ZIMBABWE National Chamber of Commerce chief executive officer Christopher Mugaga says companies should adopt a mindset of “going beyond” to stay ahead of competition and meet the evolving needs of their customers.
Speaking during the release of the 2024 Annual State of the Service Economy Survey results in Harare on Tuesday this week, Mugaga said in today’s fast-paced business environment, companies needed to evolve.
The survey, hosted by ZB Financial Holdings in partnership with Tatu Advertising, Consumer Feedback Consultancy and the Financial Gazette, seeks to enhance Zimbabwe’s global attractiveness through improved service quality across economic sectors.
It was held under the theme Going Beyond, For You.
“How do you go beyond when there is no agility? It can’t be. Going beyond takes excellence,” Mugaga, who was the guest speaker, said.
“There is no need for mediocrity. I think sometimes we are getting used to mediocrity. It is very important to embrace excellence. So, going beyond for you, without excellence, it becomes impossible.”
To “go beyond” in business, Mugaga said, one should first understand what it means.
It entails knowing your customers, having the necessary resources and possessing the speed and intelligence to adapt.
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To achieve this, he said several key principles must be followed.
These include honesty and reliability; time consciousness and discipline; etiquette and grooming.
Mugaga said businesses must focus on value rather than volume.
They should also prioritise the horizon rather than the bottomline.
He added that going beyond required a commitment to excellence, hard work and a customer-centric approach.
It involves embracing challenges and finding opportunities for growth, rather than making excuses or relying on outdated practices.
ZB Financial Holdings chief executive officer Shepherd Fungura said customer insights were now “quite imperative” in the service industry as they helped to understand the needs of customers so that “we are able to provide our desired solutions” which may be in the form of product or service.
Tatu Advertising managing director Martin Matamisa said service was a part of every product and every value chain.
“Without quality service, businesses fall, nations will fall. That is why we find service quality at the core of every corporate and national success story,” he said.
“Key findings of the State of the Service Economy Survey will stand to benefit various stakeholders, including policymakers, corporate leaders, investors and scholars.”
Leroy Gonyora, a research analyst, who presented the results, said businesses needed to place customers at the heart of different business strategies.
“We need to also invest in start-selling and development. We need to also promote a culture of service excellence. We also need to increase the issue of transformation,” he said.
“The aspect we need to improve is the ease of doing business, which is something problematic right now.”
The survey focused on tourism, health, real estate, energy, financial services, insurance, technology, education, retail, transport, MSMEs [micro, small and medium enterprises], public utilities and informal sectors of the economy, among others.
