�鶹ԭ�� Qualtrics Archives - �鶹ԭ�� Africa News Center

Mind the Gaps: How Experience Data can Help Fight Climate Change

Ali Henriques, Head of US Research Experts, Qualtrics — Tue, 15 Feb 2022 07:10:59 +0000

suggests we are far from reaching a consensus about who is responsible for taking action on climate change and who is trusted to do so
Results suggest 81% of people say businesses are primarily responsible for taking action on climate change, for example, yet only 28% trust businesses’ claims about sustainable practices.
Analysing experience data is crucial to know what solutions will drive impact on climate change.

If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that collaboration and trust are critical to addressing global crises. In a world where the number and severity of extreme weather events are on the rise, biodiversity is declining and sea levels are rising, global cooperation on combating climate change has never been more critical.

suggests that global citizens are on the same page about the cause of climate change. In the study, 78% agree that climate change is human-caused and 87% believe it is extremely important for countries to work together to address the problem.

The research also indicates that we’re far from reaching a consensus about who is responsible for taking action and who is trusted to do so. In other words, the difficulty of agreeing on how to work together and what to focus on has proven to be a stumbling block in the way of progress.

Global perspectives on climate change

Image: qualtrics/�鶹ԭ��

A significant number of people feel there’s nothing they can do individually to solve the climate crisis and instead are looking to businesses and governments to lead the way. Yet, while 81% say businesses are primarily responsible for taking action, only 28% trust businesses’ claims about sustainable practices.

Understanding people’s experiences is crucial to knowing what solutions will drive impact. Experience data – data that reveals how people are thinking, feeling and behaving – can help governments and businesses understand what motivates people to support climate efforts and make sustainable changes of their own in order to restore and sustain the healthy planet we all want to live on.

Opinion and experience gaps

People often don’t understand the marketing vocabulary businesses use to showcase sustainability. Myriad terms such as renewable, net-zero emissions, recycled and carbon offset can leave consumers confused about what a company is actually doing for the environment. At the same time, greenwashing (or conveying false or misleading information about the environmental impact of a company’s products and services) is a growing problem and one of the main reasons there is so little trust in businesses’ claims.

In the face of these challenges, there are a few things businesses can do to help close these gaps in experience and understanding. Firstly, a commitment to complete transparency about environmental messaging is critical to building public trust. Then, businesses need to regularly ask customers if they understand their climate change promises and furthermore, if they believe them. This kind of experience data is necessary for companies that want to make data-driven decisions about which initiatives consumers will support and, therefore, which will have the most impact.

The same can be said of governments. More than half of the people in the study (59%) believe governments are doing too little to address climate change. Lawmakers would benefit from experience data to understand which levers to pull in designing the most effective and trusted policies.

Governments and businesses alike should repeatedly take their constituents’ pulse to gauge what they should be focusing on and then to measure their perceived progress. This not only helps keep organizations accountable to their goals but also serves to educate constituents about their part in supporting government sustainability initiatives. Citizens will be more motivated to participate when they feel like they are part of the solution.

Where belief meets action

Taking a look at the big picture, we are overwhelmingly aligned globally when it comes to the importance of addressing climate change. Most people trust what scientists are saying about the consequences of inaction, but 51%, say change is happening too slowly.

With the abundance of data that scientists are sharing about global temperatures and the effects on weather systems, sea levels and habitats, it may seem unnecessary to throw experience data into the mix. But all actions start with a belief and a correct understanding of a problem is vital to come up with correct solutions.

While no one consumer may be able to combat climate change on their own, their collective mindset can have a profound influence on the governments and businesses that serve them. It’s worth studying people’s perceptions of and experiences with climate change to the greatest degree possible.

We’ve already made incredible progress toward a concerted global effort against climate change. Public trust in climate science is higher than ever. As we continue to measure, analyse and respond to people’s experiences, we will be increasingly able to dispel myths and build consensus around solutions that really drive impact.

This article first appeared on the .

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Discovery Limited: How Can Behavioral Insights Enable Targeted Messages that Improve Health Outcomes in a Pandemic?

�鶹ԭ�� News — Thu, 15 Apr 2021 06:53:33 +0000

Delivering educational campaigns to help limit the spread of COVID-19 in South Africa

With a mission to make society healthier, insurance provider Discovery Health is committed to giving people the guidance they need to make the right healthcare choices. to read how they used Qualtrics® CustomerXM solutions to:

Achieve a rapid deployment and setup of questionnaires within just a few weeks
Enable recipients to quickly and easily provide information on knowledge of areas such as how COVID-19 spreads, typical symptoms, and self-isolation rules
Use straightforward reporting features to analyze survey results quickly
Gain valuable knowledge concerning its members

The post Discovery Limited: How Can Behavioral Insights Enable Targeted Messages that Improve Health Outcomes in a Pandemic? appeared first on �鶹ԭ�� Africa News Center.

How SMEs can Build Great Customer Experiences

Dumisani Moyo, Head of Mid-Market: Southern Africa at �鶹ԭ�� — Tue, 29 Sep 2020 07:52:50 +0000

Many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) take for granted the level of investment required to build and maintain a good reputation.

There’s growing acknowledgement of the importance of becoming a Customer Experience (CX) leader to help build that reputation, but too few are taking appropriate steps to embrace and prioritise a true CX culture.

Delivering exceptional CX requires that every part of the business is in sync and enabled by the right technology.

CX is an important part of managing and growing a company, yet, it is one of the most understated business priorities. Customer service is the level of service that customers expect to receive in exchange for their money.

CX, on the other hand, is how customers feel when they interact with a business. From researching the product to the actual purchase and use, it spans the entire customer buying journey.

Customers, now more than ever, will never return if the initial interaction is poor. CX is therefore a key element of customer retention – and a key differentiator.

What’s the fuss about CX?

CX encapsulates the holistic perception of a customer’s experience with a company. It is the result of every interaction, from researching the product to purchasing and using it.

�ճ�� found that companies that prioritised technology were 64% more likely to meet and exceed their business priorities.

According to the same report, 36% of large companies are using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve their data analytics.

These companies believe that data is a game changer, and that its ownership, control and use is a strong source of sustainable competitive advantage.

There is a misconception that investing in CX is expensive and delivers little return.

A recent found that satisfied customers are willing to pay a premium of up to 16%; proving that positive experiences lead to greater loyalty.

In addition, around 32% of consumers reported that after just one bad experience, they were most likely to abandon a brand they had preferred.

These data points demonstrate the importance of intentionally pursuing a customer-centric strategy. The net impact is customer satisfaction, higher sales and stronger long-term customer relationships.

In difficult times, such as the tough economic climate caused by the COVID pandemic, CX is at the heart of sustaining a business.

Steps to improving CX

SMEs often juggle multiple priorities with limited resources. Balancing operational priorities and implementing CX strategies can be a real challenge. Here are some practical ways of improving CX for SMEs:

Implement additional support channels to make it easier for customers to interact with the company. Using Artificial Intelligence (AI) for automation, SMEs can provide self-service options that make it easier for customers to track their orders independently, enabling a self-help approach that improves efficiencies and lowers costs.
Prioritise your website as a different way of interacting with customers 24/7. SMEs that did not have online stores could not continue trading under lockdown conditions. Moreover, adding a Frequently Asked Questions section can empower customers to be self-sufficient, allowing the company to refocus valuable human resources on income-generating activities and innovation.
Adopt technology-driven query management processes that are customer-centric and cost-effective. Using AI, SMEs can develop chatbots that handle repetitive functions such as order delivery queries.

How technology enables great CX

A recent by Qualtrics and Forrester Consulting that looked at Return on Investment from deploying CX solutions produced some interesting findings:

Customer care: companies were able to gather actionable insights that enabled them to institute measures that reduced the cost of incident management by shifting incidents to a self-help platform.
Customer retention: aligning the company on key metrics and shifting to a customer-centric view of data had a positive impact on CX. Companies reported an increase in customer satisfaction and more personalised experiences and customer buying journeys that led to higher customer retention.
Data and customer-centric culture: companies were able to create standard, consistent, and trusted data sources across departments, resulting in a unified view and measure of CX throughout the company.
Business outcomes: companies were able to identify things that needed to change quickly. While some seemed mundane, they had a meaningful impact on customers and resulted in quick wins.
Better insight and decision-making: companies benefited from having a centralised database for all customer insights, enabling them to move quicker and provide better insights for decision making.

CX is about proactively managing and curating the entire customer buying journey to ensure that customers walk away with a feel-good experience.

Delivering a positive CX requires a customer-centric strategy that is underpinned by the right technology investment. Technology empowers all companies, of all sizes, to connect with current and prospective customers.

SMEs now have the ability to accurately predict future needs of their customers, enabling them to be proactive and attentive to ever-changing conditions. In an increasingly unpredictable and competitive business environment, the emotional connection between the customer and the brand can be the difference between survival and prosperity.

In a recent survey by Oxford Economics and �鶹ԭ��, 39% of small and medium sized companies said that improving customer experiences is their top priority over the next three years – even ahead of increasing profits or reducing costs.

I thought it would be interesting for you to discover how these companies are managing customer experiences through improved technology and organizational strategies by reading the .

***Qualtrics is a wholly owned �鶹ԭ�� company that provides solutions for monitoring, analysing and managing feedback to improve CX, employee experience (EX) and product experiences (PX).

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EY, �鶹ԭ��, and Qualtrics Collaborate to Bring Resources to Governments Around the World to Help in the Fight Against COVID-19

�鶹ԭ�� News — Mon, 04 May 2020 06:43:56 +0000

Custom COVID-19 solutions help governments stay connected to their citizens and employees, use data to make quick decisions, and better manage the flow of information and resources

EY, �鶹ԭ��, and Qualtrics have announced a collaboration to provide resources to governments around the world as they battle the rapidly evolving COVID-19 pandemic. These Qualtrics® and �鶹ԭ��® solutions will be implemented by EY and include tools to help governments pre-screen and route potential COVID-19 patients, support healthcare workers, and manage the flow of information and resources to their citizens.

To help manage the impact of the pandemic, EY, �鶹ԭ��, and Qualtrics have collaborated on providing agencies with a comprehensive set of services and solutions to meet the initial urgent and critical needs of governments, globally. These offerings are helping organizations take immediate action in the fight against COVID-19 and are available to all 50 U.S. states and more than 90 countries worldwide. In addition, the services and solutions are provided in eight languages – English, Arabic, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, French, German, and Greek – through EY implementation and enablement services. Specifically, the solutions available to governments include:

Qualtrics COVID-19 Pre-Screening and Routing: This online, guided pre-screening questionnaire allows citizens concerned about COVID-19 to enter their symptoms, and automatically routes them to appropriate online resources or advises them to contact their doctor. It provides instant access to relevant health and safety resources and produces automatic reports that identify any gaps in information availability.

Qualtrics COVID-19 Dynamic Call Center Script: Local governments are standing up call centers (often for the first time) to respond to the crisis. To reduce call volume, and provide accurate, up-to-date information to callers, this solution directs citizens to the right resources based on their interests/questions. It also includes automatic reporting showing caller trends, patterns, and gaps in information requests.

Qualtrics Healthcare Workforce Pulse: Governments need to monitor healthcare providers and their frontline healthcare workers within healthcare systems, hospitals, pharmacies, and clinics. This Healthcare Workforce Pulse is designed to capture feedback on the resources, safety, resilience, and communication needs of those treating patients with the disease.

Critical care protocol solution: This is a customized solution for governments and ministries of health directed at early identification for critical care/high-risk patients. This solution utilizes guidelines from the World Health Organization and the Edmonton Frailty Scale and is powered by a critical care protocol algorithm. The solution assists in early flagging of high-risk patients by sharing and analyzing results in real time, allowing for more targeted allocation of critical care services that are already in short supply.

EY, �鶹ԭ��, and Qualtrics released the following statement regarding these solutions: “Governments around the world are having to act quickly and decisively as they lead their citizens through uncertain times. These solutions and services help governments quickly interact with their citizens at scale by providing a means of collecting and analyzing data in real time. This allows them to take immediate action amid an ever-changing situation and bring immense benefit to their citizens during the current crisis. We are proud to stand together to help governments use the power of experience management to navigate this difficult and unsettling situation as we all work to keep our communities and loved ones healthy and safe.”

Public entities around the world are rapidly deploying these solutions and seeing immediate results. In the U.S., Africa, Europe, and APAC, state and country governments and agencies are running health assessments for citizens, identifying testing centers for those in need, and triaging screening and treatment follow-up. On a national level, countries around the world are asking what information citizens need and how they could work together to provide essential services during this worldwide pandemic.

Qualtrics technology is GDPR, HIPAA, HITRUST, and FedRamp compliant – maintaining the highest levels of security and privacy protection available.

To learn more about these solutions and other resources available to governments worldwide, please visit: .

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Customers Who Feel Understood Shop More, Complain Less

Judith Magyar — Thu, 09 Jan 2020 05:53:45 +0000

By measuring customer experiences and understanding emotions, one Brazilian retailer is beating large competitors and maintaining brand relevance.

If you’ve ever spent time in Rio, you’ve probably seen a lot of well-dressed men on the street. That’s because most Cariocas, the residents of the party capital of the world, like to look impeccable.

A Hassle-Free Shopping Experience at ��á��

��á��, a traditional family retailer for menswear, is a favorite one-stop shop for men in Rio de Janeiro who want a hassle-free shopping experience, or for the women in their lives.

Established in 1961 when the bossa nova was at the height of its popularity and the city was in a period of socioeconomic transformation, ��á�� has a long tradition of not just surviving but thriving in times of change.

“The market has changed completely since those days,” says Rafael Sampaio, second-generation CEO of the company. He goes on to explain that since the arrival of smartphones, getting people to come into a store is a larger challenge. “In the past, people simply had to go the store. Now, they have to want to go.”

Sampaio knows that today’s consumers are well informed and know what they want. ��á�� caters to the lower middle-class segment of the Brazilian market whose purchasing power has increased substantially in the past decade.

According to a recent study by a , a more stable economy and better job opportunities mean this segment can now afford to acquire a variety of consumer goods that were previously beyond their reach. Referred to as “Class C,” this segment includes 49 percent of Brazilian households and represents 31 percent of potential consumption. The option to buy using zero-interest installment plans also helps these consumers spend more than ever before.

“We can’t afford to lose a single one of our 63,000 customers,” says Sampaio. “That’s why it’s crucial for us to understand our shoppers and provide each and every one of them with a flawless experience.” To achieve that mission, Sampaio decided to implement Experience Management solutions from �鶹ԭ�� (Qualtrics), which help enterprises better understand the beliefs, emotions, and intentions of their customers.

“We know that Class C consumers are loyal to their brands, so our challenge is to keep our brand relevant to them,” he explains. Instead of trying to fight against big competitors like global brands, online giants, and sleek malls, Sampaio and his team decided to pursue a different strategy.

Rather than aiming to be the largest, the company strives to be the best in its category. The way to do that is to maintain a strong local presence. Like a neighborhood mom-and-pop shop or a corner kiosk, ��á�� knows its customers intimately. The company knows what they want to wear to work, to church, and to the soccer stadium. It knows customers expect to be greeted upon entering the store, and that they want a variety of quality choices at the best price possible. Most of all, they expect a flawless checkout experience.

After implementing Experience Management solutions from �鶹ԭ��, the company experienced a 25 percent drop in customer complaints. Customer feedback is collected via short surveys after a purchase. The data is analyzed and shared throughout the organization on multiple view dashboards for executives, sales managers, individual salespeople, and cashiers.

“We’re actually more focused on positive feedback,” Sampaio explains. “Praise is addictive. Employees who are repeatedly praised strive even harder to perform well.”

Sampaio wonders how he ever did business before implementing the solutions. “Before we got this tool, we had no idea how our customers and employees were feeling. Were they happy, frustrated, or indifferent? It was like doing business with your eyes closed.”

Sampaio is convinced that it is not a question of whether or not a company needs an experience management tool; it’s a matter of reaching that “aha” moment when you ask yourself why you haven’t implemented it yet.

Embracing �鶹ԭ�� Business One

When it came to automating key business functions in financials, operations, and human resources, ��á�� opted to implement �鶹ԭ�� Business One, business management software for small and midsize enterprises. Sampaio says he was pleasantly surprised at the speed and ease of the implementation and the approachability of the �鶹ԭ�� team.

“I never thought such a big company like �鶹ԭ�� would be so easy to do business with,” says ��á��’s top executive, whose main objective from day one was to be able to turn data into actionable items to stay ahead of competitors. “With �鶹ԭ��, we can evaluate the performance of each of our stores and make any necessary changes such as more training for employees or changing our range of products.”

Despite being a small local player, this customer-centric attitude keeps ��á�� consistently at the top of the list of preferred retailers in Rio.

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