Businesses in Africa understand that they need to optimise digital experiences for customers and employees alike, as today’s consumer mindset has driven an increase in expectations.
In fact, customer experience (CX) is the new battlefield for businesses and this is having a direct impact on African organisations, says Manish Mishra, head of Freshworks Middle East & Africa.
Founded in India and listed on the Nasdaq, Freshworks is a Software-as-a-Service CX specialist with global presence and a market capitalisation of about $10 billion.
Mishra says the ever-changing technology landscape and ever-improving customisation offered by B2C players are forcing businesses to rethink their business software adoption. “Cloud technology is the answer, and verticals such as telco, media, financial services and retail are primed for cloud adoption like never before.”
Speaking of challenges that are unique to Africa, Mishra says there are studies that go into detail on how African businesses fell behind when being forced to jump on the digital bandwagon. “I would say African customers expect higher standards of customer experience, having been exposed to global brands. However, local brands have fallen short when it comes to catering to their customers digitally. On the bright side, various government initiatives are helping support digital adoption across verticals.”
Local brands have fallen short, when it comes to catering to their customers digitally.
According to Mishra, the good news is that cloud penetration has been doubling in the past three years and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 17% to 20% in Africa.
“The region had less on-premise solutions to begin with, which has played really well into the hands of new-age, digitally native businesses. They are definitely finding it easier to adapt to the cloud right from inception, and it also helps them lock horns with legacy businesses with only a relatively minor footprint.”
Various government initiatives and large telco and IT organisations are helping set up the infrastructure that is required to support the digital initiatives in the region, he adds.
Communication is key
When it comes to successful customer and employee experience, data and communication are key. “Customers want businesses to know them, and to communicate with them accordingly. A siloed approach to business software no longer works, and cloud software with open APIs and integrations help businesses get a more holistic view of their customers.”
Similarly, Mishra says employees should be able to have the entire context of a customer’s communication with the brand and respond accordingly.
“Freshworks was founded after our CEO had a terrible customer experience with a shipping insurance provider for his broken TV. After five-and-a-half months of multiple e-mails and phone calls, he got resolution when he took to a social forum.”
This made him realise that there had to be a better way to provide great user experiences through software. “You can see it in your own life. When you need help at home or at work, you want it to be easy, fast and delightful. That’s where Freshworks software comes in."
He says Freshworks has been helping businesses create excellent customer experiences, as well as breaking down communication silos for the last decade. Freshdesk is its flagship customer service software, while Freshservice is an internal IT helpdesk and service management platform.
"We now have more than 52 500 customers in over 135 countries using our products to negate the challenges we spoke about and elevate customer experiences.”
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