Nucleus Office Talks: Prioritising customer experience for better revenues

The power of a consumer was long acknowledged by the business groups. The sustained push towards offering superior customer service gave way to customer experience (CX) and over the years it became a key pillar around which business strategies are drawn.

The value of customer experience soared during the pandemic when thousands of consumers clung to online transactions, forcing the companies to elevate their technological expertise for seamless operations and enhanced CX laced with human elements. However, there is still a lot to be explored. At Nucleus Office Talks by Mastermind 2023 – Decoding the Value of Experience, we have with us Mr Anuj Puri, Chairman, ANAROCK, India’s leading independent real estate services company, to share his insights on how to create valuable customer experience.

During the pandemic, the real estate industry faced the tall ask of carrying operations safely while also delivering the best customer experience possible. It quickly became clear that companies with a commitment to customer experience (CX) management achieved best results. Puri, too, agrees that focus should be on creating CX that meets the expectations of the customers.

“Earlier, it used to be all about Return on Equity (ROE) and Return on Investment (ROI). And now it is about ROX or Return on Experience. In the mid 90s when real estate was getting a little bit mature and organized; at that time if you have to look at the asset classes — whether it was the residential, commercial or retail — there was zero customer experience. You would be lucky if you got your house in time or if you were able to get a retail store or an office. And today you look at the customer experience at a retail store in a mall, where the mall owner is not asking for rent, they are saying we are happy to participate in your turnover and your ability to drive your business and we benefit. So we will not charge you the rent, we will charge you a percentage of the revenue,” he says.

Puri believes the experience begins the moment one enters the lobby of a building and thus investing in a good office space becomes a must. “You want the millennials, who are the working population today, to feel nice coming into the office. It is about openness, the colour, vibrancy, and positivity. The office space should be energetic, a place you want to go after waking up in the morning.”

Technology has emerged as a key enabler for customer experience. The real estate industry was forced to embrace technology during the COVID. Puri credits technology for speeding things up in the sector. “A lot of things that would have taken about a decade, today are being done in a few quarters. I feel due to the technology what was going to come in 2030 has actually come in 2020 or 2021."

“Be it residential, retail or office spaces, we are seeing that technology is making a huge amount of impact. For example, the sourcing of the home buyers was earlier done through offline mediums like print, radio and hoardings. Now that has largely moved on to the online, digital platforms.”

Puri finds technology has also allowed the industry to cater to an enhanced customer experience. “The customers’ experiences in the offices today — whether it is the entry gate, security or the elevators — is all touchless. And that is where I feel the customer experience has really enhanced post COVID.

Puri is categorical in stating the importance of customer experience. “If you do not invest in a customer experience, there is no profit at the end. In India we have over 100 unicorns in the start-up space. Now if you pick any of these unicorns, it is not necessarily a new idea. It is really about the customer experience and its implementation — which is a great idea. So I do feel if there is not enough investment in customer experience, you are not going to be profitable,” he says.

Recent surveys too have shown that businesses prioritizing customer experiences have seen significant growth in their profits. Today consumers want more than just a good product. What they are looking for is a consistent, engaging and memorable experience with a brand. In the end, this is what will give a business a competitive edge in the market as well as higher earnings.

Nucleus Office Parks strives to create ‘spaces that speak’ through innovation in design and technology to enhance employee workplace experience vis-a-vis customer experience — which form the building blocks of Return on Experience. Click here (hyperlink microsite url) to watch the complete ‘walk and talk’ series by Nucleus Office Parks.

Disclaimer: This article has been produced on behalf of Nucleus Office Parks by HT Brand Studio.