Robust methodology underscores credibility

Translating the brand into a convenient service experience has been the hallmark of winning companies in this year’s Orange Index, providing a useful example of the value created by innovative and unexpected thinking and collaboration between various disciplines serving the customer.

As a benchmark study, the Orange Index has retained its credibility for more than two decades. What has enabled this credibility, says Sarina de Beer, MD at Ask Afrika, is the fact that the study has a robust methodology. “When you include 30,000 interviews, it ’ s as robust and credible as you can get.”

However, it is what happens behind the data that is most compelling. “The Orange Index has become so much more than merely a benchmark study: it has evolved into an explorative measure looking at how changes can impact the strategy that drives customer experience, shining a light on the innovative, the brave and the challenging.”

What stood out for her this year were the dramatic shifts in the data.

“When trends lines begin to shift in different directions compared to previous years, further interrogation clearly becomes necessary. Is it because the interplay between brand, customer experience and emotion has shifted? Or is it because as people become more fragile, relationships become deeply personal and imperative, people crave more emotional connection, and the brand role shifts accordingly?”

She says this year’s winning brands went the extra mile, showing fairness, overall service, emotional connection and channel satisfaction.