Customer experience as a lever for behaviour change

Customers are at the heart of every business and addressing their needs and wants is critical to business success.?From the moment an individual hears about a brand to walking into a store and completing a purchase, customers have set expectations and it’s imperative that we, as businesses, have the willingness to listen and the flexibility to adapt.

Focus on customer centricity has heightened in recent years due to the ever-evolving use of technology and social media, fast paced consumerism, bite-sized information availability as well as short-lived trends. The COVID-19 pandemic really highlighted how fast consumer behaviours can change and how even faster businesses must adapt and be ready to respond. The focus on sustainability and move to digital are great examples of this. Some 88% of customers now expect companies to further accelerate digital initiatives[1], with many continuing to use online services over face-to-face interaction. I’ve seen it first-hand across our business at Majid Al Futtaim where we have been accelerating alternative shopping infrastructure including touchless experiences, online, and click and collect services.

I’ve been particularly impressed on how fast consumers adapted and adopted some of the sustainability initiatives we implemented across the business, particularly around our single-use plastics. It doesn’t come as a surprise that 80% of customer experience practitioners surveyed in the Global State of Customer Experience 2021 report have noticed rising sustainability awareness from customers[2]. This is an important statistic, yet it requires a much deeper understanding of what this means for your customer and how businesses can leverage this as a driver of behaviour change to make it meaningful and impactful. As a fellow CSO said in a recent Forbes article[3], sustainability and customer service are not mutually exclusive. We can harness the levers that help us to deliver an excellent customer experience to improve sustainability and empower the customer to make informed choices that are better for people and planet. ?

Customer experience at Majid Al Futtaim

At Majid Al Futtaim, we know that in this digital savvy world, it has become much easier for customers to research into business’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices and understand what a company is or is not doing when it comes to being sustainable and ethical. We pride ourselves on not only being transparent, but in taking a proactive approach in supporting our customers to make more sustainable and informed decisions whilst building trust. ?

The fact that some of our brands, including Carrefour and VOX Cinemas, have been listed as leading customer experience brands within the United Arab Emirates[4], means that we can have a fundamental role in driving sustainability across our business and the region.

VOX Cinemas for example, have excelled in fostering inclusivity through their numerous partnerships with local charities, providing free screenings, improving the accessibility of the cinemas, and hosting sensory friendly screenings. This enabled us to bring the magic of the cinema experience to many more, no matter their needs or challenges.

Carrefour on the other hand has played a critical role in driving a reduction in the use of single-use plastics as well as encouraging customers to adopt healthier lifestyles. This includes “healthy kitchen” – a dedicated section with over 2,500 products including organic, free-from and diet and fitness options, the detergent refill stations, the in-store hydroponic farms where customers can see fresh herbs and microgreens growing every day, and our most recent initiative, a favourite of mine, our first BIO Store. Carrefour BIO supports organic living and promotes locally grown produce with over 3,000 items from food and beverage to beauty and home care available. Another outstanding example is our partnership with IBM Food Trust, through which we will be able to give our customers end-to-end product visibility, promoting food quality, credibility and safety using blockchain technology.

What’s next?

At Majid Al Futtaim, we are constantly learning from our customers, listening to the market trends, and always aiming to be one step ahead. At the same time, we want to tap into the most impactful opportunities to bring our customers along with us on our sustainability journey. This customer centric approach coupled with our sustainability and innovation drive is at the core of who we are as a business. ??

In a post-COVID world, as businesses we need to provide adaptable customer experience that evolves in line with consumer needs to retain trust and loyalty. We need to continue to not only provide a positive customer experience but use it to harness positive impact and drive more sustainable behaviours.

We need to be agile and ready to adapt our processes as the world changes whilst being at the forefront of sustainability. And from what we have experienced over the past few years, this needs to be extremely rapid. Businesses prepared to make those quick changes will be the ones to succeed, and I am confident we are on the right track.

[1] https://c1.sfdcstatic.com/content/dam/web/en_us/www/documents/research/salesforce-state-of-the-connected-customer-4th-ed.pdf

[2] https://twitter.com/CX_Network/status/1530186484988395520

[3] https://www.forbes.com/sites/jonchorley/2021/08/05/customer-experience-reimagined-for-sustainability/

[4] https://assets.kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/xx/pdf/2020/07/customer-experience-in-the-new-reality.pdf