The Evolving Customer: Profile of a Winner

What makes some businesses rise above the rest in the ‘next normal’? What are they doing that other businesses aren’t? What are the key enablers of their success? We interviewed more than 500 executives across every industry in the EMEA region, and here’s what we learned: ‘Winning’ organisations aren’t just well advanced in their digital and customer transformation journeys: they’re making the right investments, breaking down silos and integrating capabilities to deliver the services their customers want.  

For businesses to thrive in a post-pandemic world, they must first transform digitally.   

That’s the one-line takeaway from PwC’s recent research into ‘winning’ organisations in Europe (read the White Paper here) where the numbers speak for themselves: more than 7 in 10 of those ‘winning’ in the market have already started implementing business transformation across multiple front and back office functions.   

Not only did we find this common thread of Digital Transformation, we also uncovered 5 themes that were central to their Digital Transformation approach. But what does this mean in real terms? We highlighted five key areas where businesses should be focusing their efforts. 

Break down the silos  

The research is clear: Winners spend time investing in enterprise-wide process and data capabilities, and enable those through key technology implementation. They follow an approach that works backwards from the customer's needs or outcome, and understand the continuous interactions between people, clients, employees and partners. They know that great operations support great experiences.    

Who within my business has a touchpoint with the customer? How many of these teams are working together?  From the customers perspective, does it seem like we are connected? 

Here’s a great report to help you break down the silos in your organisation: Dealing with market disruption - Seven strategies for breaking down silos. 

Build trust   

Winners understand that trust in their products, services and brand is a key market differentiator. A digital transformation is as much about winning the hearts as it is the minds of your employees and customers. Your customers must know they can trust you implicitly with their data; that their long-term best interests are important to them, beyond a single transaction or engagement; that they are doing business with a purpose-led organisation. Purpose-driven companies are constant in one thing: they always deliver on what their vision of good is.    

Ask yourself: do you know your central purpose (and no, it’s not making money)? Does everything you do tie back to that central purpose?   

 To help you understand the importance of building trust in your organisation, we recommend you read this journal where we worked with the World Economic Forum on how trust fits into the equation: Resilience: A journal of strategy and risk. We also recommend you read this article on cybersecurity and the important role it plays in building trust.  

Be relentlessly focused on the CX  

Customer experience (CX) was a key pillar of any digital transformation well before Covid-19. Now, the companies that are winning are focused on CX because the customer experience and needs have shifted so dramatically: more virtual, more channels, and different needs. They are far more likely to continuously refresh their CX based on customer insights, and have a clear understanding of the customer journey from the customer’s perspective.   

Ask yourself: do you understand your customer needs? Do you know how they interact with the organisation and what the moments that matter are. They are creating feedback loops that allow them to learn from customer patterns and behaviours and adapt their services to meet the ever-changing needs of their customers.      

Here’s an interesting article that may help you understand the importance of customer centricity in a digital transformation: Redefining Customer Experience 

Lead from the top  

For transformation to succeed, it must be a top leadership priority, and not something that is delegated. Leaders must both inspire the workforce and create an environment where their staff both accept the rationale for the programme and then commit to change. There is also a clear need to support a wider culture agenda and bring all employees on the transformation journey.   

Ask yourself: does your leadership create the environment for innovation? Are your people allowed to experiment, fail, and collaborate as they innovate to serve client outcomes? Is your business strategy driving your transformation?  

View this resource if you would like to find out if your leadership is on board: The Katzenbach Center. We also recommend  this article for insight into The 10 principles of organisational culture.    

Then choose your technology   

Technology provides the ability to scale, creates insight and introduces several key capabilities to enrich or enable customer outcomes and grow revenue. There’s no one-size-fits all answer to technology: it must deliver speed to value, flexible systems and robustness. It must be an agile construct that allows businesses to execute quickly and serve their business objectives, rather than spending lots of time on the technology itself.  

Ask yourself: what do you use your technology for? Are you looking to understand your customer better? Pivot your product and service offerings to drive future growth? Create efficiencies and savings?  

Here’s an app that can help you tell if your technology is helping you drive growth: Digital Fitness app 

Here’s where to start  

Getting started on a digital transformation means first knowing where your business is. Knowing where to start, and where to invest, is critically important in determining whether your transformation will be successful or not.   

If you’re stuck in your transformation journey, or looking for new ways to break down silos and put your customer at the centre of your business, Download our White Paper today, and reach out to us.  

? 2021 PwC. All rights reserved. PwC refers to the PwC network and/or one or more of its member firms, each of which is a separate legal entity. Please see www.pwc.com/structure for further details. This content is for general information purposes only, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with a professional advisor.