Customer experience management summit addresses skill upliftment

Taking a closer look at the customer's service expectations, it is important to determine how they interpret good service. Expectations could vary from turnaround time and quality of communication to product or service demand and brand loyalty reward. Having the assumption that as long as the call is logged in the right technical queue and responded to within a time frame, that you are doing what is needed; could prove to be costly as this can mean a very different expectation set from the customer viewpoint.

Do your staff interacting with customers have the level of skill to provide that service? Have you considered testing these skills? Consider what additional skills the individual or team might need to get a good response from your customer and what level of technical knowledge is expected.

Terence Southam, joint MD of IT conference and exhibition producers, Kinetic, says, "There are many different facets to developing a successful support team in a way that will deliver on desired outcomes. Continuous analysis to identify skills gaps across the team dynamic and at each level plays a crucial role in determining how you manage the upskilling requirements for each and every aspect of the gap."

Summit offers top speakers

The CEM Africa Summit, taking place from 22 to 23 July 2015 at the Westin Hotel in Cape Town, will include an extensively researched and developed agenda focusing on CEM challenges faced by all scopes of business including the upgrading of current CX systems to cope with greater volumes of customers, and various digital channels connecting businesses with their customers.

Speakers include:

• Alastair Tempest, COO, Direct Marketing Association of South Africa (DMASA);
• Demetri Qually, Mayoral Committee Member, City of Cape Town;
• Franz Hirschberg, IT Director - Sub Saharan Africa, Pernod Ricard
• Ica van Eeden, Chief Customer Officer for Shared Service Africa Division, Barclays;
• Jean Ochse, Executive Head of Customer Experience, Standard Bank;
• Marnitz van Heerden, Manager: Group Customer Centricity, Hollard Insurance;
• Nicholas Barenblatt, Group Marketing Manager, Protea Hospitality Group;
• Sam Sabbagh, Head of Customer Service, Yuppiechef

For more information, go to www.cemafricasummit.com.

Follow the event and stay up to date on Twitter: @CEMAfricaSummit and join in on the conversation using #CEMAfrica.