Convenience is the feeling I get when I use M-PESA. I remember a time when I was in high school and my dad sent me upcountry to take my uncle some cash. That trip took me the whole day. Now with M-PESA from the comfort of my home or anywhere at all, we are enabled to send money to our loved ones in a safe and secure manner. Whether we are in Kenya or abroad. The tech is simple enough that all customers can access the service. There are seamless integrations to bank accounts and easy access to M-PESA agents. This innovation has empowered Kenyans, enabled traders to receive funds seamlessly, facilitated reconciliations and reduced the risk of carrying cash. Many businesses have gone cashless reducing the need for cash collection, cash insurance, heavy security costs. It has transformed our lives.
I like Sunny’ s example of the Mercedes Benz. For years this car has represented status and superior quality. It signals achievement on arrival.
As you can see, when we fulfill the customer needs and evoke the right feelings, we drive feelings that last and keep bringing the customers back.
“ The best customer experience isn’ t complicated. It’ s consistent, it’ s human, and it’ s owned by people who care.”- Sunny Bindra, The X in CX.
So how do we shift this across the organization?
In the book, Sunny unpacks four critical pillars that organizations need to execute to deliver great customer experience. He says that organizations must“ Boss it, Humanize it, Digitize it, and Jazz it.”
Boss It: CX begins and ends with leadership. If CEOs and top leaders don’ t prioritize it, the rest of the organization
won’ t either. Netflix redefined content delivery and user experience in entertainment. Reed Hastings built a personalized entertainment experience around customer viewing habits. Jeff Bezoz, built Amazon into one of the world’ s most customer-centric companies by prioritizing fast delivery, ease of use and personalized experiences.
Humanize It: Treat customers as people, not data points. Empathy must sit at the heart of every product, process, and conversation. Richard Branson, Virgin Group, prioritizes employee experience as a route to better CX. His mantra is that if you take care of your employees, they will take care of all your customers.
Digitize It: Tech should enhance- not replace- human interactions. Use it wisely to streamline, personalize, and improve. To be honest, the passport application process when I first applied for the passport was a nightmare. It took me one year of going to Nyayo House regularly to finally get my passport. Recently when I applied for a replacement passport it was a breeze. The full application was online. The platform has a provision for selecting the appropriate date for collecting fingerprints. On the said date, photos and finger prints were taken. Subsequently I was given a receipt and a tracking number that allowed me to track progress. When my passport was ready, I had the option of selecting which post office to collect it from. And just like that I had my new passport. Digitization and automation removed all the inefficiencies and allowed more Kenyans access to a passport.
Jazz It: Don’ t just meet expectations. Delight. Surprise. Create magic moments people will never forget. I have been glad to be on the receiving end of magical moments. After a long week, sometimes I indulge in a nice long massage. A friend of mine gifted me a full massage in a spa I had not been to before; The Jet Spa in Senteu Plaza, first floor. When I arrived on the first floor I was receive by my masseuse who proceeded to soak my feet in water with flowers. After steam and sauna, off to hydrate before a one-hour massage which was heavenly. This was followed by a cup of herbal tea in an amazing lounge area. The overall experience was 10 over 10. I was wowed. An enjoyable experience that I will never forget. We should all aim to exceed our customer expectations. Delight them, surprise them. After all they truly deserve it!
Way Forward
Sunny guides on the next steps that leaders can take as summarized hereunder:
• Walk your own customer journey- not as a boardroom exercise but as a user: order, refund, engage, complain- then map where the system fails.
• Set leadership KPIs around CX impact, not survey scores. Tie performance incentives and training budgets to tangible experiences.
• Audit your technology stack end to end: eliminate silos, integrate systems, and reduce visibility of the flow to customers.
• Incentivize imaginative touches: Gather stories of small delights, celebrate them publicly, and spread creative habits across teams.
As Sunny winds up the book, he reminds us that delivering great CX is not about boosting the bottom line- it is about something much bigger. It is about human decency.
This book is a must-have for all leaders. I invite you to grab a copy at any book store or you can order it online e. g. from Text Book Centre or Amazon. Both deliver to your doorstep. Buy it for your team, your colleagues, your friend so that we can all raise the bar on delivering superior customer experience.
Fawzia Ali-Kimanthi is the Chief Consumer Business Officer, Safaricom PLC. You can commune with her on this or related matters on email at: Fawziakimanthi @ gmail. com.