The Top 10 Malaysian Companies to Ace CX – A Primary Driver for Industry 4.0
By: Ashley Foo & Manoj Menon
The Customer Experience is the pulse of every business now and the primary outcome of any IR4.0 strategy.
Do you remember the last time you bought a cup of coffee? Did you collect it from your regular barista, or was it delivered to you through an app? What made it particularly special?
With our busy lives and short concentration spans, companies and organisations are fighting tooth and nail for our prized attention. This has made companies shift from a reactionary mindset (Customer Service) to a more proactive and holistic one (Customer Experience). Gone are the days where Customer Service was viewed as a last resort and a means to dealing with unhappy customers. The CX experience encompasses a true journey for the customer from the moment she learns about the brand, to the product or service and finally the end-use.
A truly customer-centric company rethinks the customer journey and assesses every touchpoint they have with the customer. The finest CX is when a company delivers on its brand promise; this is central to the company’s mission and vision. Consumers can connect and relate with the brand, creating loyalty and driving sales further. We believe great CX is the primary outcome of any Industry 4.0 strategy. Twimbit set out to understand which are Malaysia’s top 10 companies that are delivering great Customer Experience.
The CX Framework
The delivery of holistic CX journeys requires companies to master 4 distinct dimensions, viz., Employee Experience, Digital Experience, Customer Service, and Brand Story.
As important as customers are, one must not neglect the Employee Experience as “Happy employees make happy customers”.
Employee Experience
The foundation of any company starts with the employee. As Millennials comprise about 50% of the Malaysian workforce, this new generation of employees seeks meaningful roles and careers in the workplace. It is vital that every company reassess their employee journey from the moment they hire and onboard, right to the employee’s exit experience.
Digital Experience
With the onset of COVID-19, businesses find themselves in a precarious position; to accelerate into digital or risk going bust. As a result, many companies have deflected to digital. Although providing a digital experience is often synonymous with a seamless and frictionless experience for the user, the complete journey looks into mixing the physical and digital experience. This hybrid experience creates the perfect blend for the user.
Customer Service
Organisations evaluate their customer service based on a few measures, such as Net Promoter Scores or the Customer Satisfaction Index. The pioneer of modern business management Peter Drucker famously said, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” These measures are fundamental for companies who want to start managing their CX journey.
The finest CX is when a company delivers on its brand promise; this is central to the company’s mission and vision.
Brand Story
How consumers perceive a brand is a key component to CX. 86% of consumers find that authenticity is an important factor in choosing brands. When companies invest in building a relationship with their consumers, it positively impacts their bottom-line and also fosters customer loyalty.
Methodology
Using the four dimensions of CX, we evaluated the best companies in Malaysia and were able to bring together the top 10. Our methodology follows a 4-step approach: Identify, Benchmark, Analyze, and Select.
We started off our quest with identifying an initial list of the best Malaysian companies across industry verticals through comprehensive secondary research. We ended up listing over 50 Malaysian brands. Next, we narrowed the list down to 25 companies by benchmarking them against the four CX dimensions.
Moving on, we analysed and conducted primary and secondary research. In our primary research phase, we interviewed employees of the companies in order to gain first-hand insights and better understand the implementation of the four dimensions. We continued our research by running a consumer survey to gain a better understanding on how Malaysians perceive the CX offering by these companies. During our secondary research phase, we pored over all publicly available information under the four dimensions. We considered factors such as the company’s vision and priorities to understand their CX aspirations.
Bringing together the information gathered in the benchmarking and analysis stage, we selected the Top 10 Malaysian companies to ace CX.
Top 10 List
- Astro
- CIMB Bank
- Grab
- Maxis
- Maybank
- myBurgerLab
- PETRONAS Dagangan
- Resorts World Genting
- Shangri-La Hotels (Malaysia)
- Yoodo
Companies need to review their customer journeys and prioritise crafting memorable experiences.
3 Key Takeaways
Over the course of studying the Top 10 Malaysian companies to ace CX, we identified findings that other industry players can learn from. The best practices across the 10 companies can be summarised into three main themes:
- Mobile-first, personalised, and humanised digital experience. The pandemic has accelerated the digital adoption of many companies. With the average Malaysian spending over 8 hours a day on the Internet, companies can take advantage of this and offer complementary solutions that are both physical and digital in nature.
- Improve customer engagement to increase loyalty. Malaysians are slightly ahead of the global average when it comes to being brand loyalists. Companies need to review their customer journeys and prioritise crafting memorable experiences. They need to see the customer in a bigger context, instead of a merely transactional relationship.
- Growing emphasis on Employee Experience. A company’s success is dependent on its employees. Empowered teams and employees are better prepared to deliver an exceptional CX. Many of the companies on the list have extensive programs that promote a positive experience. These programs also focus on the learning and development of the employees.
Closing Words
Place the customers at the heart of the business, and you will see the competitive advantage this CX model gives. In the Industry 4.0 era, a great CX would require a blend of both human and technology. Malaysia has a chance to showcase its unique Customer Experience flavour to the world. This is possible by combining the hospitality and warmth we are known for with the leverage of technologies such as AI.
Manoj Menon, Founder of Twimbit and a business leader with over 20 years researching Customer Experience. He is passionate about working with people, organisations and the wider community to help them achieve their potential and make a difference. I have a good grasp of technology and how we can leverage it to drive exponential impact in our business and careers.
Ashley Foo is a business finance analyst turned CX practitioner and researcher. She is a passionate individual who enjoys connecting the dots between various industries and identifying potential areas of improvement and innovation in the CX realm.
