KPMG launches 2022 Vietnam Customer Experience Excellence Report

Today, companies are persistently finding momentum to accelerate their businesses while facing residual socioeconomic challenges.

With the great migration to online platforms during the pandemic, businesses have fast-tracked digital transformation across the value chain, from marketing, payments to logistics, and especially to customer experience. ​

As Vietnam enters a phase of accelerated digital transformation, enterprises must join the race if they wish to survive and thrive in the new era.

As there is no one-size-fits-all recipe for digital transformation, even for those that operate in the same field, that's why understanding of customer needs and expectations plays a central role in executing a successful digitial transformation.

The 2022 Vietnam Customer Experience Excellence Report surveys over 1,560 consumers and takes on their evaluation of 79 local and global brands across eight sectors to see how companies have thrived during challenging times.

Based on KPMG’s The Six Pillars methodology, the report measures customer experience via the CEE score that derives from the weighted average of a brand’s score for every pillar including: Integrity, Empathy, Resolution, Personalisation, Expectations, Time and Effort.

Top 10 brands in Vietnam

“At PNJ, we have a strong belief that the biggest values we bring to our customers are far beyond our products. That is the reason why we continuously improve and invent new services which synergise with our products,” said Le Tri Thong, CEO, PNJ. “The connections of genuine trust and feelings from hearts will make our CX unique and long-lasting.”

Integrity

This year, the pillar Integrity continues to be the most focused aspect for leading companies. Delivering value, re-engaging with purpose, and giving back to society in times of difficulty help gain consumer trust in organisations.

Furthermore, the increasing fusion of online and offline experiences are making customers' lives more frictionless, fast, and convenient. The fusion of experiences also brings forth advances in technology, data, and analytics, which enable companies to have a much more profound understanding of customers, improving the quality of their lives with personalisation.

“2022 is the year for most companies to gain momentum after COVID and clearly those who are well-prepared are getting ahead with exponential leap in CX performance. On the other hand, customers are demanding more from brands than ever,” said Nguyen Tuan Hong Phuc, partner, head of Customer and Operations Consulting. “Delivering Expectations, more Personalization and Integrity are essential to create a strong and sustainable connection between brands and customers.”

A 360-degree view

With the growing middle class in Vietnam, customers are expecting more from brands that can tailor to their personalised needs. While there exists an abundance of data sources to capture customers’ portrait, these sources are often siloed, with data being underutilised and used sporadically to make business-critical decisions.

It is important to integrate customer service system, customer management system, billing system and operations team to create a customer 360 view, together with the analytics needed to effectively predict when and what kind of problems may occur to ensure a seamless end to end experience.

This enables companies to know customers on a personal level, gaining access to customers’ insight such as their needs and expectations throughout their journey and to act on it in real-time.

ESG-embedded services/products a priority

KPMG’s survey shows that globally, nearly two-thirds of customers are willing to pay more to a company that they see being ethical or giving back to the community. Meanwhile, in Vietnam, this figure rises to 93 per cent.

As Vietnamese consumers are extremely conscious about their lifestyle choices, they are more aware of the environmental and health impact of their consumption. With growing purchasing power, they are willing to pay more for sustainability, social responsibility, and healthier lifestyles.

Many restaurants are for example starting to use paper straws in their drinks to reduce plastic pollution. Consumers, however, struggle to find a balance between paying a premium for eco-friendly, sustainable products and optimising their purchase basket. The need for reducing the price of sustainable products is evidently a pain point customers wish to be solved.

This brings forward another level of concern for brands. They need embrace integrity and customer-centric mindset that allow them to listen and adapt to customer needs as well as act on their values.

Today, leaders must consider broader perspectives of the business environment and be agile when making plans for the future. Companies must re-identify new urgent priorities to keep up with the ever-shifting situation, from fast-tracking digitisation, addressing critical customer expectation, to defining sustainability targets.

Link to download report: here

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