General News
Why the End-to-End Journey Matters to Customers
Gone are the days when the customer purchasing journey was a simple, neat linear one from point A to B. Indeed, the process between these two points has become a great deal more complex with the wide array of technologies and purchasing channels available to modern customers.
Think about it. If you want to buy a household appliance like a washing machine, for example, or book a service online, how likely is it that you’ll head straight to the nearest appliance store, or book the very first service you come across while online?
Chances are you’ll start with a search and compare reviews and prices across multiple sites. You might even check customer reviews to see what other people have to say about a service or product, before deciding whether or not it’s worth paying for.
In between becoming aware of a service or a product and deciding to pay for it, a customer can go on several searches, make mistakes, abandon the process before picking it up again, and switch channels. It’s still a journey, but more of a complicated path with twists, turns and detours.
The importance of a customer’s end-to-end journey is well-established in a number of industries, particularly those in the services space. These businesses know that, once they’ve landed a customer, they have to work hard to attract and retain them.
In a world where online is taking an increasingly large slice of the retail pie (data shows that e-commerce spending in Nigeria is growing so rapidly that it’s expected to outperform the global average), companies that understand that the customer journey starts long before they decide to buy something and ends a long time after they’ve paid for the product or service, will be rewarded.
“The key is to constantly look at how to offer real customer value, with a special focus on being there if and when a customer needs you,” says Awazi Angbalaga, Country Manager for SweepSouth, an online home services company through which customers are able to book domestic workers to clean their homes.
“Being able to quickly find a reliable and efficient domestic worker has long been a problem for many people. SweepSouth offers a quick and convenient way to book a trustworthy, thoroughly vetted and excellent cleaner for a time and day that best suits you.” says Angbalaga.
“Clients love the fact that not only do we provide good service, we provide them accountability that was otherwise lacking in other working arrangements they have had in the past to solve for their home cleaning needs. Customers can give SweepStars (the workers on the SweepSouth platform) ratings for other clients to see. We also have a support team on standby if a problem occurs.
Angbalaga adds that the company is well aware that customers are also more likely to recommend brands that have given them a good customer experience to friends and family, making it a crucial way of growing the customer base and revenue.”
The rewards for ensuring that customers have the best possible experience at every point in their journey are significant. Research shows that not only are customers willing to pay more for a great customer experience but that they’ll remain loyal too. That’s crucial, given that up to 65% of a company’s business can come from existing customers.
Companies can reap those rewards if they put in the effort to ensure that the customer has the best possible experience throughout their journey and beyond. And in a world where customers have an array of choices available to them, providing those kinds of experiences isn’t just a nice-to-have, it’s an imperative.
Dr. Obiageli Amadiobi, director general and chief executive officer, National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), has advocated Franchising as a sustainable business model for the South East entrepreneurs.
Dr. Obiageli Amadiobi, DG/CEO, NOTAP
She made this call during a one-day sensitization and unveiling of the NOTAP Franchising Guidelines for south east stakeholders and entrepreneurs for a successful franchising business.
The DG who was represented at the event by Mr. Emeka Orji, head of Department Corporate Planning (CP) Department, NOTAP, said that franchising business model had globally been proven to be successfully sustainable due to low business risks associated with it.
She defines franchising as a contractual business relationship between a licensor (the franchisor) and a licensee (the franchisee) that allows the business owner to use the licensor’s brand and methods of doing business to distribute products or provide services to consumers.
She added that in essence, the franchisee pays the franchisor for the opportunity to use his established business model and brand name in running his business.
Dr. Amadiobi said the essence of the workshop was not just organised to explore the possibility of adopting franchising as a strategic platform to transform local dreams into national and global business realities.
She described the programme as an opportunity for business owners and intending entrepreneurs from the Zone to latch into the huge and untapped potentials provided by franchising business models in becoming business and brand ambassadors.
With over 800,000 franchise establishments across the globe, generating trillions in revenue, she described Franchising as a pathway to economic empowerment.
General News
FG Launches Online Citizenship, Business Management Portal to Enhance Transparency, Service Delivery
The Federal Government has launched a new Online Citizenship and Business Management Platform, in a bid to boost transparency, operational efficiency, and service delivery. The initiative, unveiled by the Ministry of Interior, is in line with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The platform is designed to simplify and accelerate the processing of citizenship and business-related services, allowing individuals and corporate entities to carry out transactions seamlessly from anywhere in the world.
According to a statement issued by Magdalene Ajani, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, the digital platform represents a significant milestone in the Ministry’s ongoing reform agenda.
It noted that the new system would drastically reduce bureaucratic bottlenecks, enhance user experience, and improve turnaround time for applications. “The Ministry is committed to promoting a more efficient, transparent, and secure framework for citizenship administration.
“This digital transformation is a testament to our resolve to improve public service delivery through the use of technology”, the statement reads.
Members of the public, private organisations, and other stakeholders can now access the platform through the Ministry’s official website: https://interior.gov.ng, or directly via the portal: https://candb.interior.gov.ng. For technical support or inquiries, users can contact: candb-support@interior.gov.ng.
The Ministry emphasised that the launch of this platform is just one of several digital initiatives aimed at transforming the nation’s administrative processes and aligning them with global best practices.
Observers believe the platform could become a game-changer in reducing red tape and promoting a more investor-friendly environment in Nigeria, particularly in areas involving citizenship acquisition and business operations.
Kashifu Inuwa Abdullahi, director general of National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has said that the 18 community IT centre the agency has built in the past two years are meant to be a beacon of calls and catalyst of change in those communities where they are cited.
He sated this at the commissioning/handing over of IT centre at Akesan area in Lagos. He noted that the IT centres, Innovation hubs among others are part of digital literacy programme of the agency.
“This center is designed and build to help Akesan community to be part of the digital economy, because the President is big and loud when it comes to national prosperity and inclusivity.
“Our target is to build more than 1600 across the country. We want every community every Nigerian to be part of this national prosperity and inclusivity when it comes to digital economy.
“Today, we are here to commission it, to ensure and encourage you to put it in a good use, because we call it a community center means that we want everybody to be part of it. We don’t want it to be suited in a school where the school will lock it for only students and the staff.
“That’s why we located it in the community. Schools can be part of it. Our senior citizens can be part of it. Our religious centers also can be part of it to learn.
“We want it to be a beacon of call as well as a catalyst of change in this community. We want to see more information technology gurus coming from Akesan community. So, I want to encourage you to also come with a sustainability model so that the center will be on. It is on because when you invest in this kind of infrastructure, we don’t want to be called when there are small things that we should come and fix it. That’s why we are handing it over to the community so that the community can put it in a good use. The community can find a way to make it self-sustaining,” he said.
Dr. ‘Bosun Tijani, Honourable Minister of Communications, Innovation & Digital Economy, the NITDA Community Centre in Lagos, a space that is more than just a building. It is a strategic extension of our national mission – a bridge between the Federal Government’s digital economy policies and the unmatched energy, ingenuity, and innovation that Lagos represents.
The minister who was represented by Mr. Johnson Bareyei, director, e-governmance in the ministry, added that his ministry is committed to promoting inclusivity through capacity building initiatives like the 3MTT programme.
“We are also developing the National Digital Economy & e-Governance Bill, which is a robust legislative framework that will help guide our everyday engagement online.
“Our work at the Ministry also includes Project BRIDGE, our ambitious effort to improve interconnectivity by deploying 90,000km of fibre-optic cable across Nigeria. This is a critical imperative as we work towards making Nigeria a $1trillion economy powered by innovation, infrastructure, and inclusive growth,” he said.
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