How can your customers trust you if you don’t take precautions to protect their personal information?

Brand value is a key component to a company’s success and it takes several years to establish by implementing a brand strategy that supports the business. However, in today’s digital environment, brand value can be compromised in a matter of minutes and negatively impact the brand and company. As such brand security is an issue that needs constant attention from various departments including the C-suite to minimise possible reputational damage to the brand and the associated risk of losing customers.

Data hacks are happening more regularly today. These incidents impact brand reputation and safety and highlight the need for companies to take privacy issues more seriously as the repercussions of not doing so carry serious reputational damage for brands. According to the IBM 2018 Cost of Data Breach study[1], if a data breach causes an organisation to lose just 1% of its customers it will cost the business on average $2.8m (£2.1m), and if it loses more than 4% of the customer base the cost is closer to $6m (£4.7m). The costs associated with a data breach are made up of lost business, negative impact on reputation and employee time spent on recovery.

As such companies cannot afford to ignore the reputational risk of a data breach and need to have measures in place to maintain trust with customers. 

THE ROLE OF COMPLIANCE AND REGULATION

Customers are often required to provide personal information to companies for a variety of reasons and expect companies to have stringent measures in place to protect this information and mitigate possible risks of data breaches and hacks. This is supported by findings of a recent study by RSA Security[2], which identifies that more than 57% of consumers blame companies for data breaches rather than hackers. Further, the study states that a loss of customer trust is the biggest risk associated with data breaches and hacks. This should be a key concern for every organisation, as once trust is lost, it is near impossible to win it back.

To alleviate some of the risk, countries have introduced regulations such as the local Protection of Privacy (POPI) Act and Europe’s GDPR, to ensure companies operate with transparency while protecting customer privacy and using data responsibility.  While South Africa is yet to indicate the fines associated with breaches of the POPI Act, the GDPR has announced two tiers of administrative fines for non-compliance: €10 million or 2% of annual global turnover, whichever is higher; and €20 million or 4% of annual global turnover, whichever is higher. In many instances, this fee is equivalent to the 2-3 percent marketing budget that organisations assign annually. While this should be a concern for companies, the reputational damage of a breach should be the biggest concern for organisations as it is far greater than the value of a fine.

While government compliance and regulations should be adhered to, companies also need to implement their own compliance and risk standards internally to keep customer data secure from possible hackers and third parties.  For example, marketing departments often use website tools to target customers online and share customer details with third-party companies to create personalised campaigns. Both of these examples expose customer details to third parties and increase the threat of customer data being hacked.

To combat this, companies need to remove the segregation of duties from a single department and combine the expertise of the marketing, legal and IT departments to build brand trust and mitigate possible brand risks at all times. In doing so they will be adding additional layers of security to prevent data breaches both within the company and via potential hackers.

INTERNAL STANDARDS

While marketers are generally familiar with the threat of data breaches, in many instances they do not have insight into the particular vulnerabilities associated with marketing data and how to safeguard it. This requires the expertise of both the legal and IT departments to put measures in place to counter the possible risks.

To improve brand security, the marketing, IT and legal departments need to work closely together to combine technology, data management, content and customer experience. In larger organisations, Brand Security Officers have been appointed to focus entirely on protecting the brand reputation of the company. This role is charged with assessing, mitigating and managing marketing risks while looking at issues such as fraud, viewability and transparency. In essence, this role is responsible for guiding the organisation in terms of data security and customer privacy.

THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN BRAND SECURITY 

While technology is a key challenge for data breaches and fraud, it also has to be part of the solution. Governance, Risk and Compliance software offer companies a solution to address several of the GRC challenges they face by automating mundane reporting tasks and providing a single view of the requirements. However, companies need to also gain visibility into the compliance environment of the future if they are to limit potential risks and threats.

However, companies cannot rely on a single solution to address potential issues, they need to safeguard their customer data by implementing solutions that provide internal security standards and equip their customers to prevent possible data hacks and breaches. By using automation software solutions that help companies to deliver consistent brand experiences and provide verification tools in every email, for example, customers are less likely to fall victim of possible phishing scams. However, beyond this, the company needs to also have measures in place to prevent fraudulent emails from being sent from within the organisation too and minimise the possibility of identity theft.

Automation software presents a solution to help mitigate certain risks by automating tasks according to business objectives and brand standards. This will see all components and rules merged into a holistic solution and remove the segregation of duty from a single department to minimise potential risks to customer data and fraudulent activities.

CONSISTENCY AND AUTHENTICITY BUILD TRUST

While marketing departments are faced with the challenge of capturing the imagination of the customer while ensuring data privacy at the same time, brand consistency and authenticity should be the foundation at which customers establish a relationship of trust. This is achieved, for example, by using primary fonts which can be harder to replicate, email signatures with built-in verification tools and documents that meet compliance standards such as correct director details and company addresses.

To achieve this, technology should be implemented, not only to automate repetitive tasks, but to ensure that the company is able to establish trust with customers in every interaction. In addition, technology should be used to provide a layer of added security to the organisation while providing data and analytics to determine possible risks, mitigate fraudulent activity and gain visibility into how its brand is being used to engage with customers.

Customer trust and a company’s reputation is too important to be left to a single department. To be successful in safeguarding customer’s details, companies must tackle the challenge from various angles and implement several solutions that make it more challenging for hackers to access their information. At this time, technology savvy companies that implement solutions to safeguard their customer data are putting themselves at the forefront against the competition. However, in the future, this will become standard practice to protect their customers and meet their expectations.

[1] IBM Study: Hidden Costs of Data Breaches Increase Expenses for Businesses - Jul 10, 2018

[2] RSA Data Privacy & Security Survey 2019

Customer experience is a growing priority for organisations, as it should be as it is becoming the most critical factor for customers selecting your brand over another. As such companies need to implement measures to meet customer expectations and deliver consistent customer experiences at every customer touchpoint.

However, this can seem like a monumental task, particularly for organisations that work as silos, assigning specific responsibilities to specific departments. In today’s environment where the ‘customer is king’ and should be central to every business decision, customer experience can no longer lie on the shoulders of a single department. It needs to be the top strategic measurement for the entire organisation.

To be successful today, companies need to develop a customer centric strategy that is built from the customer’s perspective and designed to meet their specific needs. With tech savvy customers companies are adopting technology solutions that aim to delight their customers and enhance customer experiences. According to the 2019 Global Customer Experience Benchmarking Report from Dimension Data, ‘CX is recognised as the number one driver of digital transformation’.

While companies may be keen to adopt technology solutions, often knowing which solutions to select can be a challenge on its own. In addition, legacy systems can also hamper companies from implementing technologies that could potentially be key in improving customer experiences. However, companies should start by putting the I before the A. This means implementing information automation which utilises intelligent automation and only once this is in place, implement AI.

AUTOMATING FUNCTIONS AND HUMANISING INTERACTIONS

Some technologies can sound like the silver bullet your organisation needs to improve customer experiences and drive company success, but companies should not adopt technology for the sake of technology. Rather solutions should be used to enhance the customer experience and assist employees to meet customer needs. Even though customers are tech savvy and accustomed to using technology solutions to meet their specific needs, technology cannot replace the human touch.

Automation can enhance customer experiences by improving self-help functions that require limited involvement from employees. At the same time by automating tasks that take time and resources but add little value to the client, employees are freed up and empowered to focus on high-quality, lasting customer engagements that delight the customer.

For example, if a customer is looking for a statement, rather than placing the customer in a queue to speak to an employee, the customer is able to help themselves to access the information they need. However, if the customer has a query on the statement, it would be more appropriate to have an employee handle the sensitive issue and spend more time meeting the customer’s needs and making a difference where it matters the most.

MAKING MAGIC WITH DATA AUTOMATION

Automating repetitive tasks can have a significant impact on improving customer experiences by removing repetitive tasks and empowering employees to give customers the personal touch they seek in specific instances. In addition it can reduce costs and help drive sales and growth.

These benefits alone present a good case for companies to adopt automation technology, but they would stand to benefit significantly more by using data to firstly determine which tasks should be automated and then understand how customer data can be used to enhance experiences even further.

At the crux automating repetitive tasks has a significant impact on driving employee satisfaction which directly impacts on customer engagements. However, when companies put the I (information) before the A (automation) and strategically and intelligently drive automation, this is just the cusp of how the marriage of data and automation impact the customer experience.

Customer data should be used to add personalisation into your customer engagements. By understanding your customer behaviour, you are able to target them with offers and deals that are specific to their previous behaviour. You are able to engage them when it matters most and enhance the customer experience beyond the standardised content companies have traditionally relied on to reach out to their customers.

This is supported by the Dimension Data 2019 Global Customer Experience Benchmarking Report which states that ‘by transforming big data into customer and market intelligence, they’ll be able to align their analytics strategy with their business strategy and design personalised experiences that proactively address customers’ needs – using self-service and automation at the right time in the customer journey’.

IGNITING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES

Although technology brings great promise to companies and is able to increase productivity and drive cost saving, customer experience is about more than the technologies that companies implement. Customer experience is about creating a customer centric business where the customer is at the centre of everything the business does.

So while there is benefit in giving customers the tools they need to access self-help services at their convenience, employees need to be given the tools that empower them to deliver high-touch customer experiences at critical times. To ignite customer experiences, the customer needs to be at the top of the agenda in all boardroom discussions and solutions need to be developed and tailored with the customer in mind.

Only when the customer is central to the business strategy and employees across the organisation are equipped with the right tools to meet customer expectations across the entire customer journey, will the company be able to create meaningful customer interactions and enhance the customer experience that drive business success.

Paula Sartini, founder and CEO of BrandQuantum, says that to be successful today, companies need to develop a customer-centric strategy that is built from the customer’s perspective and designed to meet their needs.

With tech-savvy customers, companies are adopting technology solutions that aim to delight their customers and enhance customer experiences. According to the 2019 Global Customer Experience Benchmarking Report from Dimension Data, ‘CX is recognised as the number one driver of digital transformation.’

Customer experience is a growing priority for organisations, and it should be as it is becoming the most critical factor for customers selecting your brand over another. As such, companies need to implement measures to meet customer expectations and deliver consistent customer experiences at every customer touchpoint.

However, this can seem like a monumental task, particularly for organisations that work as silos, assigning specific responsibilities to specific departments. In today’s environment where the customer is king and should be central to every business decision, customer experience can no longer lie on the shoulders of a single department. It needs to be the top strategic measurement for the entire organisation.

In addition, legacy systems can also hamper companies from implementing technologies that could potentially be key in improving customer experiences. However, companies should start by putting the I before the A. This means implementing information automation which utilises intelligent automation and only once this is in place, implement AI.

IGNITING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES

Although technology brings great promise to companies and is able to increase productivity and drive cost-saving, customer experience is about more than the technologies that companies implement. Customer experience is about creating a customer-centric business where the customer is at the centre of everything the business does.

So while there is a benefit in giving customers the tools they need to access self-help services at their convenience, employees need to be given the tools that empower them to deliver high-touch customer experiences at critical times. To ignite customer experiences, the customer needs to be at the top of the agenda in all boardroom discussions and solutions need to be developed and tailored with the customer in mind.

Only when the customer is central to the business strategy and employees across the organisation are equipped with the right tools to meet customer expectations across the entire customer journey, will the company be able to create meaningful customer interactions and enhance the customer experience that drive business success.

AUTOMATING FUNCTIONS AND HUMANISING INTERACTIONS

Some technologies can sound like the silver bullet your organisation needs to improve customer experiences and drive company success, but companies should not adopt technology for the sake of technology. Rather solutions should be used to enhance the customer experience and assist employees to meet customer needs. Even though customers are tech-savvy and accustomed to using technology solutions to meet their specific needs, technology cannot replace the human touch.

Automation can enhance customer experiences by improving self-help functions that require limited involvement from employees. At the same time, by automating tasks that take time and resources but add little value to the client, employees are freed up and empowered to focus on high-quality, lasting customer engagements that delight the customer.

For example, if a customer is looking for a statement, rather than placing the customer in a queue to speak to an employee, the customer is able to help themselves to access the information they need. However, if the customer has a query on the statement, it would be more appropriate to have an employee handle the sensitive issue and spend more time meeting the customer’s needs and making a difference where it matters the most.

MAKING MAGIC WITH DATA AND AUTOMATION 

Automating repetitive tasks can have a significant impact on improving customer experiences by removing repetitive tasks and empowering employees to give customers the personal touch they seek in specific instances. In addition, it can reduce costs and help drive sales and growth.

These benefits alone present a good case for companies to adopt automation technology, but they would stand to benefit significantly more by using data to firstly determine which tasks should be automated and then understand how customer data can be used to enhance experiences even further.

At the crux, automating repetitive tasks has a significant impact on driving employee satisfaction, which directly impacts on customer engagements. However, when companies put the I (information) before the A (automation) and strategically and intelligently drive automation, this is just the cusp of how the marriage of data and automation impact the customer experience.

Customer data should be used to add personalisation into your customer engagements. By understanding your customer behaviour, you are able to target them with offers and deals that are specific to their previous behaviour. You are able to engage them when it matters most and enhance the customer experience beyond the standardised content companies have traditionally relied on to reach out to their customers.

This is supported by the Dimension Data 2019 Global Customer Experience Benchmarking Report, which states that ‘by transforming big data into customer and market intelligence, they’ll be able to align their analytics strategy with their business strategy and design personalised experiences that proactively address customers’ needs – using self-service and automation at the right time in the customer journey.’

Customer experience is a growing priority for organisations, says Paula Sartini, founder and CEO of BrandQuantum. She says that customer experience is becoming the most critical factor for customers when selecting a brand over others.

Companies need to implement measures to meet customer expectations and deliver consistent customer experiences at every touchpoint. However, this can seem like a monumental task — particularly for organisations that work as silos, assigning specific responsibilities to specific departments.

In today's environment where the customer is king and should be central to every business decision, customer experience can no longer lie on the shoulders of a single department. It needs to be the top strategic measurement for the entire organisation.

To be successful today, companies need to develop a customer-centric strategy that is built from the customer's perspective and designed to meet their specific needs. Companies are adopting technology solutions that aim to delight their tech-savvy customers and enhance customer experiences.

While companies may be keen to adopt technology solutions, often knowing which solutions to select can be a challenge on its own. In addition, legacy systems can also hamper companies from implementing technologies that could potentially be key in improving customer experiences.

Companies should start by putting the 'I' before the 'A'. This means implementing information automation, which utilises intelligent automation. Once this is in place, only then implement AI.

AUTOMATING FUNCTIONS AND HUMANISING INTERACTIONS

Some technologies can sound like the silver bullet that your organisation needs to improve customer experiences and drive company success, but companies should not adopt technology for the sake of technology.

Rather, solutions should be used to enhance the customer experience and assist employees to meet customer needs. Even though customers are tech-savvy and accustomed to using technology solutions to meet their specific needs, technology cannot replace the human touch.

Automation can enhance customer experiences by improving self-help functions that require limited involvement from employees. At the same time, by automating tasks that take time and resources but add little value to the client, employees are freed up and empowered to focus on high-quality, lasting customer engagements that delight the customer.

For example, if a customer is looking for a statement, rather than placing the customer in a queue to speak to an employee, the customer is able to help themselves to access the information they need.

However, if the customer has a query on the statement, it would be more appropriate to have an employee handle the sensitive issue and spend more time meeting the customer's needs and making a difference where it matters the most.

MAKING MAGIC WITH DATA AND AUTOMATION

Automating repetitive tasks can have a significant impact on improving customer experiences. Automation removes repetitive tasks and empowers employees to give customers the personal touch they seek in specific instances. In addition, it can reduce costs and help drive sales and growth.

These benefits alone present a good case for companies to adopt automation technology. Companies would benefit even more so from it if they used data to firstly determine what tasks should be automated and then understand how customer data can be used to enhance experiences.

At the crux, automating repetitive tasks has a significant impact on driving employee satisfaction, which directly impacts on customer engagements. Customer data should be used to add personalisation into your customer engagements.

By understanding your customer behaviour, you are able to target them with offers and deals that are specific to their previous behaviour. You are able to engage them when it matters most and enhance the customer experience beyond the standardised content companies have traditionally relied on to reach out to their customers.

The Dimension Data 2019 Global Customer Experience Benchmarking Report says that "by transforming big data into customer and market intelligence, [companies will] be able to align their analytics strategy with their business strategy. [They will be able to] design personalised experiences that proactively address customers' needs — using self-service and automation at the right time in the customer journey."

IGNITING CUSTOMER EXPERIENCES

Although technology is able to increase productivity and drive cost-saving, customer experience is about more than the technologies that companies implement. Customer experience is about creating a customer-centric business where the customer is at the centre of everything the business does.

So while there is a benefit in giving customers the tools they need to access self-help services at their convenience, employees need to be given the tools that empower them to deliver high-touch customer experiences at critical times.

To ignite customer experiences, the customer needs to be at the top of the agenda in all boardroom discussions. Additionally, solutions need to be developed and tailored with the customer in mind.

Only when the customer is central to the business strategy and employees across the organisation are equipped with the right tools to meet customer expectations, the company be able to create meaningful customer interactions and enhance the customer experience that drives business success.

One of the things that astounded us about Absa’s rebrand last year was how quickly the brand image was turned around.

Within a day all of Absa’s digital marketing had switched from the old to the new and it was something that we found impressive even if Africanicity is a word we still don’t understand.

To our mind this was an effort in pushing a message of brand consistency through to Absa’s customers and speaking to founder and chief executive officer at BrandQuantum, Paula Sartini, this is becoming terribly valuable in the digital space.

Being consistent allows folks to know exactly what to expect when they deal with your business. For example, when we decided to rebrand to Hypertext from htxt.africa we wanted to maintain certain elements of the brand so that even with a newer name, the brand was still recognisable.

“By delivering a consistent experience in every interaction with your customers, they know what to expect when they engage with you. It also demonstrates that you take detail very seriously and gives customers confidence that you will deliver quality service to meet their needs,” Sartini tells us.

Consistency allows develops trust but also provides a level of brand security. Sartini explains, “This consistency can also be used to provide brand security in that should customers receive a phishing email which includes your company logo, for example, based on previous experience in dealing with your company, they would know that the email didn’t come from your organisation.”

EMPLOYEES NEED HELP

As a business owner, you might find brand image and consistency is always front of mind. What should be clear however, is that employees might not think the same.

While it sounds like a massive undertaking to get everybody on board with the image the brand wishes to create, Sartini says it doesn’t need to be.

“Employees need to be given tools that will help them to deliver consistent brand experiences at every customer touch point. All relevant documents from letterheads to sales collateral and presentations should be easy to access from a central location using the technology they have become accustomed to using daily,” the founder says.

“Emails should be branded with beautifully designed email signatures and be written in the correct font type and colour. To provide added peace of mind for the recipient, emails should include the organisation’s unique font within the email signature as this is far harder to replicate than ordinary fonts and adds an additional layer of security.”

Of course simply appearing trustworthy is not enough. The BrandQuantum CEO says that companies must adhere to legal requirements and compliance. Locally that means the Protection of Personal Information (POPI) and Electronic Communications Act (ECA) but businesses should also look at the global market and at regulations such as the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) in the EU.

“There are several factors today that can cause serious reputational damage to brands, these range from social media to fake news to cyberattacks. As such companies must have measures in place to minimize the possibility of reputational damage. Brand consistency, which is critical to establishing trust, can provide a layer of brand security for both organisations and their customers,” concludes Sartini.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) can bring great benefits to businesses across various industries. Already companies such as Google and Microsoft have invested significantly in this technology and are benefiting from it.

Companies that don’t have AI solutions in place yet don’t need to rush off too quickly to implement it in an effort to catch up, but they should start planning for AI as to not fall too far behind the curve.

Marketing departments in particular stand to gain vast benefit from using AI, most notably in their ability to deliver consistent experiences and exceed customer expectations. However many marketers are cautious in adopting new technologies, and as AI can be a massive task to implement, marketers stand to benefit from easing into the process of AI adoption by following the steps below.

START WITH AUTOMATION

Automation software enables marketers to automate repetitive tasks such as applying the correct branding to company documents. Whilst these are important tasks, they can impact on productivity and detract employees from focusing on more pressing matters within the business. This is supported by research conducted by McKinsey[1] which found that 45% of work activities can be automated by implementing technology solutions. With automation, companies will benefit from cost savings, improved productivity and improved reliability.

Before implementing brand automation, marketers need to conduct a brand audit to determine how the brand compares to its competition, what the brand strengths are, how customers interact with the brand and where the key customer touchpoints are. It is important to look broadly beyond a specific department and include the “messy and complex” things too as this is often the stuff that no-one wants to do but that will provide the most valuable insights. For example, marketers may suggest that email signatures are the responsibility of the IT department, however, customers don’t discriminate between the internal departments within a company, they expect their needs to be met and view the organisation as a whole regardless of who they engage with. As such every element of the brand should be audited.

Once you have conducted a brand audit, the next step is to determine which functions can be automated. These are the functions that require a time investment from staff but deliver minimal return on the investment. For example, complex customer requests should be handled by employees but if a customer is calling for a statement, this process could be automated to free up employees to handle the more challenging customer issues. The most important thing to remember when automating tasks is that customers are often looking for human interaction, particularly when dealing with sensitive or complex issues. 

In the case of the customer experience, companies need to get the balance right between what can be automated and what should be handled by employees. Ultimately the best approach is to remove human intervention from the repetitive and menial tasks in order to free them up to handle the more important and complex functions that make the real difference to customers and ultimately build the brand. Once these function have been identified the next step is to identify patterns within customer engagement by analysing the data.

MOVING BEYOND AUTOMATION

For many years marketers have been collecting customer data but haven’t been able to use it effectively until now. With a mountain of data, combined with established parameters, technology is able to move beyond mere automation to bring marketers intelligent and intuitive offerings. For example, in the case of email, employees could select pre-developed content to drop into emails they send to customers.

Initially this would require these employees to make decisions in terms of which content to select, however, over time the technology would become intelligent and intuitive and combining the data with usage patterns, it would simplify the process even further for users by automatically inserting the correct content for the recipient.

However, marketers should also pay attention to unstructured data as this is where the real magic lies. By identifying patterns in unstructured data, you’ll be able to find opportunities to innovate and identify real behaviours rather than rely on what people say they are doing. With greater insight into who your customers are, and a clearer understanding of their needs, it is easier for employees to engage with them using relevant, personalised information, sent at the right time and improving the overall customer experience.

INTRODUCING AI TOOLS

Once marketers have become comfortable using these technologies, the next step would be to assess their business needs to determine which AI applications are the best suited to meet their specific needs. There are several AI solutions available and marketers should be cautious not to implement AI for AI’s sake but rather determine which solutions are best suited to help them achieve their business objectives.

It is also important that you consider the legacy systems within the organisation as this can often be a stumbling block to implementing new technologies. Marketers need to clearly articulate their requirements and collaborate with the IT department to implement solutions that meet the business needs.

The most imminent AI solutions available for marketers include anticipating future customer purchases and presenting offers accordingly, improving media buying, monitoring social media comments to determine brand affinity and tailoring promotions. However, this is only the tip of the iceberg in terms of what AI can bring to the marketing table. With the correct data combined with the right AI solutions, marketers are able to gain greater insight into customer sentiment and behaviour to more proactively plan and target campaigns that deliver the best results and enhance the customer experience across every customer touchpoint.

GET STARTED NOW

There is no doubt that AI brings about some uncertainty with the promise of great things for marketers and business. While still in its infancy, this is the time for marketers to slowly start implementing technologies that lay the foundation for AI at a later stage. Marketers should start getting familiar with automation technology and determine exactly what they expect from AI technology before making the leap and introducing AI solutions into the organisation.

While it can be tempting to jump in head first, by adopting a slow and steady approach to AI implementation, they will be setting themselves up for success in the long-term. But the time to start is now.

Ensuring brand uniformity and accuracy in the digital world.

When Paula Sartini arrives for our interview, I’m momentarily taken aback. She’s wearing a little black dress with a lace overlay and elaborate fluff around the neckline, and killer heels perfect for dancing the tango.

She’s certainly turning heads on a sweaty Joburg morning. Then her make-up artist steps in and moves her hair a fraction so she’s picture-perfect.

It feels like overkill for a friendly chat in a café, but Sartini is the founder and CEO of BrandQuantum, and this time, the brand she’s promoting is herself. Smart marketing indeed. If you can’t make your own brand look good, how can you be trusted with the brands of your customers?

“Brands are built on trust. If you can’t even get your logo right, how can I trust the services you’re offering because it looks like you don’t know what you’re doing?”

Sartini looks gloriously exotic too, and tells me her parents are Argentinian. She’s fluent in Spanish and that Latin speaking style makes her conversation fast-paced and passionate.

A varied background has given her skills in marketing, accounting and art, and she learned coding as a kid when her engineer father brought home an Apple computer and helped her create a game where she calculated the profit on selling lemonade. “I learned the logic of programming, even though I just wanted to play with my dolls because I was really girly. But I’m very grateful now because that logical brain kicked in,” she says. “I’m not an engineer, but I’m very logical and I love statistics, accounting and numbers.”

All her skills have now combined in BrandQuantum, a business she launched in 2014 to help companies protect and promote their brands by making their communications consistent and secure.

She talks about gorgeous fonts and typefaces, and how you can spoil her beautiful design work on a logo by squashing and distorting it. It sounds a little precious, but she explains it well. “Brands are built on trust. If you can’t even get your logo right, how can I trust the services you’re offering because it looks like you don’t know what you’re doing? Maybe you’ll send me the wrong terms and conditions or the wrong information if you can’t get the simple things right,” she says. “If you’re a bank and you write to me in Comic Sans, I wonder if I can really trust you, because what you’re showing me isn’t very believable. It could be the difference between getting the business and losing it if you can’t even maintain your brand.”

AUTOMATE THE PROCESS

The BrandQuantum solution is based on software that was developed for her previous business when she was helping companies take their IT products to market. After about 150 projects, she realised it would be useful to have some software to take what she had learned and automate the process. “The work is quite analytical to determine if there’s a market opportunity. You look at the market factors and the offering, and put all the numbers into the software. Then the process is based on numbers, and not just the egos around the table.”

“One of our big shifts was in our own thinking about what we are, and now we know we’re a software company.” 

When clients call in BrandQuantum, they usually start by wanting tamperproof email signatures and letterheads to help avoid phishing scams and fraudulent communications. As part of the consulting process, Sartini monitors all the communications being sent out, and assesses the logos, advertising material and other corporate collateral.

Then the team can create consistency across all the documentation and store approved, up-to-date versions in a central repository in the cloud. The BrandOffice and BrandMail software give the employees instant access to these standardised communications, and if something needs to be changed or updated, it can be done overnight and the old material will disappear. This uniformity also helps companies meet the compliance, legal and risk management aspects of doing business.

Giving people instant access to the correct logos, letterheads and forms automates those tasks, eliminating errors that come from having old versions hanging around in the system. It also gives them more time to do strategic things like use their judgement and initiative to add a personal touch to their communications. The aim isn’t to stifle personal contact by making people rigidly adhere to corporate protocol, Sartini says.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

“Artificial intelligence and automation is where we want to go, but it must create opportunities to give us more time to talk to people because everyone wants an authentic relationship. One of the scarcest things is human attention,’ Sartini says. “We don’t shrink-wrap everything to where there’s no human intervention.”

In the past year, the IT side of her company has come to the fore, as clients adopting the products are now driving it through their IT departments as much as through the marketing side, and her team works with the client’s technicians to roll out the software and train them to support it.

“Our discussions have become more serious because we’re solving operational issues as well as brand issues. The CIOs are adopting it to solve their challenges and we have to dovetail into their systems. One of our big shifts was in our own thinking about what we are, and now we know we’re a software company.”

There doesn’t seem to be any international competition for what BrandQuantum offers, and Sartini believes the company can win business globally. New York State University could soon become a client, as it’s in discussions to implement the software to manage its brand across all departments and faculties. BrandQuantum has already started to go international on the back of clients with foreign operations, and New York State University would be an important win.

“We can take this South African software international,” Sartini says.

From user experience to automation – a big shakeup is set to take place in the enterprise software space.

Gone are the days when your IT team were the only ones in the office who knew how to use technology. And with this change in tech aptitude comes a change in approach to enterprise software. A space that has historically been quite slow to evolve, 2018 is set to bring about a few changes to the status quo. As so many businesses begin on their digital transformation journeys, these are some of the enterprise software trends they should be watching in 2018.

#1 SMART ENTERPRISE SOFTWARE

With smart enterprise solutions, a sales agent is so much more than someone just trying to sell you something. Using advanced technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning, your sales team will seamlessly have access to critical customer data, notes Mervin Miemoukanda, a senior research analyst for Africa at International Data Corporation (IDC). If they can easily pull up information about past invoices, previous transactions and payment terms, they’re better equipped to serve the customer and can close deals more effectively. “Having actionable business data handy via business intelligence and reporting tools, organisations will leverage on this to drive critical business operations and strategies more efficiently and effectively.”

Greg Palmer, a sales director for Sage Enterprise Africa, agrees. If real-time data is fed to operational staff, the business can act on what is happening in the moment, and improving the intelligence within their organisations allows business leaders to make more strategic decisions. Along with this, Palmer believes that smart businesses will bring more and more apps and services together via a single, united interface, which makes it possible to do everything on a single screen without needing to switch between different applications.

#2 USER EXPERIENCE

In the past year, we’ve seen a renewed focus on the user and the user experience and enterprise software will soon reflect this, says Wynand Smit, CEO, Inovo. “Increasingly, business users are starting to expect the same type of experience from enterprise software as they do on popular consumer platforms like Facebook and Instagram. The onus is on developers to create an experience that is comfortable, easy and familiar – all of which will help companies derive better business results from their projects.”

More efficient and productive output has resultant benefits from a customer experience perspective, which, in turn, boosts the business as a whole. As an example, Smit suggests that a business could incorporate gamification software into their contact centre environment to appeal to, and better motivate, their younger employees, who are likely to have grown up with some sort of gaming console.

“In addition, technology needs to be always on and easily available so that employees can work when they want to and where they want to.” Paula Sartini, BrandQuantum.

According to Paula Sartini, founder and CEO of BrandQuantum, users are becoming more and more vocal about their experiences and if a technology is not easy to use or requires additional time and energy, they won’t use it. That said, she cautions that any focus on user experience should be aimed at solving solid business needs. If you think of the employees within your organisation as ‘consumers’ of technology, the tools and solutions used in the enterprise space should ideally work in the same way as regular consumer technology.

“As such, user experience becomes a critical component to the adoption of enterprise software. In addition, technology needs to be always on and easily available so that employees can work when they want to and where they want to. If it isn’t available as and when employees want to use it, it won’t be adopted,” Sartini continues.

#3 AUTOMATION

In line with the above, more and more enterprises are starting to recognise that automation can have a positive impact on user experience. To reap the benefits of automation, successful digital enterprises should aim to automate the entire business process, not create islands of automation. These were so typical in the past and demand that humans bridge the gaps between different bits and pieces of information, notes Jaco Viljoen, an agile consultant at IndigoCube. Traditionally, customers would talk to employees who would capture necessary information on internal systems, but now we want customers to interact directly with the business via software. This makes processes quick and simple for customers who want to get on with their lives, he points out.

“Automating discrete processes obviously yields some benefits, but in order to obtain the full benefit, islands of automation must be connected and entire processes automated. The human handover element between discrete processes typically leads to inefficiencies, problems, and poor customer service.”

#4 IoT

Having spoken about how the right solutions can help a business make more informed decisions using corporate and customer data, Leon Coetzer, COO of redPanda Software, believes that the Internet of Things (IoT) will unlock these data insights. This will bridge the gap between digital and physical worlds, says Coetzer. “Businesses can use IoT to entice customers to enter particular outlets with personalised promotions, and then track how successful these campaigns are at an individual level. Sales associates will know exactly when a particular customer enters a shop and can provide a personalised experience as they will have the customer’s profile on a tablet or mobile phone.”

From a manufacturing perspective, IoT is key to any digital transformation effort, adds Kerry Hope, business development manager at Magic Software South Africa. Here, an enterprise will fit sensors to existing technologies, or purchase new technologies, and the data generated via these sensors is used to streamline the supply chain, eliminate waste and better forecast demand.

For Kethan Parbhoo, chief marketing and operations officer at Microsoft South Africa, in order for IoT to have any real impact, it needs a little help. He says cloud computing will be the push IoT needs to really come to the forefront in 2018.

#5 CLOUD

Parbhoo describes cloud as the platform for the next generation of businesses. “Cloud computing is driving the transformation of the IT industry across the entire stack, offering dramatic improvements in business agility, operational efficiency and IT maturity, with significant cost savings.”

Locally, Miemoukanda thinks cloudbased enterprise software may just outpace on-premises versions, as more and more organisations in South Africa migrate their application workloads to the cloud.

While it may seem like we’ve been talking about ‘cloud’ as a ‘trend’ for several years, this momentum will only continue this year, Palmer points out. We are seeing more and more companies of all sizes look beyond on-premises software implementations or large, complex private cloud deployments, towards the benefits of leaner, more agile public and hybrid cloud solutions, he continues. “With a new generation of business management software, they can choose from new alternatives that are powerful, adaptable and quick to pay for themselves.”

But as is the case with anything, along with the good, comes the bad. Hope cautions that employees who use their personal devices and email accounts, and become accustomed to using popular cloud-sharing solutions, run the risk of leaking sensitive corporate information. She calls on businesses to educate employees about the risks and develop enterprise solutions that are engaging enough so that employees aren’t tempted to reach for other solutions that are less reliable and secure.

“Today, enterprise software must deliver personalised experiences that are tailored to new working styles across social and mobile,” says Palmer. “This allows people to be productive wherever they are.”

ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS GO CONSUMER

For Leon Coetzer, from redPanda Software, it is better for a business to create multiple, specialised, intuitive applications that require no formal training than it is to create something too complex. In doing so, employees are generally more willing to use these tools because they require minimal effort.

An example of this can be seen in some local banks where employees are tasked with merely guiding customers as they complete tasks on their own tablet or smartphone, says IndigoCube’s Jaco Viljoen. With this approach, enterprise systems mimic what customers are used to, what they prefer and systems are accessed via a device they know how to use. Modern enterprise solutions and apps need to be as good as the apps people already use and love, which is quite a departure from the average enterprise system in the wild today.

Today’s customers are tech-savvy, have access to brands across a global marketplace, are not restricted to trading hours and they know what they want. To compete in this market, brands have to evolve to meet customer’s needs and exceed their expectations. This can only be done by implementing technology solutions that provide a seamless experience whether in-store or online, local or global. Technology is imperative to connect with customers, improve experiences and drive customer loyalty.

TECHNOLOGY SAVVY CUSTOMERS

Customers rely on peer reviews before making purchasing decisions. They search, browse and research products online and make purchasing decisions before they have even walked into a store. In some instances, with instant access to the internet via smartphones, they compare products and prices in store before making final purchasing decisions.

Customers also aren’t limited to trading hours or geographical boundaries as online and mobile shopping presents a convenient alternative to spending time in stores. They are able to find the brands they are looking for and make purchases instantaneously without the hassle of shopping around first and standing in queues. This is supported by research from Nielson[1] which states that 30% of global retail sales will be made through an app or software by 2020.

USING DATA TO MAKE DECISION

Technology isn’t only available to consumers. Brands should be using technology to improve customer engagements and drive brand loyalty. This can be achieved by starting with the data. For years companies have collected customer data, now they have technologies to analyse the data and make informed business decisions.

Starbucks[2], for example, has implemented technology that enables it to instantly track and aggregate sales and other data to determine which products are the most popular with customers and understand when and where customers are making purchases. This data is then used to determine which new offerings it should introduce according to customer preferences.

While companies are able to use data that customers have provided, companies need to be considerate of adhering to regulations such as the POPI Act and protect their customer data. This is supported by the PWC Global Customer Insight Survey 2019 which cautions that “customers want the companies they interact with to protect their personal data, and indicates that they’ll take their business elsewhere if they don’t trust that a company is safeguarding their personal particulars.”

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE IS KEY

According to the Interbrand Breakthrough Brands survey of 2016, leading brands are customer-centric and comprehensive in approaching their touchpoints. This means that companies need to focus beyond product launches and marketing campaigns and pay attention to the entire customer experience in the initial planning of their go-to-market strategy.

Brands need to consider the holistic experience delivered across all devices from direct customer engagements through to online and mobile experiences and ensure that they are all aligned to the brand. However, it is equally important that brands are also looking inwards to ensure that they are considering how they are engaging employees to deliver the brand experience consistently in every customer engagement.

This is supported by findings from the PWC Global Consumer Insights Survey 2019[3] which highlights that companies are moving towards the ‘return on experience’ which means that they are measuring the return on experience based on how customers interact with their brand and how employee experience contributes to the overall experience. 

Technology solutions can be helpful in empowering employees to exceed customer’s expectations by automating repetitive tasks that are time intensive. For example, customer statements could be automated, while more intensive customer queries could be handled by employees that no longer need to search for statements for clients.

PERSONALISATION

Human interaction is a key factor that will differentiate brands from other offerings on the market. While technology can be used to change the way brands work, it cannot be used to establish relationships of trust with customers. As such the most critical differentiator for customers will be the human touch. Technology and customer data work hand in hand to help deliver personalised experiences that meet customer’s needs.

Customers no longer want an SMS or email with their name on it, they want information that is relevant to them, they are looking for personalised experiences and they want to feel like companies know who they are and what they want based on their previous behaviour with the company. This means reaching them at a time that is most convenient or relevant to them with information that is specific to their needs rather than bombarding them with content that is designed for everyone.

For example, if a customer purchases pizza every Wednesday, they should be targeted on a Wednesday with a special offer and a prompt which suggests having the order ready for them at the usual time of collection rather than sending messages to them on other days with deals that aren’t relevant to them.

WEAVE TECHNOLOGY INTO THE BRAND

With tech-savvy customers brand cannot afford not to embrace technology solutions as part of their offering. While traditionally companies needed to incorporate their core values and mission throughout the brand, today technology needs to be added to this mix. According to Sidney Harman, “the more technology is woven into your values, the more likely it is to be used wisely.”

The wise use of technology is critical for businesses to succeed in today’s global market. No longer is technology a nice to have or can it be incorporated for technology sake. It has to meet the specific needs of customers. As such the customer should be at the centre of every business decision and determine which technologies are incorporated to streamline engagements and delight customers.

Technology, which should serve as a competitive differentiator in aiding brands to provide superior experience and connect with audiences, should integrate into existing systems to ensure that is it is easy to use and used regularly and effectively.

To achieve this marketing and technology departments can no longer work as silos within an organisation. They need to sit at the boardroom table and make decisions together to develop solutions that ultimately enhance experiences and delight customers.