Bringing you all the Lessons from the Ground, from our latest edition of Wooqer’s LFTG meetup. For the 15th edition of LFTG, we came to the ever-enchanting city of Riyadh.
You can see the video below or scroll down for the insights-packed summary.
You can also read the note in Arabic here.
Employee Engagement and Customer Experience
“To survive and thrive, you need to get very good at predicting what’s coming – in the next 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months”, says Ashraf Adam, COO of Anasir Alghidha. Leaders must be open to ideas from everyone – from store managers on the ground to mid-level management.
Salwa Nafee, from Gourmet Foods Company, adds to it, “Some of the best ideas have come from our store managers. Insights from on-ground employees are a goldmine and play a crucial role in your company’s growth.”
Disengaged staff, especially those who interact with customers, can harm the customer experience. Engaged and happy employees, on the other hand, enhance customer satisfaction and build loyalty.
“Making your staff your champions is a game changer, and recognizing their contributions and setting processes around delivering exceptional customer experiences can lead to remarkable outcomes,” says Anamaria Meshkurti, Associate Director of Technology and Venture Partnerships at Red Sea Global.
Innovation and Creating Unique Experiences
Hassan Obaidan (COO, Modern Electronics) says, ‘Products, nowadays, have become commodities. You need to bring something extra on top of the product to stand out. You are selling experiences, not products anymore.’
Small innovations in customer experience and interactions can have a big impact over time. Creating “wow” moments for customers can differentiate you from competitors, even when price competition is fierce.
Customer expectations in terms of experiences have evolved. So, irrespective of your industry, small fractions of innovation in customer experiences matter a lot. If you’re an electronics store, you shouldn’t only look at other electronics stores but also other businesses like QSRs and Furniture retailers purely because of the innovative experience they deliver.
On creating fantastic customer experiences, Salwa Nafee adds, ”We had a restaurant staff who recalled the faces of returning customers and always helped them with great experiences whenever they came back. This helped us get amazing customer word of mouth and appreciation.”
Evolving Fundamentals and Company Growth
Hassan Obaidan says, “What brought you here (over the last 50 years), won’t get you there (to the next 50).”
It’s essential to rethink your approach and redefine the fundamentals. Standing out in the market means constantly innovating and committing to offering something extra—product quality, customer experience, or a balance of both.
Kapel Malhotra (CEO of TSG) says – “If you get into a pricing war with your competitors, no one wins.” He recommends building trust with your customers, as soon as they walk in, by consultation, suggesting the right products they NEED compared to selling costly products they might not. Building trust with your consumers pays multi-folds in the long run, ensuring retention and repetition and allowing you to charge a premium for your products, quoting, “You don’t change a doctor your trust even if the price is a little higher.”
“The difference between X and 10X growth is the involvement of all your human resources. Give them challenging problems to solve and enable them to think and experiment at next level”, adds Ail Bazroun, IT Lead at Silah Tamkeen.
Collaboration and Adaptability
It’s not about leading but collaboration – sharing learnings and success. No business can thrive alone, and alliance is key. Ashraf Adam says, “It’s not about leading the market anymore, it has become more about sharing the pie. Irrespective of the industry you’re in, you cannot play the game alone; you cannot win alone.”
Wooqer is your One App for All Store Ops, loved by businesses to set expectations, share guidelines, measure compliance, and hold teams accountable. Wooqer helps you create the most consistent experience for customers in-store.
To know more and get a demo: talk to us today.
