How Companies in the UAE Are Winning Customer Loyalty

Our State of the Connected Customer report shows that customer expectations are rising as spending power decreases. Here’s how their habits are changing – and how you can respond. 

If your company operates in the UAE, you have some of the savviest customers in the world. 

When markets change because of technological or macroeconomic disruption, the UAE’s customers are among the first to change with them – especially when it comes to their personal finances. 

Our latest State of the Connected Customer report interviewed consumers and companies about customer engagement changes. We found that 78% of customers in the UAE said they have recently re-examined their priorities as a customer, citing the cost of living (75%) and advances in technology (56%) as the main reasons.

The UAE is also synonymous with quality. Unsurprisingly, this means customers aren’t only motivated by getting the best deal. They also want fast, consistent, and personalised interactions with brands.

A majority (89%) said they expect faster service as technology advances, and 86% said they’re becoming increasingly protective of their personal information. 

These changes in customer preferences mean companies, like yours, have to work even harder to meet customer needs. But with the right technology, you can reconnect with your customers and their changing behaviours – just as long as you use customer data the right way. 

Want to learn more about how customer needs in the UAE have changed, what new strategies you can adopt, and how to use customer data while maintaining loyalty? 

Keep reading to find out…

Three new customer expectations in the UAE

The very first step to delivering exceptional experiences is knowing what customers actually want. And your customers expect you to know this as standard. 

Especially when 83% of customers consider the experience a company offers to be as crucial as its products or services. They understand that with technological advancements, companies have the ability to understand them better and, consequently, serve them better. 

Below we explore three key changes in customer expectations you need to know about.

Customers now want companies to:

1. Know them personally and offer them more for it: A personalised and seamless experience used to set companies apart. Now, it’s an expectation. Customers expect companies to understand (78%) and even adapt (76%) to their unique needs and expectations.
   
   A key driver of this change is customers’ awareness over the use of their data. Customers offer their personal information – through online accounts, newsletter subscriptions, loyalty programs, feedback forms, social media interactions, and cookie tracking – and they expect that to be a value exchange that leads to better experiences (87%).
   
   What does “better” look like? Faster responses (84%), more relevant personalisation (82%), and customised offers (71%). 
2. Offer a unified customer journey: Whether companies understand their customers or not becomes evident in the level of personalisation in their interactions.
   
   Customers expect consistent interactions across departments (79%) – that could be as simple as not having to provide the same information multiple times or receiving conflicting information from different departments.
   
   Customers anticipate that companies will cater to their requirements consistently, irrespective of the platform they choose for engagement. That also goes for the divide between online/offline experiences. 
   
   Customers (78%) said they expect to be able to do anything online that they can do in-person or over the phone with many saying they’ve given up completing a purchase due to a slow website (59%) or long checkout process (54%).
3. Be more responsive: The accelerated adoption of remote, digital interactivity during the last three years has heightened customer expectations for responsiveness.
   
   Customers have grown accustomed to instant access and rapid responses. At the click of a button, they expect companies to solve complex problems by speaking to one person (83%) or by interacting with someone immediately when they contact a company (82%). What’s more: 76% said they would rather not speak to a service agent at all and would opt to use self-service for easier to answer questions or issues.

Fulfilling customer expectations doesn’t have to be a riddle. In the next section, we explore what companies can do to keep their customers engaged. 

How to adapt your customer engagement strategy 

Companies are facing increasing costs, rising customer expectations, and fierce competition. 

Here’s what they’re doing to meet this pivotal moment:

• Use technology to get to know your customers better: With Marketing Cloud, for example, you can automate real-time personalisation to increase conversions and ROI. 

• But don’t forget to win trust: 71% of customers said they are more likely to trust a company with their personal data if its uses were clearly explained.

• Blend online and offline experiences: Digital transactions are on the rise, but brick-and-mortar stores remain critical to driving shopper engagement. Retailers are levelling up in-store experiences with appointment scheduling, augmented reality, and virtual stylists.

• Look to generative AI to scale personalisation: Used strategically and ethically, the technology can boost efficiency while improving customer engagement.