Ubong Nkanta Is Your CX Strategy Mature Enough 87

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do you have any like funny stories about a really   awful customer experience that you  had so there's this Airline right hey everyone welcome back to the CX Insider  podcast with me your host Marcell today we gain   Insight on the importance of truly understanding  your customers can we unpack the idea of CX   maturity finding out what maturity can mean for  customer experience professionals today especially   in banking now we're joined by the head of  customer experience governance for one of Africa's   leading Banks ubong kanta whose views are his  own and not affiliated with the bank itself but   if you'd like to learn more about ubong you can  connect with him on LinkedIn now enjoy the episode   and if you do why not subscribe to our YouTube  channel for CX Insider's best content or share the   episode and leave a comment down below by the way  this podcast is brought to you by ACF technology   now let's jump in we usually kick off with an  introduction of our guests so would you like to   tell us a bit about yourself what you do and who  you are alright thank you myself thanks Alex for   having me what a great privilege for being hosted  by you all right first and foremost um it's a   great privilege to be on the sets Ubong Nkanta  is my name and currently I am oversee customer   experience governance in one of the top four banks  in Nigeria here Nigeria is um one of the largest   economy in Africa today right in that position I'm  responsible for setting the customer experience   strategy managing the customer Insight program  for the organization and I'm also responsible   for service Recovery Service level management and  also I oversee the customer experience functions   across the other subsidiaries which comes across  other African countries wow yes you have a lot   of responsibility then thank you and uh there's  obviously quite a tumultuous time going on in   Nigeria with a lot of different uh issues like  the new introduction of the banknotes with the   new currency post covid and also the government  trying to move to cashless what kind of problems   does this create in the landscape of banking in  Nigeria you know we all know the impact of kovid   on the economy globally yeah right for in Nigeria  one of the some of the things that impacted the   Nigerian economy was reduction in lending and  we also saw an increase in adoption of digital   by customers and we also see an emerging of new  players right in the banking space then so those   are the things that came with post covet because  of that the regulatory body also had to stiffen   the regulations around the policies around to  ensure that they stabilized all right that sector   now in terms of the country today as you are aware  the um the CBN being the um the regulatory body   financially for the country all right but based on  their empowerment they are actually the currency   managers so the marriage they manage the currency  for the country yeah they decided to to redesign   the Nigerian currency so some of the currencies  like the notes like a thousand error notes and   the five so we have the 100 naira notes 200 naira  notes 500 and 1000 so they decided to redesign it   why were they trying to do that number one to  check counterfeiting right okay then number two   to reduce the expenditure on them cash management  all right moving cash and all that it has actually   been a heavily cash economy right transactions are  done with cash mostly so they're also trying to   move to the cashless economy but this came with  its own challenges the intent is very positive   however the impact of it the process of it has  actually brought pains right to our customers   and now this brings to the fact of say how do we  do things like this to ensure that the experience   right by their customers is optimal is excellent  at all times so those are the things that we are   facing currently recently could you maybe share  some insight into what similarities or differences   you perceive between customer behavior in those  uh two different markets well you know every um   I would say location they have their own nuances  they have their own preferences and they have what   drives their day-to-day transactions all right  over here in the UK the mode of transaction is   not as cash based compared to Nigeria today even  though we are getting over there as well and then   also there is the level of organization all right  and also this infrastructure but in Nigeria today   we are progressing we are getting there especially  with the Advent of this um the the narrow redesign   there's been an increase in transaction velocity  that means the banks are being forced to either   step up their game in the infrastructure right and  also we've seen new entrants right the fintechs   and the new banks are coming on board you know  which are things that are already been happening   over here but I think customer expectations  are Universal banking they want to be able to   get their banking transactions done on time all  right and seamlessly so I think that is basic   but however you could have the changes because  of the economies there are different economies   the level of growth might be different determine  organizations in those economies should be able   to domesticate their customer experience  to meet the needs of their customers you   meet them where they are years ago when I was  developing the compliance management process I   actually learned from one of the big Banks here  in the UK right I understood their process and I   was able to adapt it domesticated that meets the  needs of the Nigerian I mean banking space right   then adopt same customers behaviors are actually  impacted based on the environments right what's   going on what is happening around the economy  and and a lot of other things has there been   any like specific pain points with these changes  absolutely there is no change that doesn't come   with them with some level of pain you know pains  along the line but it's gonna be in the long run   it's going to be for the growth for the benefits  of the citizens now so one of the key things today   will be limited amount of cash right they would  because it has been a cash-based economy mostly   we have people especially those in the rural  areas right they were basically carrying out   a transaction based on cash but now Financial  inclusion those people that there's a there's   a bit of penetration of the digitals in those  areas which is going to be much easier right to   transact let's say you think in the long run  it will be beneficial absolutely absolutely   absolutely on the note of stuff being beneficial  have you heard about ACF Technologies a global   leader in customer experience Solutions provides  tailored software that can exceed the expectations   of any business from appointment booking to queue  management and event scheduling ACF creates the   tools you need to set your customer experience  to the next level want to find out more check   the link in the description or head over to ACF  technologies.com obviously with with having this   wide variety of problems especially in a market  that is so large with so many different types of   customers everyone is different and they all have  their own types of different problems especially   in that kind of environment what do you think is  the main benefit or value that can be found in   truly understanding your customers on a deeper  level basically what is customer understanding   it's actually the intentional approach of  organizations to understand the preferences   the behaviors the needs and the expectations  of their customers and this can be done by you   leveraging on data leveraging on their activities  now in Nigeria today what are the benefits of any   organization investing in customer understanding  one improve customer experience when you know me   and you know what I need and you know how I want  it when I need it you will serve me right and by   saving me right I am satisfied customer experience  has to do with emotional connection or right of   customers based on the interactions with the  services and products offered by organizations   if you know me very well and you offered my the  things I need and how I wanted and where I needed   you will actually I'll be connected to you yeah  all right emotionally and I'll be Satisfied then   the next one is competitive Advantage if you know  me right you will make sure that consistently you   are rendering services that meets my needs and  that will give you an age over your competition   right and also I it's also about increasing the  customer lifetime value if you know what I need   if you understand what my expectations are this  likely that I'm going to buy more from you you   know get get to know more about your services and  that's opportunity for you to upsell and to cross   sell and then another thing is innovation when you  know your customers you have the opportunity of   constantly ideating innovating right to make sure  that you meet their needs and these positions any   company only organizations that innovate to write  above others now finally but not the list is cost   saving when you are able to know your customers  you're able to know okay what are the ways in in   your in Your Service delivery right even reduction  of course in that and also operational efficiency   this enables you to cut your cost in the long  run it boosts your revenue and also boosts your   growth because you know the customers right when  customers are satisfied right they are going to   keep on being loyal customers they're going to  buy more from you and I like saying that customer   retention is a new acquisition if you return the  customer all right you're going to get much more   from me that means an increase in my lifetime  value and of course you know there's that old   saying that um it costs what like seven six times  more to acquire a new customer than retain a new   one and that sorry retain an old one and that's  absolutely resonates here as well yeah sure do   you think that Banks especially don't spend enough  time or resources trying to truly understand their   customers do you think customer understanding  is something that should be looked at more yes   absolutely in as much as where you are making your  money from where you're generating your income and   revenue Right comes from the customers you need  to know them so take for instance now in other   sectors like the Netflix like telcos they spend  time to understand the needs of their customers   and they are constantly offering bringing new  offerings and services to match the needs of   their customers so likewise Banks the same way  now the banking customers don't expect you to   treat them because only banking they want they're  actually measuring you based on the experiences   in other sectors right you're not competing  against Banks anymore you're competing against   other organizations in other sectors that are also  offering Services now you're competing against the   hotels you're coming against the travel agencies  the um the Airlines and all that so that's the I   that's the approach that Banks should also look at  today knowing fully well that you're dealing with   customers with diverse expectations I'm measuring  you the impact you had on them not only on your   own Services better than all run a total service  that they may have I mean an online experience   to round up hubong has unpacked the contrast  between the world of CX and the banking of   Nigeria and the UK whilst exploring the need for  better practices in understanding the consumers in   those environments but how can organizations  achieve this sense of understanding more   effectively are there any specific methods  which Reign Superior over others [Music]   today we sell we are in the experience economy  right and that means you need to understand   everybody is whatever they're doing is how they  feel right the connectedness they've had with   you and with your services so number one I  think organizations should actually invest   more in advanced analytics why am I saying that  predictive analysis is very important making use   of AI machine learning to know your customers to  know their preferences so for instance in one of   the organizations so today we are able to predict  the likelihood of this customer's Journey likely   this customer buying this so the things that is  being used by other sectors also is the voice of   the customer programs surveys but the thing is  that it shouldn't be the conventional out women   approach of getting of surveying customers  and just saying okay how satisfied were you   it's being able to leverage on the feedback that  they're giving so the so today you ask customers   some basic metrics or how satisfied satisfaction  ratings NPS customer effort score also you ask   them for verbatim comments inside the insight  you're looking for lies you know about them   coming that's what they're really telling you  the experience and you should be able to mine   the data in that verbatim comment not only that  are you mining the data but you should be able   to close the loop so are you for instance now  a customer would have scored you let's say six   right in your net promoter score that six means  that that customer is a detractor right it's not   enough for you to just go and work on it it's for  you to get back to the customer identify what was   the problem because therein lies we could gain  more insights on why the customer rated you that   way and with that you're unable you're able to  identify with the problems are and get it done now   inverse of the customer program it's not enough  to just carry out a vanilla survey right you need   to carry a service I mean across the customer  Journeys right from onboarding to support to   every aspect of the customer Journey you should be  able to check and to read and to find out what it   is you'll be surprised that just at the onboarding  you're going to lose a customer the customer might   have dropped off in trying to onboard into a new  channel into a new product but if you actually   find out what was the satisfaction or what was  the customer experience there at that particular   Journey point you will know what exactly what  needs to be be fixed and then the stakeholders   that are responsible for that particular Journey  Point can bring them in that's why stakeholder   management is very important and so okay guys  this is where we're having a problem here we   are unable to this customer unable to get on board  on our services because of one two three thing and   you're responsible for it what are you going to  do about it so it's it's good that organizations   actually pay attention not just as an activity  but as a strategic role all right function for   them then second and thirdly is social listening  we are all on social media today but we need to   listen intentionally so it's not enough for you to  say I have I have my I have a Facebook account an   Instagram account or a Twitter account is what are  you doing with it the data are you listening to   your customers conversations all right what are  their preferences what are they saying you know   you're able to mind you write what they're saying  that you could see their their sentiments whether   positive negative or neutral and then you can  deep dive on it now some organizations today have   so listen across different channels so they're  listening on what customers are saying about for   instance in the banking sector their mobile I mean  their mobile apps right their your branch Services   they're also listening across maybe their online  banking their loans products that enables you to   know exactly what you should do so by listening  into their conversations they could be having   questions with their friends but in as much as  they tag you you should listen you should get to   find out what's going on also is customer Journey  mapping they need to pay attention to because by   that you really understand and know exactly where  the problem lies what you need to change you know   organization also needs to be able to know that  while we're talking about agile environment   agile and Enterprises same thing with customer  experience same thing within big Banks they need   to get on the agile I mean process to be able  to iterate as things are changing so you could   at this journey you may need to change something  change it immediately right see the way how you're   going to improve because that customer is looking  forward to getting what he or she's looking for in   another bank Alex you've been quite quiet there  I don't know if you had any follow-up questions like there is no there's no in banking  there's different other industries that   when customer will start banking with  One bank they stay with them for life   do you think that is changing  over the years yes it is so the   question should ask yourself right  now is how many accounts do you have I'm very rare before you see anyone have only one  account yeah I mean I do that's probably because   I'm young I haven't really got into that state  okay let's see what happens in the next one or two   years you know and so Banks should be a One-Stop  shop for customers that should be the purpose and   the aim of banks today we're also offering other  businesses like pensions insurance right so that   I can start my banking transaction with you I  need to pay my insurance there's a sister company   there that I can do all those interactions with  but if you stop transacting for two three weeks   there's something wrong that means you're doing  it elsewhere so inactivity is not long it's not   for those people because they are using data and  they're intentional about their customers they   want to know what's going on that comes to that  customer understanding that we're talking about   earlier on muscle and so that means you use  data right to to measure your customer Health   this person should be carrying out transactions at  least once in a week or once in two weeks but in   three weeks nothing is happening do you know about  it so you need to leverage on your data analytics   to be able to see okay what is the activity level  of my customers especially your your customers   that are giving you higher lifetime value before  taking this conversation to the next stage and   discussing the elusive idea of CX maturity we must  first understand what drives CX competence because   to be mature you have to be competent first now  let's hear how ubong approaches the five core CX   competencies which you can also find as a link  in the description below Bruce demken is he's   actually an expert a subject matter expert so I  respect him a lot so I want to look at it from   his own perspective one is purposeful leadership  right that means the leadership must operate with   a clear and consistent value all right and he also  defines it in like the five piece of leadership in   leading in customers you have to be passionate you  have to be persistent right there has to be that   level of that I am invested in it personally  invested in this thing you know as a leader   right you have to be persistent you're consider  saying the same thing at every point in time also   you have to be propelling leadership has to be  propelling to make sure others are interested   in what you're doing there is a buy-in from your  staff and from your customers and also purposeful   and then positive that's number one purposeful  leadership that's one of the competencies then   number two is compelling brand values what does  your brand say what are you doing to deliver on   your brand promises to your customers what are  your promises to your customers you know that's   why it's advised that every organization should  have their customer apart from your vision and   your mission statements you should also be able to  have what is your customer experience Vision what   are your brand values what are your service  promises now so This Promise is you have to   be able to make sure that you make the promises  right and it's very clear let the customers know   this is what you're going to offer right this  is how you're going to offer it and then you   have to ensure that those promises are embraced  by your staff they have to embrace that promise   so they have to own that promise it's not enough  for management token for you to I mean write out   and put out your your mission statement values and  core values and all that someone has to take it   and go to market with it right and then you have  to be intentional about keeping those promises   now number three we have Employee Engagement you  cannot serve today's customers without I mean your   employees being engaged rightly engaged so that  means that they have to align with the goals of   the organization they have to they are the ones  that are going to manifest what you have promised   to do that the ones to actually execute it for  you so that means you need to ensure that they   are well informed right they are well inspired by  what you said you're going to do now it's going   to be also are they properly instructed are they  properly educated right are they are they well   informed to know exactly what to do and how to  serve their customers I'm then incentivization are   they being incentivized are they being rewarded  don't just make decisions right from management   you need to involve the staff because they have  they are the ones carrying out the day-to-day   interactions with your customers now the last but  not the least customer connectedness you need to   connect with your customers and how are you doing  this you need to infuse your customer insights   all right across the organization everyone in  the organization every Department you have to   infuse your customers information your customer  data your findings the insights you're getting   across the organization continuously listening  and acting on your customer feedback it also   involves focusing on your customer Journey they  have to be clear they have to be distinct they   have to be seamless everybody knows what is going  to happen everybody have their role and their and   their responsibilities now that's just the um the  principles as defined by Bruce temkin but also   you could see other people talked about things  like customer understanding or Riders are also   competencies for CX management design thinking and  I've talked about Employee Engagement all right   and also Innovation you have to be you have to be  intentional about Innovation from the data you're   getting from your custom instruction you need to  constantly innovate and also governance and stock   and culture you have to have a properly Divine  governance all right structure it has to be able   to your culture how are we doing things here what  are we known for you could see some big Brands   today they are known for certain things right that  that means they have been consistent they have   been intentional about maintaining those things  those are things that actually sets you apart as a   leader in customer experience so what actually is  CX maturity what do we mean by that can it really   be defined and categorized as a ladder companies  can climb how can you tell which stage of maturity   your customer experience is at does it all even  matter or should we just be striving to deliver   some form of glorified customer service it's  likewise in life you know we were talking about   earlier on about when you were boy you were  you know you become a man and all the students laughs so likewise in CX we have those levels of  maturity all right those are intentional steps and   levels that organizations are in their journey to  serve their customers basically you would see that   about five levels but in recently there's one that  has been added so before now there was one that   was not that was called ignore that means they  were not interested that's the recently added one   so the enormous that they are not interested in  it all right you know they are not they don't have   focus on CX as a matter of fact you know they're  not even though they said they are customers hear   them say I am a customer central organization but  right they are not focused on it now you could   also have the explore stage right that means they  recognize that customer experience is important   maybe to just take a look at it they're just  exploring the benefits all right the principles   of customer experience then you also have the  mobilize mobilize means that you've set up a   team a manager someone to be responsible for your  customer experience strategy and that also enables   you to um develop the customer experience  roadmap your strategies and how you want   to do fifth now is a line aligning means that to  write that the metrics have been integrated into   your operations and customer experience metrics  is actually part of their Performance Management   it's not only the business metrics alone so you  could see departments being appraised staff being   appraised on their customer satisfaction levels  and they likely good for customers to recommend   so but when you infuse that right into your  Performance Management everybody knows that   whatever I'm doing even if I'm in admin is going  to affect the customer it's going to affect our   bottom line and it's going to affect the bonus  I'm going to get at the end of the day and the   last but not the list is um embedded embedded  means that you're no longer looking at oh this   department is involved with customer experience  everybody is responsible for customer experience I   guess that's the dream yeah absolutely absolutely  and now it's good to know that today only about   only four percent of organizations are in the um  fifth and sixth level or whatever what you would   normally say the fourth and the fifth level  then you will have about 42 percent in the   um second and third level so that means there's a  lot of water needs to be done there are a lot of   challenges there but it has to be an intentional  approach and just so what you don't measure you   don't improve so you need to measure to know  where you are and they and these principles have   outlined what you need to do there's a roadmap  you have to assess yourself right you have to   gain Clarity and there's a systematic approach  for you to move that it's just about you being   intentional of getting to know your customers  serving them right and also positioning yourself   to be a market leader what do you think the risks  are of neglecting CX maturity within your let's   say strategy I would say it's it's just with you  number one is decrease customer satisfaction if   customers if you're not doing if you're not if  you don't know what you're doing and you're not   intentional about growing also you're going to  talk about your decrease in employee engagement   right you're going to have also I mean limited  customer insights because you're not intentional   about it there's a level that you should be  gaming I mean mining information and data from   your customer activity that's also a level of  bonus a level of it that's a certain level of   that you are attending your MCX maturity process  that you should be doing that if you're not doing   that you're not getting those data how would you  um innovate how would you be able to serve your   customers if you're not doing some certain things  and also you're going to have decreased revenue   and profit if you have a decrease I mean in your  customer satisfaction and then your customer base   is dropping that is going to affect how much money  you're going to make right and also your cost is   going to go high so the risk is actually outweighs  the benefits and do you think the current banking   environment has CX maturity as a large enough  priority yeah I would say in recent years the   Nigerian banks have actually um recognized the  importance of customer experience if you look   around all the banks they have have customer  experience departments some have added into   divisions now some are even like a directorate  and then focusing on customer experience they   are doing this because they want to maintain and  return the market share they tell challenge is   doing it right despite the progress made by these  Banks today all right they sell ample opportunity   for improvement I think it's also for the banks  today to make sure that the intention about   improving their digital capabilities everything  has gone digital they have to make sure that they   they look at their infrastructure their platforms  and the ecosystem has changed so you need to be   able to make the appropriate investment in making  sure that you are able to serve your customers the   same way other sectors are doing the same thing  the expressions are changing every day what I   needed yesterday might be different and how I  want it might be different today before now you   could if you buy something you're going to wait  for some days before it arrives you could order   for something today and it gets delivered within  24 hours so customers want the same thing in the   banking space how do they want to be served people  don't want to walk into the banking or to do some   certain transactions have you optimized those  things have you digitalized those services do   you even know why you should visualize them  right what are you focusing on the space is   evolving as a matter of fact it's just that they  have to be committed right we need to stop paying   lip services to customer experience instead of  making it to be a glorified customer service it   should actually be intentional there are certain  things you need to do we talk about the maturity   so the things you need to do at each level where  you are today first thing is you know where you   are and then what are the gaps that you need to  um I mean address because that differentiates you   from your competitors and that's what makes you  to be a leader in the market and then makes you   to get more customers more customers means more  money and like you said obviously with Neo Banks   and these digital Banks coming along as well  it's this new breed of competition that you   have to adapt to as well so it all forces you to  keep up and that kind of absolutely and those new   guys are very Nimble they're very agile now it's  difficult it's a challenge for not difficult it's   a challenge for these bigger ones because they  have they have to go through different processes   every this one has to check this check this  check that I guess these new banks have also   been built stripped of the silos yeah sure sure  and that's one of the things that CX enables so   Miracle look at CX as a department said no CX  is actually a unifier so it brings everybody   together because it's not about my work it's about  the customer so if everybody is okay do what I'm   doing today in admin in Administration  in marketing in technology in support is   because of that customer out there they will be  intentional and it will be a clear difference   in your operations and also in your bottom line  thank you for listening we hope you enjoyed the   podcast and if you did why not subscribe to our  YouTube channel for access to full length videos   and YouTube shorts you can also like share and  comment on the episode to keep the conversation   going if you want to join our growing community of  thought leaders head over to LinkedIn and follow   us at cxinsider podcast to stay updated thanks  again I've been Marcel and I'll see you in two   weeks but for now enjoy our rapid fire questions  and by the way this podcast has been brought to   you by ACF Technologies the global leaders  in customer experience Management Solutions my first question would you ever go skydiving  I think I made attempts yeah attempt if all the   factors all right the safety factors I'm assured  that they are all in place yeah if you could have   any job in the world what would it be helping  people I guess you're in the right right position   I just want to let you know so whatever I'm doing  are my so I love nurturing building and empowering   people empowering businesses every time I wanted  this how do I help you to be a better person how   do I help women to be a better organization how do  I help you to realize your purpose and to fulfill   your purpose that's what I love doing that's  great do you prefer films or TV shows both both   yeah depend on the on the context yeah yeah what  do you have like a favorite film or show sometimes   um SciFi and then also um a bit of documentary  okay you know I also love to know why things   are being done the way they're being  done you know so I'd love to really so   so so my wife will tell you that when we were  watching movies she lost to to fast forward whereas I want to in understand the details like  each of the scenes all right the preceding scene   what led to this so I'm asking in case  you ask me tomorrow what happened here   I would give you you know continuous  Improvement why why why why you know   okay yeah great and then my final question  do you have any like funny stories about a   really awful customer experience that you  had okay yes so there's this Airline right I'm not going to mention them yeah because  right so there is one that has been like   the main airline in a particular location  but they came to disrupt ride the Monopoly   okay so if you're coming to the shop the  Monopoly you should be much better than   them right so so so this is this airline  that the earliest flight was about I think   um into the city was about 10 a.m and then  they now came in and said they were flying at 7   00 am so I'm here I have a meeting at nine  o'clock it's just a one hour flight and your   and your takeoff times happens to be 17 and I'm  here remember that day I woke up quite early I   was on the checking counter an hour before the  flight time you can see the queue so at the end   of the day the fighter we're meant to take off  at seven we took off at eight and then what you   missed the meeting well I was lucky enough I  just got in when the meeting was just about to   get started which is wrong which is not right  you know like you know we have to make sure   that you're getting early on time get yourself  prepared right relax and get settled so I think   organization businesses should if you want to go  into something get something you want to make a   change do it properly okay be intentional about it  disrupt properly be mature absolutely [Laughter] [Music]

2023-04-18

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