Customer experience (CX) experts from some of the most recognised and successful brands on the continent, including Multichoice, Woolworths, Shoprite, Superbalist, African Bank, DHL and Rand Merchant Bank, will share their successes, failures and lessons learnt during the next edition of CEM Africa Summit, taking place from 10–11 November 2021.
* CEM = Customer Experience Management
“CX is about managing the end-to-end journey that a customer experiences with a brand or solution that makes them feel heard and understood—from touchpoint through to advocacy—of a brand, a company, a solution and more,” says Shannon Mackrill, co-founder of the CEM Africa Summit.
According to Mackrill, over the last three to four years the importance of the customer has grown in this very specialised segment of consumer marketing: “The movement towards the gig economy and on-demand solutions has helped shape customer expectations of companies. This puts brands to the test, increases competition and forces them to perform better.”
He says the biggest lesson that the market has learnt during the COVID-19 pandemic is “that your customer can change in a heartbeat. It is not this thing or ideal that is constant. Your customers’ needs change as technology and expectations do, and so should a brand or a business. The consequence will be falling behind and losing customers.”
ROI is key
November’s CEM Africa Summit will gather heads of CX, marketing, MDs, owners of companies or business units. “Essentially anyone who has an interest in their customers,” says Mackrill. “They attend to expand their knowledge and more specifically to learn from others who have faced challenges or successes in managing their own customers experience, practical insights and real examples from those who are entrenched within the industry. ROI is key, as well as demonstrating the power that great CX has on customer retention and creation.”
Honest retellings of CX experiences
The CEM Africa Summit has been around for a decade and has played a leading role in South Africa’s customer experience journey and has connected thousands of CX professionals over the years.
States Mackrill: “We are proud of having been at the cradle of this discipline, way before CX was a consideration, let alone a job title; and until today it is still an event that helps shape the way people think about and engage CX in their daily work lives and has been essential to push the boundaries of understanding and shaping the experience a customer has with a particular product, solution and company.”
He adds: “As always we look forward to honest retellings of leading companies’ customer-related experiences and projects. If they failed, how they failed and why. If they succeeded, explanation of their recipe for success. Panel discussions and keynotes, no death by power point, just real people telling real stories.”
He continues, “this sentiment was a tough sell in the early years, however, nowadays it is essential in the vision and growth of a company. We have also seen CX shift to include employee experience as a means of manifesting good customer experience.”
The 25+ CX experts in the CEM Africa Summit programme line-up include:
• AutoTrader: George Mienie, CEO
• Dischem: Lynne Blignaut, Group Loyalty and Customer Rewards
• CX Visionary: Steve Towers, Process Management & CX enabler
• Rand Merchant Bank: Mumbi Odambe, Head of CX and Design
• Rand Water: Kamohelo Potloane, Head of Customer Experience Development
• Shoprite Group of Companies: Kia Abbott, Rewards Programme Manager
• South African Tourism: Debbie Damant, Head Visitor Experience
• Superbalist: Brenda Zuma, Customer Service and Operations Manager
• Woolworths: Hanz Rauch, Head of Digital Online Products
• African Bank: Eloise Boezak, Head Customer Experience
• Multichoice: Clint Payne, Senior Manager, Customer Experience
• Majid Al Futtaim Group: Qaalfa Dibeehi, Dean of Customer Experience Leadership Institute
Confirmed event sponsors so far include freshworks, Infobip, Insider, Rogerwilco and Verint.
How to join them?
CEM Africa returns via a world-class virtual event platform offering access to the live keynotes, panel discussions and the agenda. Attendees will be able to engage with the speakers and participate in Q&A sessions, polls and surveys. They can also contact exhibitors via chat or video call, exchange business cards with other participants and download brochures. Register and access the full programme online.
About CEM Africa
CEM Africa is the largest online CX event on the continent and is organised by Kinetic Events, which is a partner of The Vuka Group (formerly Clarion Events Africa).
Dates and location:
Dates: 10–11 November 2021
Venue: Online
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