20 May 2020 – Sarah Lubbe Competition is rife in the automotive industry. Vehicle functionality and price within various vehicle classes are ubiquitous, leaving customers struggling to identify unique features between competing brands.

20 April 2020 – Smoke Customer Intelligence A constricting economy. Consumer spending under pressure. Recession. Pandemic. Unemployment. Liquidation. These phrases that have become part of our daily vocabulary and for the most part, are unlikely to disappear any time soon. Our organisations are undoubtedly facing tough times – with some industries reporting as much as a 75% decline in profits. This tension and anxiety trickle down from the very top to employees at the front-line of customer experience, and this is perhaps where one of the most significant challenges lie for those seeking to maintain exceptional customer service despite the disruptions. 

26 March 2020 – Smoke Customer Intelligence We live in a world of turmoil. Periodically, unpredictable and unprecedented events shake the very core of our lives. These times require keeping a cool head, understanding the psyche of our customers and remembering that we have organisations to protect once the crisis is over.

19 March 2020 – Smoke Customer Intelligence Customer feedback has become hugely popular over the last two decades. Thanks to its ease of implementation, quantitative research is a popular feedback mechanism. However, relying solely on this form of feedback means that customers are limited to responding to the questions asked. This creates a bias in that organisations are limited to the information in questions asked, with no insight into whether customers with to share insights into any areas not directly asked. It is important to include free form questions in data collection to encourage customers to share their thoughts in their own words. The challenge in the ability to translate these verbatim comments into usable insight

25 February 2020 – Sarah Lubbe Over the past decade, most organisations seeking a competitive edge have implemented Customer Experience (CX) strategies to some extent. The widespread adoption of CX is hardly surprising thanks to the likes of Gartner and Forrester pointing to CX as the new battleground for customer wallet share. However, as Gartner points out, many have faced crises within their CX programmes in last three years, citing either lack of executive support or inability to prove ROI as being the leading causes of such hurdles. Forrester further highlights the importance, and struggle, that CX leaders face, by predicting that 1 in 4 CX pros may find their roles in questions if they are not able to unlock ROI within their functions. 

29 January 2020 – Sarah Mackenzie Globally, organisations are recognising the importance of collecting and understanding customer feedback and are consequently investing in Voice of the Customer (VOC) programmes to measure and track their performance.

23 January 2020 – Smoke Customer Intelligence   For many customers, the financial industry is one fraught with terms and conditions, confusing products and fee structures that are unclear. In an effort to protect consumers, the concept of Fair Treatment has risen over the past decade. This practice intends to improve market practices in the industry in a way that ensures that bank customers are treated more fairly than in the past.   

21 January 2020 – Smoke Customer Intelligence According to a study by Deloitte, global spending on healthcare will increase at an annual rate of more than 4% for the next two years, reaching a combined spend of more than $8.7 trillion in the coming year. This consistent increase in spending is primarily driven by ageing and growing populations, market expansion and technology advances. 

17 January 2020 – Smoke Customer Intelligence It's a New Year, and many people use this time of year to set new goals for themselves. New Year's resolutions have become somewhat of a tradition; however, despite the best intentions, 25% of all goals are abandoned as quickly as the 25th of January.