Customer experience is the only way that organisations are able to gain competitive advantage and hold on to their customers. It is the experience that customers have that will keep them coming back.

We caught up with Penelope Khuzwayo the Customer Insights- Loyalty and Service Manager at Sun International ahead of the Customer 360 Africa 2019 Cape Town Event to find out what creating timeless moments has done for her organisation.

Corinium: Could you tell us more about co-creating Timeless moments?

Khuzwayo: “Timeless moments are created when everyone feels like they have played a role, contributed, or that they have been considered during the process of ensuring that a company or brand delivers on their vision and promise to both its employees and its customers.”

Timeless moments are created by those who question the status quo, understand their vision and brand narrative of  creating customer experience that is innovative, relevant, willing to be wrong, reflects in order to correct itself and thinks beyond today and questions its past.

Timeless moments is a concept born out of the sole effort and obsession to create customer experience that puts customers first at every customer touchpoint. This is about creating moments that are born of an authentic obsession of understanding what is it that your customer values. Timeless moments are wow moments created along the customer experience journey that contributes to making a brand iconic that customers perceive as relevant. Central to this concept is knowing that both the customer and brand need to work together - because both are dependent on each other to give and or receive that which they want from a brand or to a customer.

Corinium: How would an organization go about engaging both internal and external stakeholders to create timeless moments?

Khuzwayo: Obsessed with building a company culture: The obsession with building and sustaining an authentic company culture that puts both its people and customers at the forefront is the first step for any organization to engage both internal and external stakeholders.

Listen to your people: If your employee is taken care of, best believe that your customer will be treated and offered the best customer experience, and vice versa. For example include your employees and customers as part of creating your brand, campaigns and products. Understanding your customers is essential in engaging with stakeholders at a level that shows that what you are offering as an organization comes from a place of knowledge rather than assumptions - to understand your customers requires an organization to listen to both internal and external stakeholders, especially those that have first point of contact with customers.

Corinium: What are the benefits of creating timeless moments for organizations?

Khuzwayo: “How Happy Employees Make Happy Customers”

• Excellent customer experience and customer service
• Having a brand that is authentic, relevant and perceived as iconic in the minds of its consumers
• Create ambassadors from both customers and employees
• Knowing what your people and customers want or need
• Problems are seen as learnings and not obstacles
• Organization is open and Collaboration is welcomed through market research and customer feedback

Corinium: Do you have any final thoughts you would like to leave the delegates with?

Khuzwayo: Brands are only as good as the experience they offer in the mind of both customers and employees.

I believe that the two go hand in hand, and together makes a brilliant, timeless, and iconic brand that leads to word of mouth etc. Customer experience is a commodity and a great foundation is required to achieve timeless moments that will surpass our times and beyond.

Join us at the Customer 360 Africa 2019 Cape Town Event to learn more.