Introduction
A recent report published in the article by Ahmed (2018) indicates that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is ranked in the 21st position globally and the leading country in the Arab world in terms of citizens’ level of happiness. However, the latest open letter by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum is a reminder of the government’s commitment toward making the nation the happiest country in the world. In seeking to help the UAE government and various departments with their mission, this paper examines the relevance of customer touchpoints in promoting the country’s objective. Numerous studies have been conducted regarding the impact of touchpoints on customer satisfaction. In the context of the UAE government, such elements include the Internet and social media, policies, and frameworks, and service delivery time.
Aims and Objectives
Accordingly, this paper aims at offering a critical literature review of the concept of touchpoints before proceeding to examine its implications for the UAE government. Further, it presents a reflection of the UAE Happiness Index. The objective is to analyze major issues that stand in the way of this government’s goal of achieving customer satisfaction. Key emphasis will be laid on the UAE’s national agenda and vision 2030. Based on the analysis made, this paper takes the view that studying touchpoints will indeed promote customer satisfaction in the UAE.
Literature Review
The Concept of TouchPoints
Most successful companies, particularly those that operate in the service industry, rely on customer experience to improve their services to match clients’ expectations. As such, they often ask customers to respond by narrating their experiences when interacting with the said businesses. These companies attempt to identify and focus on customer touchpoints. Therefore, according to Lim, Al-Aali, and Heinrichs (2015), it follows that customer touchpoints are a brand’s areas of customer contact before, during, and after the transaction. Such interactions extend to non-physical contacts, such as online reviews. For their part, McColl-Kennedy et al. (2015) define touchpoints as any customer-business interactions that may affect the way clients feel about merchandise, brands, or organizations. Touchpoints occur via channels such as the media (advertising), physical promotions, and online marketing, among others. As Lim et al. (2015) reveal, common touchpoints include email, fax, telemarketing, kiosks, direct mail, and sales. Businesses have adopted customer relationship management (CRM) technologies for the specific purpose of controlling the mentioned touchpoints. Some scholars, including Lemon and Verhoef (2016), depict the idea of touchpoints as beneficial to organizations, while others perceive it as detrimental.
In particular, according to Lemon and Verhoef (2016), the emphasis on touchpoints helps businesses in improving interactions with customers, as well as understanding the value of such dealings. Touchpoints inform nearly all aspects of customers’ decision-making regarding their desire to invest in a particular business. Further, according to Kolko (2015), touchpoints improve the quality of experiences for clients, hence facilitating lasting relationships with various companies or countries. Better customer experiences automatically result in greater satisfaction and, consequently, improved sales and profitability (McColl-Kennedy et al., 2015). In addition, in this era of increased market competition, buyers’ loyalty has become a key competitive advantage for major businesses. Based on the above expositions, the UAE government should devote time to pursue and implement touchpoints aimed at promoting positive customer experiences across its departments.
Implications of TouchPoints for the UAE Government
As mentioned earlier, Sheikh Mohammed has demonstrated his desire to improve the UAE’s Happiness Index level. According to Ahmed (2018), these efforts are in line with the national agenda and the country’s vision 2030. They include national indices involved to measure achievements regarding the steps taken by the government toward the realization of its goals. Key elements of happiness include the state as a family cohesion system, nationalism, social camaraderie, and sports accomplishments (Ahmed, 2018). In demonstrating its commitment, the country has recently appointed the minister for happiness, thus becoming the first nation to take such a direction. Therefore, given the UAE’s dedication to guaranteeing happiness to its citizens, the country may benefit from the focus on touchpoints in numerous ways. To begin with, monitoring how the population perceives government programs and policies is a key step toward ensuring that its efforts translate into remarkable standards of living and harmony (Rose, 2017). Through its emphasis on touchpoints, the UAE may succeed in integrating happiness into all its policies, services, and programs. Further, touchpoints promote positivity and contentment as principal aspects of life in this country.
Additionally, according to Khan, Woo, Nam, and Chathoth (2017), through touchpoints, benchmarks for measuring happiness can be created and evaluated from time to time. Presently, the “Happiness Index” is one of Dubai’s smart city missions, an indication that strategies for pursuing the measurement of happiness are already in place. This meter is expected to obtain data across the city of Dubai, which will then be used to create a map indicating the population’s level of happiness. As Khan et al. (2017) reveal, the plan indicates citizens or customers’ experiences based on their interactions with various industries and government departments. Additionally, Dubai has recently founded a happiness portal (Khan et al., 2017), in which residents and visitors use it to quantify their contentment levels. These initiatives indicate that the UAE government is already considering the use of touchpoints to facilitate its objective of achieving high happiness indices.
Another implication of touchpoints pertains to the reduction of service delivery time across all industries and government sectors. According to Lim et al. (2015), in 2015, Dubai’s director of customer service, Khalid Al Ramsi, explained that the service delivery time had been between 10 and 12 weeks. Additionally, the country also faced challenges of overlaps and duplicates, which contributed to further delays. As a result, the customer satisfaction index was placed merely at 66 percent, thus forcing stakeholders to consider introducing significant changes in service delivery (Lim et al., 2015). Delays in service delivery are a major cause of dissatisfaction among customers. By recognizing this fact, service firms often compete based on delivery times. Consequently, customers report high satisfaction levels if the delivery period is shorter compared to what is anticipated (Lim et al., 2015). One way that the UAE government can tackle any delays is by examining its service delivery capacity to determine whether it matches the existing demand. A recently formed campaign, namely, Initiate Team, suggested the idea whereby customers could be served while in their sitting areas (Khan et al., 2017).
Key Quality Issues Facing the UAE in its Objective of Achieving Customer Satisfaction
The UAE government has demonstrated deliberate efforts to attain quality service delivery across various sectors, the most evident of them being the aviation industry. Using the comparison theory of testing the extent of clients’ satisfaction, the study by Obaid, Ali, Saleh, Thani, and Minhas (2015) depicts this country’s aviation sector as the leading in the world in terms of quality whereby it has registered a scoring rate of 99 percent, which is the highest in history. Other industries, such as construction, health, and banking, have also recorded high customer satisfaction rates. Moreover, particular areas have lagged behind regarding customer satisfaction.
One such sector is housing, whereby 52 percent of the UAE’s residents indicated that they are dissatisfied with the present state of accommodation. According to Abu-Hijleh, Manneh, AlNaqbi, AlAwadhi, and Kazim (2017), unhappiness levels are considerably higher among non-citizens, perhaps because of income disparities. These authors point out that the number of nationals dissatisfied with the country’s housing is increasing significantly (Abu-Hijleh et al., 2017). One of the explanations offered by experts is that residents may still be shouldering the burden of the global financial crisis of 2008 that saw a crash in the housing market. While rent values dropped significantly post this monetary predicament, they have remained too high for the regular UAE national. For instance, the average annual rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Dubai is $35 402, a figure that is equivalent to $35 244 in Manhattan, the most expensive real estate market around the globe (Abu-Hijleh et al., 2017).
The UAE also faces the challenge of economic uncertainty because of the fluctuating oil prices. As a nation whose financial system is primarily hinged on oil production, the country has experienced panic following the recent fall in the prices of this commodity (Obaid et al., 2015). The result has been a drop in customer confidence, which has negatively affected its Happiness Index. In its attempt to boost customer confidence, the UAE government has launched programs aimed at diversifying the economy to avoid over-relying on oil. However, recent developments have led to a rise in oil prices. This situation may restore the confidence of the UAE’s residents because the country’s revenue is likely to gain a major positive boost.
Furthermore, the prevailing fluctuating prices have often resulted in uncertainties in the banking sector. Other challenges relate to the political space in the nation. According to Human Rights activists, as presented in the article by Parreñas and Silvey (2016), the UAE disregards various fundamental civil liberties. For instance, in addition to the country lacking democratic structures, its citizens find it troublesome to exercise the freedom of electing their leaders. Additionally, failing to conform to the government is hardly tolerated to the extent of occasioning forced disappearances (Human Rights Watch, 2015). These issues have impeded the attainment of a high Happiness Index level because citizens’ rights are stifled. Additionally, migrant workers have to contend with considerably lower incomes in relation to their counterparts, who are UAE citizens (Parreñas & Silvey, 2016).
Recommendations
Applying the TouchPoints to the UAE’s National Agenda and Vision 2030
The UAE’s national agenda was launched in 2014 as a component of its vision in 2030. It focuses primarily on sectors such as healthcare, housing, education, security, infrastructure, housing, and government services. For its part, the country’s vision 2030 encompasses objectives, including competitive knowledge, a sustainable environment, quality healthcare, security, and cohesive society (Obaid et al., 2015). This section presents the implications of using touchpoints to achieve the UAE’s agenda and vision of 2030.
Utilizing touchpoints can help the UAE to create comprehensive customer feedback systems for important sectors. Today, virtually every business operates a website and social media platform aimed at reaching clients with important information and updates. These platforms can be used to obtain consumers’ reactions. According to Radcliffe and Lam (2018), the UAE administration has already invested in seminars and guidelines demonstrating the use of social media to optimize service delivery. These campaigns target both government sectors and private businesses. Because of these efforts, this country now operates numerous social media apps aimed at connecting directly with people. Key updates are released from 58 ministries and official spokespersons who collectively command an audience of over 31 million followers (Radcliffe & Lam, 2018). If properly utilized, this touchpoint can transform the way service delivery is conducted in the UAE. Social media offers an opportunity for real-time interaction between businesses and customers. As such, changes can be implemented in services as soon as feedback is obtained.
Successful policies should reflect and address the needs of the UAE people. Consequently, social media can provide a tool for shaping policies and governance frameworks. A recent study by Al-Badi (2014) indicated that 58 percent of UAE residents express their views about government activities on social media. This information can be used to evaluate whether citizens are satisfied with projects implemented by this country. Governments around the globe are continually experimenting with data obtained from social media to determine their accuracy in predicting citizens’ preferences. The UAE government should adopt a model whereby policy proposals are first discussed and voted for via online platforms before being implemented. This strategy ensures that citizens have a major say in the way the administration spends resources. Ultimately, such a move can lead to increased customer satisfaction levels.
The question of transparency often arises concerning the UAE government’s decision-making. Particularly, this country’s policies are constantly criticized for lacking adequate public participation. This challenge can be navigated by adopting various touchpoints with the aim of improving communication between the government and people. In December 2013, Sheikh Mohammed announced a brainstorming event that would take place via Twitter. The target was to come up with ideas that would help to improve healthcare and education in the emirates. Surprisingly, over 50,000 Twitter users came forth, with more than 82000 ideas being floated (Al-Badi, 2014). Additionally, some members of the public were requested to join the cabinet to help in refining their ideas. The above example illustrates the importance of transparency in the pursuit of public confidence. Therefore, it is unsurprising that the UAE government has increased its use of social media to reach people. Present reports indicate growth in the positive view of the government by the public, who now feel included in policymaking processes (Al-Badi, 2014).
The use of technology in service delivery is another key implication of integrating touchpoints into customer interaction systems. Since 2013, the government has demonstrated efforts to engage in online service delivery, as opposed to the past where customers had to visit physical locations (Lim et al., 2015). Today, services such as voting are obtained online via smartphones and similar gadgets. By 2015, 96 percent of all 337 government departments were operating online service delivery platforms (Khan et al., 2017). Nonetheless, the government can increase this rate by employing touchpoints that address key customer satisfaction areas that relate to the most critical services that should ideally take short times to process, including queries about health, security, and infrastructure. Additionally, online platforms should be examined based on metrics such as ease of use, efficiency, and innovation. Major customer satisfaction concerns in the UAE’s public sector should be identified and evaluated. One major issue revolves around the way people interact with law enforcement agents. For example, the payment of fines and reporting of crimes is often riddled with delays and inconveniences. Thus, online apps can be developed to facilitate rapid interaction with police officers in the UAE.
Conclusion
The UAE is the leading nation in the Gulf region regarding its nationals happiness levels. It takes the 21st position globally. Vice president, She,ikh Mohammed disclosed his plan to make this country the happiest in the world. This paper has argued that utilizing touchpoints can promote this goal. The concept of touchpoints has helped organizations to understand customers’ experiences. For the UAE government, one key touchpoint involves the deployment of the Internet and social media. This country is already using mobile apps to communicate with people. These tools can be used to reach the population directly, thus offering a platform for discussing and modifying policies and frameworks to reflect the needs and policies of its citizenry. Ultimately, such efforts can contribute to the realization of the national agenda and the country’s vision 2030. Nonetheless, quality issues such as the fluctuating oil prices, the limited political space, and unaffordable housing inhibit service delivery in the UAE.
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