Are Nigerian QSRs delivering appreciable Customer Experience?

Customer experience (CX) is the product of an interaction between an organization and a customer over the duration of their relationship. This interaction includes a customer's attraction, awareness, discovery, cultivation, advocacy and purchase and use of a service. It is measured by the individual's experience during all points of contact against the individual's expectations.

‘The customer experience has emerged as the single most important aspect in achieving success for companies in all industries.’

Customer experience is created by the contribution of not only the customers’ values but also the company providing the experience. The importance of a great customer experience will be the catalyst for building a strong partnership moving forward.

‘Over 80% of buyers will  pay more for a better customer experience, but only 1% of customers feel that vendors consistently meet their expectations.’

According to Fast Company, the six disciplines for great customer experience are strategy, customer understanding, design, measurement, governance and culture. A company's ability to deliver an experience that sets it apart in the eyes of its customers will increase the amount of consumer spending with the company and inspire loyalty to its brand. 

Forbes says that customer experience is the "cumulative impact of multiple touch points" over the course of a customer's interaction with an organization. Some companies are known to segment the customer experience into interactions through the web and social media, while others define human interaction such as over-the-phone customer service or face-to-face service as the customer experience.

In this present day, it requires more than just low prices and innovative products to survive the climate and competitiveness of the business. Customer experience involves every point of contact you have with a customer and the interactions with the products or service of the business. Customer experience has emerged as a vital strategy for all businesses that are facing competition.

‘When someone’s had a good customer experience, they’re more likely to say nice things about your company to their peers, management and clients. This Word of Mouth marketing is probably the single most effective marketing channel around.’

Development of a positive customer experience can be difficult as there are many aspects associated with a customer’s experience. The customer service, a brand’s ethical ideals and the shopping environment is but a few examples that can affect a customer’s experience.

Understanding and effectively developing a positive customer experience has become a staple within businesses and brands to combat growing competition. In today’s world, many consumers are well informed. With the help of the internet, they are able to easily compare two similar products or services. Therefore, consumers are looking for unique experiences that can fulfill their intentions and create a positive overall experience.

Frankly, a lot of Nigerian businesses are failing in this regard, and one is tempted to view it as a socio-cultural, even ethical, Nigerian problem. The experiences are not far-fetched and differ from Nigerian-owned and expatriate-owned businesses in the same industry.

In QSR for instance, customer experience is superior relatively from the part of expatriate owned/managed KFC, Domino's, Barcelos, Johnny Rocket's to the Nigerian-owned/managed Mr. Bigg's, TFC, Sweet Sensation, Tantalizer; and this is worrying when you note that most of the over 350,000 customer service reps on both sides are Nigerians.

‘Customer experience is no longer just brick-and-mortar; it is moving towards the online channel, which leads to the digital customer experience.’

In relation to customers and the channels which are associated with sales, these are multi-channel in nature. Due to the growth and importance of social media and digital advancement, these aspects need to be understood by businesses to be successful in this era of customer journeys. With tools such as Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube and Twitter having such prominence, there is a constant stream of data that needs to be analysed to understand this journey.

By Sean P. McCauley, Parts Town.

Additional reports by ‘Dele Dele-Olukoju, Marketing Communication strategist and publisher of the online Marketing Communication Digest. He writes from Lagos, Nigeria.