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KPMG says TSB has taken out the title of 2019 Customer Experience Excellence Champion, based on a survey of almost 3000 consumers across New Zealand.
The survey looks at 130 New Zealand and international brands considered against the KPMG Six Pillars of Customer Experience Excellence.
TSB gained top spot through its authentic, customer-first philosophy, says KPMG.
It says customers scored TSB highly on their ability to empathise and provide resolution, a testament to their support of Kiwi customers and their communities over their 160-plus year history.
Airlines took out second and third place. Singapore Airlines was rated highly for empathy and the ability to meet and exceed expectations, delivering the highest levels of customer service in a genuine manner.
Air New Zealand had high scores for integrity and excelling at expectations, evidence of the people centric culture and hospitality excellence.
“A commonality across Singapore Airlines and Air New Zealand’s success is that both brands obsess over customer needs and invest a considerable amount of time and resources into the science of execution,” says Simon Hunter, KPMG partner.
“Our 2019 findings show us that in a world of exponential change, New Zealand organisations must remember that success depends on the quality of their connection to the customer,” says Hunter.
This is the second year KPMG is conducting the survey.
“In comparison to our inaugural report findings, New Zealand organisations have raised the bar on customer experience,” says Hunter.
“The message for enterprises is that a great experience last year becomes the expectation for tomorrow.”
Other brands in the top 10 for 2019 are Mighty Ape, Mitre 10, Unichem, Kiwibank, PAK’nSAVE, BNZ and New World.
BNZ stood out as the organisation that experienced the most significant improvement from 2018 to 2019, improving at a faster rate than any other brand, pulling the bank into the top 10 overall in 2019, reports KPMG.
This reflects the bank’s investment in a customer-centred transformation programme focused on engaging Kiwis in new ways to help them meet their financial goals, it states.
“The results from the 2019 leaders confirm that customer experience excellence is a source of advantage," says Hunter.
“The leaders experience 1.7 times more revenue growth and 13 times more EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) growth than their laggard peers. This payback is critically important in an environment where growth is hard to realise.”
The 6 pillars of customer experience excellence, according to KPMG, are:
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- Personalisation: Using individualised attention to drive an emotional connection.
- Integrity: Being trustworthy and engendering trust.
- Expectations: Managing, meeting and exceeding customer expectations.
- Resolution: Turning a poor experience into a great one.
- Time and effort: Minimising customer effort and creating frictionless processes.
- Empathy: Achieving an understanding of the customer’s circumstances to drive deep rapport.
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