OUTsurance once again walked away with top honours in the short-term insurance category at the 2016 Ask Afrika Orange Index® Awards held at the Wanderers Club in Johannesburg.
OUTsurance also achieved 7th place overall in the Orange Index® 2016, measured amongst a total of 135 South African companies. The top 10 companies included VW, Woolworths Food, Audi, Romans Pizza, Pick n Pay, Netcare, OUTsurance, Hyundai, Momentum, BMW and Mediclinic (tied in 10th place).
The Ask Afrika’s Orange Index® benchmark is considered as an authoritative, objective measure of customer satisfaction across all points of a client’s interaction with a company. It is the longest-running service excellence benchmark in South Africa and has celebrated and awarded South African companies across 33 industries since 2001.
‘OUTsurance is extremely proud to be recognised for the awesome service it provides to clients. Delivering on our promises, particularly at claims stage, is the most important thing we do. This is why people buy insurance - to have their claims settled as quickly and fairly as possible’ says Willem Roos, Group CEO.
Sarina de Beer, Managing Director at Ask Afrika agrees, ‘The Orange Index looks at what matters most to consumers right now. This remains true for a 12 to 18-month period and then it changes and this is why customer service is so difficult for brands currently. Brands need to be agile and adapt to changes constantly.’
De Beer adds that 30% of the total score measures the emotional satisfaction of the client. ‘In today’s world where emotions play such a big role in our lives - think of emoji’s – we have to look at the emotional component. When you ask customers about their experience, they will use words such as “surprised” or “frustrated”, which are emotional terms. We communicate emotionally,” she adds.
‘Customer service is a direct reflection of company leadership’, says Andrea Gevers-Rademeyer, CEO of Ask Afrika. She adds that ‘the winners of the Orange Index all boast CEOs that lead by example and are people-centric, and obsessed with their customers.’
For more information about the Ask Afrika Orange Index, please visit www.askafrika.co.za