In business, ground-breaking events that shake up every department and force leaders to take a long, hard look at their processes are incredibly rare – and we’re talking global pandemic levels of rare.



While companies scrambled to mobilise their workforce and ensure business continuity during the COVID-19 crisis, some aspects of the old normal simply don’t fit with customer expectations now the dust has settled. Face-to-face selling, for example, is out. But with customers inundated with virtual meetings, time is a valuable asset, so building trust with your customers and acting with empathy are more important than ever.



So, what foundations do you need to have in place to empower your people to sell with empathy at scale? According to our global <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/resources/research-reports/state-of-sales/">State of Sales</a> report, more than 3,150 sales professionals in South Africa think the top trends are greater flexibility, better and more accessible data, and simplified sales processes.



With South African sales teams at the forefront of innovation in response to the challenges of the pandemic, let’s find out how our respondents overcame these challenges and what they think the future of sales looks like for the region.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-agility-and-flexibility-are-key-to-meeting-customer-demands">Agility and flexibility are key to meeting customer demands</h2>



The rise of remote working has caused the boundaries of work and homelife to blur, which means customers expect your sales team to be more available – But having reps available 24/7 is not a realistic option for everybody, so building strong relationships with customers before a sale is vital – a point that 90% of sales professionals in South Africa agree on.



<figure class="wp-block-pullquote"><blockquote>With Salesforce enhancing our processes, we’re able to work at the pace and standard that we need to in order to continue to grow and transform as a business<cite>Marius Burger, CIO, SEACOM</cite></blockquote></figure>



The starting point for this might not be what you think. It requires taking a step back and looking at the bigger picture of your business operations – 89% of respondents in South Africa commented that reps are increasingly recognising their value to the company’s core strategy and supporting growth and continuity. This presents an opportunity to really drill down into the skills across the sales team and bridge the gap between the sales experience and business operations to streamline collaboration.



Flexibility is key, with 82% of South African sales teams reporting that they’ve taken on new responsibilities at work during the pandemic. Clearly, good things are happening, because 66% expect these changes to be permanent.



<figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-full"><a href="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Country-Deck-South-Africa.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1279" height="719" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Country-Deck-South-Africa.png" alt="" class="wp-image-409330" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Country-Deck-South-Africa.png 1279w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Country-Deck-South-Africa-300x169.png 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Country-Deck-South-Africa-820x461.png 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Country-Deck-South-Africa-140x80.png 140w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Country-Deck-South-Africa-768x432.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1279px) 100vw, 1279px" /></a></figure>



Benchmarks have also shifted, with 84% citing that success metrics have changed, and this is where technology steps into the spotlight, because agile technology that adapts and changes with your business needs and provides real insights into KPIs is the best tool to safeguard business against uncertainty.



For the 80% of South African respondents who reported significant changes in how they use sales technology, not being able to accommodate the shift could have been disastrous. Dave Keefer, Business Development Manager at KBAC echoed a common sentiment in a recent <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/eu/blog/2020/08/KBAC-utilise-digital-transformation-crisis.html">blog</a>: “We were concerned that leading a traditional workplace into the digital age would not be an easy task, but it’s hard to be agile when your processes are paper-based, and the door to digital that we opened led to some pretty remarkable places, especially in the wake of COVID-19.”



Insight selling, video conferencing, and other tech-intensive sales tactics have become increasingly valuable, along with AI and integrated CRM platforms that can help sales team work effectively from anywhere and reveal compelling insights based on real-time customer data to supercharge those video conferencing calls, as demonstrated by KBAC.



“We turned to Salesforce to make our operations more efficient and connect better with our customers. We used <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/uk/products/sales-cloud/overview/">Sales Cloud</a> to monitor our KPIs and qualify leads, and then customised it to automate processes for jobs and orders,” says Keefer. “Collaborating on <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/uk/products/chatter/overview/">Chatter</a> has been revolutionary. We’re suddenly communicating a lot better, with teams chatting directly on the opportunity and account pages. When it was time to reach out to customers, access to real-time data helped them coordinate their efforts.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-making-richer-data-more-accessible">Making richer data more accessible</h2>



Users across organisations are increasingly mining data from as many sources as possible to get 360-degree visibility of their customers, with the average set to increase from four in 2019 to six in 2021 in South Africa. For the sales team, a better understanding of the customer powers insight selling. And this isn’t something that’s ‘nice to have’; while being data-driven is a differentiator right now, with the speed of innovation it will soon become the new normal, so companies need to act now.



Centralising data on one platform can help to unlock this visibility and build a more connected customer experience, combining first-party data, with insights from social listening, and even tracking micro trends in the industry through the media. While 87% of South African B2B buyers expect businesses to have a good understanding of their needs, 62% think companies are failing to deliver here, making it an excellent opportunity to get an edge on the competition.



Also consider that all this data is only as good as your visualisation capabilities, which is where tools that can easily turn data from multiple sources into customisable dashboards are so valuable to help your reps get a deeper understanding of customer needs. Again, with 74% of South African respondents feeling that interactions are transactional, not personal, this in another area to really help differentiate your team – especially as 95% of customers expect your sales people to act as a trusted advisor.



AI solutions can take this a step further by analysing lead history to work out which new leads are most likely to convert and helping reps prioritise where they should spend their time. And the more data you put in, the more accurate the solution will get at predicting.



The end result is that you can automate manual processes and empower your team with the time and insights to give customers an engaging, personalised experience, whether that’s remotely or in-person as lockdown restrictions ease.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-simplifying-complex-processes">Simplifying complex processes</h2>



Using multiple tools is complex, but centralising processes and data on one integrated platform can be transformative. An advanced CRM platform can help free your team from data-logging and can manage the entire sales pipeline from opportunity to close. Learn what your sales team’s pain points are, and look for a feature-rich solution with capabilities that will have a real impact on their working day.



One South African Trailblazer who transformed sales is <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/eu/customer-success-stories/seacom/">SEACOM</a>. Shereen Rimmell, Head of Business Operations reveals: “Now that everything gets handled in <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/eu/form/conf/testdrive/?leadcreated=true&amp;redirect=true&amp;DriverCampaignId=70130000000sUVq&amp;FormCampaignId=70130000000tHIg">Sales Cloud</a>, we’re able to do our jobs much more effectively. The general feedback has been: ‘Wow, the Business Ops team are really on the ball now!’ That’s been huge.”



The implementation has boosted speed and efficiency, streamlined customer onboarding, and reduced manual input with more automated processes. CIO, Marius Burger, comments, “With Salesforce enhancing our processes, we’re able to work at the pace and standard that we need to in order to continue to grow and transform as a business.”



SEACOM’s success mirrors a general trend among South African reps: they have more confidence in their organisation’s ability to succeed than other regions. For example in South Africa:



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>74% have confidence in their ability to close deals</li><li>72% have confidence in the organisation’s agility</li><li>76% have confidence in the business’s long-term resiliency.</li></ul>



These figures are between 7-12% higher than global industry averages, and may be down to South Africa’s higher than average flexibility and adaptability. Service teams are considerably more likely to have taken on more responsibilities and changed their success metrics since the pandemic, and the region has a much bigger focus on building trust with customers before a sale, which are all key ingredients in resiliency.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-meeting-customer-demands-in-store-in-person-and-online">Meeting customer demands in-store, in person and online</h2>



The picture in South Africa is optimistic, but confidence alone doesn’t drive success. It needs to be combined with the right technology, processes, and data to give customers the personalised, compassionate selling experience they expect in-store, in person, and virtually.



Smart solutions can free your team from manual work and empower them with the insights to have conversations that close deals, but investing in next-generation technologies like AI now will help to maximise the potential of data and unlock greater predictability – something that will continue to mature and get more intelligent the more data you feed into it.



Giving your customers what they want now is amazing. Giving them what they want before they realise they want it will blow the competition out of the water, and help to build the trust that will help your company grow – global pandemic or no global pandemic.



Take Sales Cloud for a spin with our <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/eu/form/signup/testdrive/?d=7013y000002K0qnAAC&amp;nc=7013y000002K0raAAC&amp;utm_source=cnbc africa&amp;utm_medium=display&amp;utm_campaign=emea+za+slobcon_gtm&amp;utm_content=dcs+test_banner+7013y000002K0qnAAC&amp;ban=ZA">interactive </a><a href="https://www.salesforce.com/eu/form/conf/testdrive/?leadcreated=true&amp;redirect=true&amp;DriverCampaignId=70130000000sUVq&amp;FormCampaignId=70130000000tHIg">tour</a> and find out how to transform your business with 360-degree visibility and smarter workflows.

Business presentation

The face of sales in South Africa is changing. Find out how to thrive in the new normal

<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-large is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">We need to be extremely agile, we need to be customer-focused, and we need to make it happen in an extraordinarily fast way<cite>Steven Friedman, CIO of RAM Hand-to-Hand Couriers </cite></blockquote>



Customer service reps have had an extraordinary year. While no role was left untouched by the global Covid-19 and economic crises, the service team often acts as the face and voice of your business and the first point of contact for customers. And case volumes from anxious and confused customers skyrocketed.



With such a sharp and unexpected increase in demand, the focus has been on maximising existing resources through employee agility and investments in new technology. In South Africa, 91% of respondents surveyed for our State of Service report said that processes and workflows have shifted for the service team since the pandemic, and 74% of global respondents reported that they’re more reliant on data than ever before.



While workforces pivoted to home working, making data accessible was a top priority, and luckily 80% of service agents in South Africa agree that they’ve got access to all the data they need to work remotely. The appetite for field services is still high, so highly available data and good workplace apps are critical to be able to meet the needs of today’s customer.



On the flipside, this increases the need for good training programmes to help agents get to grips with new technology and new processes. Read on to find out more insights from the 275 South African services professionals who responded to our <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/resources/research-reports/state-of-service/">global report</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-service-agents-need-to-be-agile-to-adapt-to-new-ways-of-working">Service agents need to be agile to adapt to new ways of working</h2>



In the early days of the pandemic, confused customers needed extra support at the worst possible time for many companies, who were busy mobilising the workforce and adapting their processes to keep the business running.&nbsp;



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1279" height="719" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image1.png" alt="Native" class="wp-image-407106" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image1.png 1279w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image1-300x169.png 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image1-820x461.png 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image1-140x80.png 140w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image1-768x432.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1279px) 100vw, 1279px" /></figure>



One way of handling this was to temporarily bring in colleagues from other teams to support the service team – and that’s what 64% of companies in South Africa did. But 78% of decision makers still needed to invest in new service technology to empower the team to give customers the level of service that they were accustomed to.



The right technology can be crucial for adapting to uncertainty quickly, as Steven Friedman, CIO of RAM Hand-to-Hand Couriers comments, “We need to be extremely agile, we need to be customer-focused, and we need to make it happen in an extraordinarily fast way. Salesforce provides the backbone of what it’s going to take to overcome those challenges and really improve who we are and what we stand for.”



In addition to expecting round the clock services, customers are placing a bigger focus on finding companies who align with their personal values and have earned their trust. During the pandemic, 71% of global consumers reported that brands who showed empathy during the crisis have earned their loyalty, and while embedding a culture of compassion across the workforce is important, it’s the service team who have the most emotive relationship with your customers – listening to their concerns and finding a solution for them.



Insurance provider, Mont Blanc, offer fully digital services to give customers fast access to transparent and reliable information when selecting a policy. They can also self-serve to request a quote, and have access to a 24-hour claims line.&nbsp;



“Customers generally only contact us when they’re experiencing the stress of a loss, such as a car crash or damage to their home,” reveals CEO Nicola Iozzo. “To make life easier during this stressful time we’ve made it such that the claims process is as hassle free as possible, giving brokers access to everything they need to process the claim from a single dashboard so they can focus on being a reassuring and sympathetic voice to our customers.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-agents-expect-opportunities-for-growth-in-their-roles-and-a-career-path">Agents expect opportunities for growth in their roles and a career path</h2>



Service agents are playing an increasingly strategic role within the business and often act as brand ambassadors with a stake in the overall success of the company. In fact, Friedman comments, “One of the big main differentiators in the marketplace today is around customer service,” and the company has since set itself the goal of never losing a customer by offering truly outstanding service.



The skills that agents need to have are also becoming broader and more complex. Given the right tools and support, many have embraced this challenge and flourished, and 77% reported that they can now see a clear path for career development.



Around 80% of South African decision makers are making significant investments in employee training, but soft skills are still rated more highly among global respondents than hard skills:



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>76% think communication is very important, making it the highest rated skill</li><li>71% said being able to listen is essential</li><li>62% rated adaptability as very important</li><li>57% reported that empathy is highly valued.</li></ul>



Time management, product knowledge, and digital skills were all highly rated too, and solutions such as Salesforce provide an excellent platform to support these skills. Darrell Sansom, Chief Customer and Innovation Officer at <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/customer-success-stories/axa/">AXA</a> understands the importance of soft skills and a good understanding of his customer’s challenges to improving customer satisfaction and personalising the experience: “To achieve a good rating, we need to deliver a personalized, omni-channel service. Small business owners are pushed for time; we need to make things as fast and easy for them as possible.”



Technologies such as artificial intelligence, automation, chat bots, and self-serve are all worthwhile investments to free up your service team to focus on giving customers more personal and valuable interactions, while helping to reduce resolution times.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-evolution-of-field-service-drives-revenue">The evolution of field service drives revenue</h2>



Over the past year, consumers have come to expect to be able to interact with companies digitally. But when it comes to field services, <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/resources/research-reports/state-of-the-connected-customer/">two-thirds</a> of global respondents actively look for companies who can come to them, and organisations with strong field services are repeating the benefits.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1279" height="719" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image2.png" alt="Native" class="wp-image-407107" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image2.png 1279w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image2-300x169.png 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image2-820x461.png 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image2-140x80.png 140w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image2-768x432.png 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1279px) 100vw, 1279px" /></figure>



Field service is a key part of service strategies in South Africa for 88% of decision makers, with 84% citing that it drives a significant portion of revenue. Mobile workers have been categorised as key workers during the pandemic, but the onus is on businesses to keep them safe by instilling social distancing measures, better cleaning, and providing PPE. Only 60% of global respondents reported that their employer regularly performed wellness checks, which is an area that needs to improve to ensure high levels of employee satisfaction and lower staff turnover.&nbsp;



Other areas identified for improvement include inventory and asset management, which only 30% of staff think their company excels at, access to information and knowledge articles, which again scores 30%, and communication and collaboration, which score 41% and 36% respectively.&nbsp;



Field workers are especially dependent on digital tools. Look for solutions with specially designed capabilities that simplify workflows and give users access to everything they need on the go, including customer records, scheduling tools, maps, and knowledge articles.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-investing-in-people-is-a-trend-that-s-here-to-stay">Investing in people is a trend that’s here to stay</h2>



The pandemic has undoubtedly been a catalyst for change for service teams, but it’s also been a great opportunity for companies to become more adaptable and learn how to maximise resources. By accelerating innovation, many organisations have established best practices that will help to improve customer satisfaction and empower their field service agents.



With the role of the agent becoming more strategic, reps are feeling more valued and optimistic about their career development, so it’s an excellent time to nurture your talent with training programmes to help them learn new skills – both soft skills and digital.&nbsp;



But the one thing that has proven unshakable despite the pandemic is the firm belief by service teams in South Africa that customer satisfaction is the single most important metric, and behind every great customer interaction is an empowered and happy employee.



If you want to become a customer service superstar, check out the <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/eu/form/signup/service-guided-tour?d=7013y000002K0qpAAC&amp;nc=7013y000002K0rcAAC&amp;utm_source=cnbc africa&amp;utm_medium=display&amp;utm_campaign=emea+za+svclobcon_gtm&amp;utm_content=dcs+test_banner+7013y000002K0qpAAC&amp;ban=ZA">Service Cloud guided tour</a>. Immerse yourself in this interactive tour of the latest agent tools, featuring self-serve capabilities and rich data insights.

Young creative business people meeting at office.

Customer service in South Africa: how businesses are embracing agility to deliver memorable experiences

<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-style-large is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">“We want to have the right conversations with our customers at the right time on the right channel.”<cite>Sagren Pather, Executive Head of Digital, Direct Marketing, and Marketing Analytics, Standard Bank</cite></blockquote>



Whether it’s email content updating in real-time or the ever-increasing ways to personalise experiences – digital innovation has accelerated at a rapid pace. And so too have the challenges of the marketer.&nbsp;



Customers want empathetic and valuable interactions – and they want them at the right time, in the right place. Keeping up with the latest, up-to-the-minute needs of the customer has never been more relevant, or more important.&nbsp;



So, we surveyed 200 marketing leaders in South Africa as part of our <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/form/pdf/6th-state-of-marketing/?sfdc-redirect=227">global report</a> on the State of Marketing to find out what’s trending, and how they’re overcoming their biggest challenges.



Here’s what we found out.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-marketers-need-the-right-it-to-harness-customer-trends">Marketers need the right IT to harness customer trends.</h2>



One of the biggest difficulties faced by marketers today is the pressure to engage with customers on the right channel, at the right time, with personalised content. (And this isn’t limited to B2C interactions either: the increasing demand for consumerised experiences in the B2B sector was confirmed by 82% of global market leaders.)



The key to achieving this consumer-centric approach is through smarter use of data – but this is easier said than done. Respondents in South Africa listed their main challenges as unifying customer data sources, and balancing personalisation with customer comfort levels.



“We want to have the right conversations with our customers at the right time on the right channel,” said Sagren Pather, Executive Head of Digital, Direct Marketing, and Marketing Analytics at <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/eu/customer-success-stories/standard-bank/">Standard Bank</a>. “Customers who have a high-quality experience are more likely to keep doing business with a brand and buy additional products.”&nbsp;



This is a common vision among companies in South Africa. To get there, marketing leaders need to use modern tools and technology to unlock that single view of the customer – so they can innovate and scale and at speed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-trust-and-transparency-are-vital">Trust and transparency are vital.</h2>



Unlocking a single view of the customer isn’t just beneficial to the marketing team: it’s central to providing an amazing customer experience across sales, service, and ecommerce. <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/news/stories/state-of-the-connected-customer-report-outlines-changing-standards-for-customer-engagement/">A whopping 89% of South African customers</a> say their experience with a company is just as important as its products and services.



It’s no surprise, then, that today’s marketers are more involved across the entire customer journey. In fact, 69% of global survey respondents think traditional marketing roles limit customer engagement. But marketers are breaking free from these constraints to make the customer experience more seamless, as demonstrated by the 64% who use 360-degree visibility to put marketing comms on hold if customers have an open service case.



And then consider this:



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>More than 75% of marketers in South Africa share goals and metrics with sales, service, and ecommerce teams.</li><li>81% of respondents across the world collaborate with the sales team on account-based marketing programmes.</li></ul>



The trend for cross-team collaboration and a single view of the customer is here to stay.&nbsp;



In 2021, marketers predict they’ll pull customer data from at least six sources – up from four in 2019. “We need solutions that enable our teams to capture and analyse data from different sources to better understand our customers and prospects,” said Pather.



And with data firmly in the spotlight, respondents predicted that new data regulations are set to have the biggest impact on marketing in the next 10 years. As a result, building trust with customers by using their data wisely and sensitively will be vital: 58% of customers say they’re comfortable with their data being used transparently – but only 63% of global companies are perceived as being transparent.



The companies that do win their customers’ trust will have greater opportunities. They’ll be able to use insight-rich data the customer has consented to sharing, such as first-party data and tracked browsing behaviour, across multiple touchpoints.



For example, Standard Bank uses <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/uk/products/marketing-cloud/overview/">Marketing Cloud’s</a> Customer 360 Audiences feature, which you can learn about in our <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/marketing-cloud/guided-tour/">guided tour</a>, to analyse how customers interact with its content and to capture metrics such as bounce and drop-off rates.&nbsp;“We wanted to close the loop with regards to form abandonment and improve overall conversion rates,” explained Pather. And that’s just what the bank achieved. “By using Customer 360 Audiences for retargeting in the pilot test, we’re seeing a 104% performance increase of personal loan leads, when compared to the normal way of targeting, combined with early indications of overall sales conversion uplift.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bringing-ai-into-the-mainstream">Bringing AI into the mainstream.</h2>



Innovation was cited as both a challenge and a priority for the months ahead – and the biggest opportunity in this space is AI. The top four uses of AI according to South African marketers are:&nbsp;



<ol class="wp-block-list"><li>Driving next best actions.</li><li>Personalisation.</li><li>Smarter segmentation and lookalike modelling.</li><li>Automating processes to give staff more time to focus on creativity.</li></ol>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image3-820x429.png" alt="native" class="wp-image-407119" width="686" height="359" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image3-820x429.png 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image3-300x157.png 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image3-140x73.png 140w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image3-768x402.png 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/image3.png 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 686px) 100vw, 686px" /></figure>



With good data integrity, the possibilities of AI are game-changing. But you need to move fast, as it’s quickly becoming the norm for marketers, rather than a differentiator. In 2018, only 29% of global firms were using AI across marketing operations, compared to 84% in 2020.



Turning AI into a differentiator relies on companies using it to build unique experiences. One brand leading the way in this field is <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/blog/ai-boosts-adidas-personalized-email-marketing/">adidas</a>. The company implemented Salesforce Customer 360 to create connected experiences for customers, and today it uses <a href="https://help.salesforce.com/articleView?id=sf.mc_pb_einstein_content_selection.htm&amp;type=5">Einstein Content Selection</a> (ECS) to personalise emails – even after the message is sent.



“Imagine if you received an email two days before a major holiday, and when you opened it on the actual day, the content reflected that moment in time? ECS allows us to be far more connected to our customers – adapting when we speak to them and what we’re speaking about to meet their needs,” commented Robert Lochrie, Vice President of Digital Products at adidas.



This level of innovation will give companies a significant competitive edge during challenging times.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-adapting-and-thriving-in-the-new-normal">Adapting and thriving in the new normal.</h2>



In this rapidly changing environment, adapting quickly is the only way to survive. And when it comes to digital, companies need to walk before they can run.&nbsp;



That means investing in robust, reliable, and flexible technology – and creating a central repository of high-quality data to prepare for getting creative with AI and exploring the opportunities of 5G.



Customers are looking for empathy and personalisation when they interact with a company, and the smartest way to make sure you’re meeting those needs is to build strong relationships and invest in social listening. The right tools give you the power to get predictive and proactive, which creates a better experience for your customers and better results for your business. Remember: when your customer feels like they’re winning, you’re winning too.



If you’d like to get up close and personal with Marketing Cloud take the guided tour <a href="https://www.salesforce.com/eu/form/marketingcloud/guided-tour/?d=7013y000002K0qoAAC&amp;nc=7013y000002K0rbAAC&amp;utm_source=cnbc africa&amp;utm_medium=display&amp;utm_campaign=emea+za+mktlobcon_gtm&amp;utm_content=dcs+test_banner+7013y000002K0qoAAC&amp;ban=ZA">here</a>; learn how to build smarter marketing campaigns in our immersive, hands-on experience.

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South Africa’s top marketing trends – and how to make them work for you

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At MiX Telematics, asset management does not just mean helping companies track their vehicles and monitor their fuel consumption. It also means using data from connected vehicles to keep drivers safe, to route alarms to the transporter’s control room in just thirteen seconds, and to dispatch ambulances or roadside assistance to injured or stranded customers in a matter of minutes. We spoke to Rubeena Moosa, the Software Development and Applications Manager heading up a team of 10 Trailblazers, about how they make operations run seamlessly behind the scenes.







<figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-style-default"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="647" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Rubeena-Moosa-820x647.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-402224" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Rubeena-Moosa-820x647.jpg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Rubeena-Moosa-300x237.jpg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Rubeena-Moosa-768x606.jpg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Rubeena-Moosa-1536x1212.jpg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Rubeena-Moosa-scaled.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Rubeena Moosa</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tell-us-more-about-your-role-at-mix-telematics">Tell us more about your role at MiX Telematics</h2>



I manage applications design and development, high-level architecture and solutions. I have a small but powerful team who’ve all been at the company for more than seven years—we’re like a family at this point! We are very passionate about our work and MiX Telematics has given us the opportunity and tools to design, build, and create excellent solutions. It’s very exciting, and by combining technical expertise with a thorough understanding of our business strategy we’re able to design solutions to help the company achieve its business goals.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-kind-of-customer-experience-does-mix-telematics-aspire-to-provide">What kind of customer experience does MiX Telematics aspire to provide?</h2>



MiX Telematics solutions are delivered as SaaS to three-quarters of a million subscribers spanning more than 120 countries across the globe. Insurance providers often require their policy holders to subscribe to a tracking and recovery service, which gives us even more reason to give them a valuable experience to prove it’s worth having.



Our main goal is to be there when our customers need us, and do it as quickly as possible. That could be when a driver hits their panic button in the event of a hijacking, if they’ve broken down at the side of the road and need assistance, or if they’ve told us their car was parked at the mall and we notice it’s actually heading off down the highway! To respond quickly to customers depends on working closely with a network of partners, such as emergency and recovery services. If a customer’s alarm goes off, we aim to have it routed to our control room for action in less than thirteen seconds.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="528" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/AdobeStock_219477561-820x528.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-402235" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/AdobeStock_219477561-820x528.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/AdobeStock_219477561-300x193.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/AdobeStock_219477561-768x494.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/AdobeStock_219477561-1536x989.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/AdobeStock_219477561-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /><figcaption>Topdown view of a highway in Cape Town, South Africa</figcaption></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-were-the-challenges-you-faced-around-data-management-and-integration">What were the challenges you faced around data management and integration?</h2>



We’re a leading technology company and we use the best software available. All those tools need to integrate seamlessly to give us a single source of data and greater efficiency across the business.



We knew we needed a new solution during a period of rapid growth. We wanted to launch a new product, but vehicle tracking relies on being able to process a huge amount of data, such as automatic vehicle location (AVL) data and impact data. Our legacy Enterprise Service Bus system was struggling to process 300 messages per second, so we knew it wasn’t going to be able to handle the volumes needed to achieve our growth goals.



Following a proof of concept, we selected MuleSoft to streamline data and integrations across the business. A representative flew out from London to help us build our architecture from scratch to enable the solution to scale in line with the business requirements. It’s a good thing they did because today, via our integration with Apache Kafka, we’re processing 4,000 messages per second, which is 18.6 billion a year.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-do-smarter-integrations-help-streamline-the-day-to-day-running-of-the-business">How do smarter integrations help streamline the day-to-day running of the business?</h2>



With MuleSoft integrating our core systems together with vehicle data, we have a 360-degree visibility of the customer. When we collect device data, we already know who the customer is, which services they pay for, and whether they’re up-to-date with payments. If they’re consistently failing to pay, we can suspend their services.



We can also work more closely with our partners. For example, we share information with insurance companies via APIs rather than custom integrations, and in return they pass us leads. All these seamless integrations impact efficiency across the whole organisation, and we can even onboard new customers – including getting confirmation from their bank – in 7 to10 minutes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-are-you-using-machine-learning-and-ai">How are you using machine learning and AI?</h2>



Once we built our architecture, it was easy to start collecting large volumes of data. After two years, we had enough data in the system to start using machine learning to help identify false positive alarms &#8211; so we don’t flood the customer with messages for no reason. We also use AI for heatmaps for a graphical representation of the data and trend analysis.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="820" height="545" src="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/AdobeStock_95222541-820x545.jpeg" alt="" class="wp-image-402234" srcset="https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/AdobeStock_95222541-820x545.jpeg 820w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/AdobeStock_95222541-300x199.jpeg 300w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/AdobeStock_95222541-768x510.jpeg 768w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/AdobeStock_95222541-1536x1021.jpeg 1536w, https://cms.cnbcafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/AdobeStock_95222541-scaled.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 820px) 100vw, 820px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-are-the-biggest-benefits-of-mulesoft-for-you-and-your-company">What are the biggest benefits of MuleSoft for you and your company?</h2>



There’s a lot to love about MuleSoft and my experience has been wonderful. It’s much easier to maintain than our previous system, which has saved the company around $1 million USD already.



It’s easy to use, which means I can easily upskill my current developers without having to hire people with specialist skills, and it’s allowed us to drastically shorten our delivery times.



Seven years ago we did two big deployments a year, but today we can deploy up to three releases a week, so we’re helping the business to be much more agile and to continuously adapt and evolve to meet changing customer and employee expectations. We’ve also had great support, not just from the MuleSoft team but from the wider community of real users across the world.

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Salesforce Insights

The face of sales in South Africa is changing. Find out how to thrive in the new normal

Customer service in South Africa: how businesses are embracing agility to deliver memorable experiences

South Africa’s top marketing trends – and how to make them work for you

How MiX Telematics is keeping drivers safer with connected data

News Tips

Advertise With Us

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