Study: Which are the most client centric industries in Romania?

Georgeta Gheorghe 12/12/2017 | 13:04

The role of consumer experience in the digital age is increasing in importance and can make or break a business. According to Constantin Magdalina, who cites The barometer of customer centricity in Romanian companies in 2017, a recent study by Valoria in collaboration with Doingbusiness.ro, companies that manage the relationship with the consumer at all points of contact with the consumer will become market leaders. 

According to Magdalina, industries that make consumer experience the number one focus in their organizational culture, organizational structures and process design, will generate added value for the customer and profit for the company.

Multiplying consumer touchpoints brings challenges related to these organizational culture, organizational structures and processes. But what are the elements that determine the way in which the various industries in Romania manage these challenges? The answer is provided by the industry-focused analysis of the findings of the survey conductes by Valoria in collaboration with Doingbusiness.ro – The Barometer of customer centricity in Romanian companies 2017.

Customer retention is not a priority for the industry sectors

For 66 percent of industrial production companies, 53 percent of trade, 50 percent of IT and 49 percent of professional services, customer satisfaction increases year-on-year is the most important criterion for a firm to be the best market in terms of customer focus.

In construction and transport, most companies (39 percent and 44 percent, respectively) consider the annual growth in service quality and lower claim handling times as the main criteria that indicate market leadership towards customer focus.

At the opposite end, consumer retention is the seldom used criterion, being used by only 5 percent of manufacturing companies, 12 percent of commerce, and 19 percent of IT and professional services, respectively. The result is the continuous chase after new customers, with a required effort that is 5 to 6 times higher than the one needed for their loyalty.

Understanding customers needs is crucial

Understanding customer needs is the main value for consumer focus, less in industrial production and retail & wholesale sectors, where customer satisfaction is first. In IT, consumer experience is important for 50 percent of companies, unlike construction & real estate sector, where this value was not checked by any respondent. Consumer retention is the main value for 33 percent of transport companies and 32 percent of companies in trade.

For 50percent of the companies in trade, the main way to communicate the values ​​that underlie the relationship with the customer is the diversified and coherent internal communication. All the other industries have mainly top-down communication of these values ​​through top management – 51 percent in manufacturing, 50 percent in IT, 50 percent in transport, 48 percent in construction & real estate and 43 percent in professional services. Most transport companies (33 percent) say they hold Q&A sessions to understand client needs.

Processes and actions to deliver superior customer service

75 percent of IT companies are internally focused on creating processes that deliver superior customer service, followed by 52 percent of construction & real estate companies, 51 percent of professional service companies and 50 percent of companies in transport and commerce. The implementation of customer relationship values ​​is important for 38 percent of industrial production companies, 38 percent of IT, 38 percent of professional services companies.

Out of the range of external actions, only 31 percent of IT companies invest in customer support lines, 28 percent of transport, 16 percent of professional services, 13 percent of industrial production and 12 percent of trade companies. 85 percent of trade companies prefer to expand the range of products in line with customer needs, but 61 percent of transport companies say it is important to increase the number of touchpoints with the consumer.

What will make the difference in the future?

Although the Voice of the Customer is the methodology used by most companies to measure and improve consumer experience, 23 percent of IT companies use the Net Promoter Score, another 23 percent of IT companies use Customer Journey Mapping, 22 percent of professional services use the Customer Effort Score, and 14 percent of the production companies use the Customer Experience Index.

As a result, a first step that will make the difference in the future is to professionalize the roles within the company to help align all the initiatives that will provide better customer focus. It is equally important to allocate a well-defined budget for the implementation of these initiatives, but at the end of which to track those key performance indicators which will help translate the business results across the company by improving consumer experience.

Beyond the transformation brought by the new technologies, the industries in Romania must make a transformation at the level of focus and mentality. Although the client is not king in Romania, because we do not like this recipe for success which worked in other parts of the world (e.g. the USA, Middle East, Hong Kong, etc.), the experience we seek as customers, we also must offer as businessmen.

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