State of ICT in Nigeria: The Rise of Tech-Savvy, Humanised Digital Customer Engagement

Olatayo Ladipo-Ajai, the Regional Manager – West Africa at Infobip, has demonstrated great understanding of the A-Z of customer experience (CX).  

In this Q&A he assessed the state of ICT in Nigeria in 2022 vis-a-vis the effect of the recent trends like the humanised digital customer experience on the tech ecosystem.

He opined that the emergence of a more digitally savvy consumer in Nigeria over the past two years means that for companies to remain competitive and grow their bottom line, they will increasingly have to scramble to attract customers who are in transition to the digital space, in addition to maintaining their existing customer base.

This, Olatayo said, will require developing a strong focus on digital customer engagement, enhancing Customer Experience (CX), and providing smart payment systems, as well as the humanisation of digital engagement to provide a truly personalised and customer-centric experience.  

With the need for humanisation, there is now, more than ever, a requirement for organisations to affirm that they really understand their customers.

With customers’ focus increasingly on digitisation and almost everything becoming automated, organisations face the risk of losing sight of customers’ problems along their journey, which can result in a lack of personal touch in the support offered to customers.

The conversation continues:

Considering the role of Payment Service Banks (PSBs) in the financial ecosystem of Nigeria, regarding financial inclusion, how can the adoption of omnichannel customer engagement solutions simplify the communication complexity for PSBs’ target audience, especially in relation to their mandate to bridge the current financial exclusion gap in Nigeria?

Olatayo: In Nigeria’s current ICT landscape, PSBs have a major role to play in driving financial inclusion. The adoption of omnichannel customer engagement solutions is key to simplifying the communication complexity of their target audiences, especially in terms of PSBs’ mandate to bridge the current financial exclusion gap in the country.

In terms of carrying out this mandate, these financial institutions need to build partnerships, enhance their customer touchpoints and create digital customer journeys.

Meaningful financial inclusion can only be brought about by digitising access to banking services as much as possible for the unbanked.

To reach the unbanked, PSBs would traditionally need to establish a presence everywhere across the country, hence an omnichannel strategy is the best way for them to reach this potential client base and fulfil their mandate.

However, to successfully engage with this target market, PSBs need to pay attention to these customers’ businesses and lifestyles and get more involved in their trade to develop tailored products and ecosystems that cater for their needs and demands.

Tell us more about Infobip and its mission to the nation’s economy?

Olatayo: Infobip’s mission is all about creating more connections between businesses and their customers, while providing that unified connection experience for all stakeholders.

We are in the space of ensuring that transactions stay intact, through the use of security measures such as one-time passwords (OTPs) and transaction notifications, while at the same time ensuring that customer engagement creates value for all parties.

As a global leader in cloud-based omnichannel customer engagement solutions, we also want to help ensure that the digital maps of our customers become reality, and also fast track growth through global use case consolidation and tailoring. Ultimately, our mission is to increase our clients’ revenue through improved customer experience and engagement.

What is Infobip’s value proposition for delivering a superior cloud communications platform experience for the fintechs, tradetechs, insuretechs and regtechs, etc?

Olatayo: Digital start-ups such as fintechs, tradetechs, insuretechs and regtechs are looking and acting a whole lot more like technology companies, as they seek to place the customer at the centre of their business in the new age of customer-centric financial services.

These digital-native companies are looking to deliver the ultimate customer experience, but many continue to encounter both business and security challenges.

Infobip’s cloud-based communications platforms help customer service leaders and teams create personal connections with their customers. Our Software as a Service (SaaS) and Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) offerings are ideally suited to modern digital enterprises that must keep up with the changing demands of tech-savvy customers.

What sets Infobip apart from its competitors?

Olatayo: Infobip is a global leader in omnichannel communication, and we specialise in simplifying how brands connect with, engage and meet their customers’ requirements at global scale.

With over 700 direct global telco connections across six continents, Infobip is the number one choice for organisations looking to globally scale their customer communications, over any channel.

Infobip has built a global platform with more than 750 direct-to-carrier connections, we connect with over seven billion people and things, have an extensive global enterprise client base and more than 60 offices on six continents. We continue to develop and improve our offerings daily to change and give expression to superior CX.

What is your message to your customers and prospective customers for 2022?

Olatayo: In the post-COVID-19 digital landscape, organisations must start to look at tapping into the bigger picture and start planning to work with a partner that can help them secure new customers and retain their current ones.

Onboarding the right partner will be key to creating more connections between businesses and their customers, while also providing a unified connection experience for all stakeholders.