Frustrations with poor customer service and therefore a terrible customer experience, are common the world over and the UAE is no exception. Across all sectors, the Emirates achieves a disappointingly average customer service rating of ‘moderate’ according to the annual UAE Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI), published by Kuwait-based Service Hero. Over all dimensions of customer service, there is a negative gap of -6.7 between expectation and reality. And while a gap of up to -3 is acceptable, according to the index, the figures clearly show that the UAE has a long way to go. But as Accenture’s Global Consumer Pulse Survey 2017 states, ‘there is remarkably little change in the past three years in terms of the things companies do [...]

Do you look forward to going to work? Okay, but how about your employees? It’s a question worth asking because the degree to which employees are engaged with their job has a direct effect on their productivity, loyalty and inclination to absenteeism, which in turn affect company profitability. The connection between employee engagement and profitability is long-established and not at all surprising but recent research has revealed the extent to which it applies. And for any company executive with an interest in getting the most out of their workforce, it places an emphasis on the need to boost employee engagement which simply cannot be ignored. So what defines an engaged worker? Put simply, engagement is a measure of your employees’ [...]

All successful businesses have one thing in common: they focus on what best serves their customers. Unfortunately, not every business understands this. SME owners may be inspired to try and change the world, but they may be more focused on their product than on the people who will benefit from it. While company executives may be too busy managing the business to really recognise their customers’ needs. If a company’s strategy and processes are customer-centric, striving for the best customer experience possible, that can’t help but be a money-maker. Happy, loyal customers will not only keep giving you money, but they’ll also become ambassadors for your brand. So here are five ways your company might be failing to understand its [...]

A successful company has customers at its core. Long gone are the days of one-size-fits-all advertising and competition based solely on price. If you want to get – and keep – customers, you need to be interacting with them and building relationships on a one-to-one level. But that isn’t enough. As a successful modern enterprise you’ll be using data-driven insights to understand your customers’ needs in a rapidly evolving world, enabling you to proactively evolve your products alongside those needs. Many of the successful new ‘disruptive’ businesses – including Uber and Airbnb – are using data and its analysis as the cornerstone of their entire business model. Against this background you don’t want to risk being left behind, possibly disrupted [...]

When you last bought something, do you know why you bought it? Why did you choose one brand in preference to another? Why did you plump for an iPhone instead of a Samsung? Why do you get your coffee from Starbucks rather than somewhere else? We all like to think our decisions are based on rational thinking. But there’s much more to it. Harvard professor Gerald Zaltman tells us that at least 95% of all cognition occurs subconsciously. The subconscious mind is where our emotions brood, and where much of our day-to-day behaviour is shaped. As a business owner you won’t be surprised that emotions are involved in purchasing decisions. So are you really engaging with your customers on that [...]

When you hear the word entrepreneur, what springs to mind? The likes of Richard Branson, the late Steve Jobs or even Mark Zuckerberg may pop into your head. We tend to think of entrepreneurs as global business founders and leaders: those with the big ideas, innovations and companies. Yet the entrepreneurial spirit need not be confined to the CEO’s office. In reality, some of your employees may already be displaying the entrepreneurial behaviour necessary for running a company and being a leader. While some bosses might see this as a threat, it’s something you have a duty to encourage. What’s more, if you’re able to tap into these traits and help cultivate them, it could bring exciting advances for your [...]