ view of how your customers see your organisation. The process involves creating a journey map that enables you to visualise every interaction your customer has with your brand. These are called touchpoints. By putting yourself in your customer’s shoes every step of the way, you can better understand any frustrations or issues they may have when engaging with your product or service. Not only is it the single best tool for understanding the customer experience, but it’s also crucial for bringing your customer back into the organisation’s thinking.
"Together with nlighten, we did a customer journey mapping exercise with the Claims area. As a result, we implemented a new way of processing (straight through processing). We were able to use the customer journey map with customers and brokers to plan the way forward for digital interactions. It was a very important and valuable piece of work. As a result of the CJM interactions we have seen a positive upswing in our ratings in the customer satisfaction index. We have a transparent and trusting relationship with nlighten. "
"They are an intricate part of our business. We are very impressed with their output. They have elevated their game to become part of a group wide strategic imperative and have helped us change the way we see our clients. We are much more client focused, and this is of enormous value. They bring insights to the business that were not perceived before and demonstrate expertise and professionalism in driving for tangible results. We have managed to retain clients who were at risk of ending their association with us. Companywide we were able to recognize that we had a problem. This is thanks to nlighten’s work."
"We are in the process of unpacking the results of the CJM exercise and this is a new field. We have scheduled 2 follow-up planning workshops with an external project team who will be tasked to help us implement the changes. So far, they are world class in terms of what they have delivered in terms of value. The quality of their work is really excellent. Their published reports are well presented, there is the right level of engagement with us despite the fact that it has had to be online. They absolutely know what they are doing. They are a business partner because they are experts at what they do, and they add value. We believe that this could be a win-win relationship because we can recommend them to other entities in our network. They got to know our business very quickly, asked the right questions and formed a relationship with the right people in our organisation. The people at nlighten are clearly more than employees, they have a dedication and heart for what they do."
"nlighten’s approach is highly professional and they are very responsive. The output from nlighten’s work is professional, well-presented, and easy to understand and navigate. They understood our brief from the outset and crafted a unique process and well-designed methodology."
"nlighten has helped to create a culture within the bank that is customer experience focused. They have helped us to look at how we interact with and talk to our clients and have ensured that our communications, both written and verbal, are client friendly and focused on enhancing customer experiences."
"nlighten is very good at translating what is causing a problem or deficit in customer experience into practical and workable solutions and suggestions."
Customer Experience Design
Using key design thinking principles, we’ll help you redesign and optimise your existing customer journey, as well as work to identify and develop new best-in-class experiences.
Customer Experience Redesign is the process of using the feedback and insights you’ve collected from your clients to build, re-shape, and improve upon your offering. This involves strategic intervention at precise customer touchpoints. To use your CX budget wisely, you need to invest in the right customer redesign areas and in a way that will yield measurable results.
This is where our methodology of customer redesign has proved successful because we approach it with two important principles in mind – empathy and authenticity. We look at where user-experience (UX), employee experience (EX), and customer experience (CX) meet so that we can recommend design changes through a holistic and ‘human’ lens. If you can get this intersection right, you’re on your way to delivering a meaningful customer experience that will resonate with your clients.
The experience redesign process can be a complex one, but we will be with you every step of the way. By the end of the process, you and your staff will know how to create enhanced end-user satisfaction and interaction with your product or service, by improving the usability, accessibility, and overall satisfaction of the user interaction.
"nlighten’s execution is always top drawer, reliable, trustworthy, and consistent. Nathalie and Brendon offer a service that is different from other service providers—we get the sense that they consider our business their business. They always have their ear to the ground for international best practice."
"Nlighten is extremely customer centric, and their level of professionalism is outstanding. They are experts at what they do and get things off the ground very quickly. Where we think we have good relationships with our clients, we have been proved wrong. There have been issues that have surfaced from these clients, and we’ve also found growth opportunities that we were not aware of prior to nlighten’s feedback."
"Contract retention is key to the success of our business. nlighten play a very important role in highlighting any issues that need corrective actions. They ensure that we are building a solid foundation to retain our existing business; one that is sustainable and can be used to grow new business. They do their work with pride, and we see this in the world class standard that they produce."
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In many B2B organisations, 20% of your key clients will give you up to 80% of your sales. To ensure that you retain this key business, you have to be willing to really listen to what your clients are saying. This can sometimes generate some hard-to-hear results, which is why using an outsourced CX service provider can assist with a more objective analysis. Our approach is to partner with you to enhance your customer experience, in every interaction, from the outside in.
To this end, we have grown a prominent network of local and international customer experience experts, allowing us to combine international best practice with local insight.
By partnering with us, we will work with you to develop a fail-proof CX plan that will:
We use a multi-disciplinary approach to tailor end-to-end solutions for your business.
Our in-depth Voice of the Customer research (VoC) uncovers deep insights into what your clients actually think about doing business with you. Our promise with our VoC offering is to give you meaningful, actionable insights that work to retain your clients and grow your business.
To help our clients proactively address their customers’ needs in real-time, we have developed nsights; a proprietary online platform that allows immediate access to customer feedback in a seamless and easy-to-use way.
By extracting key customer research insights, we develop an action-focused CX strategy that is in line with your business goals. This strategy provides your team with a solid CX blueprint that they can follow, which will ensure everyone is on the same page, and working toward a shared vision.
Equip your management teams with the framework, knowledge, and skills to deliver world-class customer experiences. We offer various open and customised CX training, as well as our signature SETA-accredited Train-the-Trainer Programme.
Used by the world’s most successful businesses, Customer Journey Mapping (CJM) has become the go-to method for designing and redesigning the customer experience. An indispensable business tool, we teach you how to think like your customer and experience your product or service as they do.
Using key design thinking principles, we’ll help you redesign and optimise your existing customer journey, as well as work to identify and develop new best-in-class experiences.