According to a survey by the data analytics firm YouGov, enhancing the ‘customer experience’ will be a top business priority in 2020 among the six countries that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
The results of the survey showed that this was agreed on by 96% of the region’s information technology (IT) decision makers.
304 GCC decision makers participated in the survey, out of which 80% ranked customer experience as being “very important” while the rest of the 16% ranked it as “somewhat important.”
This information was made available via a press release by the leading software company, Systems Applications and Products in data Processing (SAP).
Gergi Abboud, the Senior Vice President at SAP Middle East, said:
“The finding that nearly all GCC organisations surveyed are prioritising customer experience demonstrates that 2020 is the year when all aspects of customer interaction become critically important for business success.”
Abboud went on to talk about how GCC business can and should develop products to meet the demands and needs of its’ customers.
This demand fulfilment will ultimately optimise customer experience and also enhance customer satisfaction.
Abboud concluded that nearly all of the GCC organisations prioritising the needs and the experiences of the customers imply that in the year 2020, customer demands will be paramount to a business’ success.
According to SAP, the Orpic Group and Oman Oil are at the forefront of innovation in terms of customer experience in the Middle East. .
These companies have introduced digital transformation projects with a base of SAP SX solutions implemented across the Group, allowing them access to an internal library of customer order history and even a business-to-business (B2B) portal.
SAP also said that Abdul Latif Jameel(ALJ), one of the largest businesses in Saudi Arabia has transformed its management processes by using JSAP, a resource planning system that won a Gold Award for Business Transformation in the SAP Quality Awards held in April 2019.
According to Faisal Abdalla, Vice President of ALJ Motors
“ALJ is one of the GCC’s key businesses leading on digital transformation through JSAP, one of the world’s biggest SAP automotive implementations”.
Another company that achieved a massive business transformation is the Alfanar electric division of the Alfanar group based in Saudi Arabia.
The Alfanar electric division placed significant emphasis on transforming customer experience and achieved digital transformation, working closely with the SAP.
With regards to the Alfanar group’s transformation, Jameel Khan, Manager of the SAP Center of Excellence explained that Alfanar was able to bring together operational data with customer data and was therefore able to boost the sale of their products significantly.
88% of the respondents to the survey recognised just how “important” customer engagement and experience is for their business to be a success in 2020. Similarly, 60% agreed to maintain a “high level” of employee interaction in the upcoming year.
Creating products and offering services based on what customers want will be beneficial for both customers and the businesses in the long run and is the future of economic growth among the Gulf countries.
