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Times of Oman
4 hours ago
- Business
- Times of Oman
Oman CX Forum & Awards 2025: Highlights Oman's Commitment to Customer Experience Excellence
Oman's growing focus on customer-centric business practices came into focus at the Oman CX Forum & Awards 2025, held on May 28 at the St. Regis Al Mouj Muscat Resort. The prestigious event, presented by Infoline and organised by Muscat Media Group — publishers of Times of Oman and Shabiba — in collaboration with Gulf Leaders Circle, brought together more than 250 business leaders, C-level executives and customer experience (CX) professionals from across Oman and beyond. His Highness Mohammed Bin Salim Al Said graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. In his welcome address, Fadi Kattar, COO of Muscat Media Group, emphasised the uniqueness of the event, stating, 'The Oman CX Forum 2025 — the first of its kind in Oman — has brought together CX experts from Oman, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, India and the USA to share insights, spark innovation and elevate standards, and explore how digital transformation, service design and empathy can unlock more inclusive and impactful experiences for everyone we serve.' Backed by key partners such as Tadoom (Strategic Partner), Bahwan Cybertek (Digital Transformation Partner), and Jindal Steel Sohar (Support Partner), the forum explored how businesses in Oman can transform and enhance their CX strategies in an increasingly digital and competitive landscape. The event featured participation from over 80 companies across diverse sectors including banking, insurance, retail, telecom, automotive, utilities, FMCG, consumer electronics, food & beverages, tourism, manufacturing and real estate, etc. The Forum offered deep insights through a series of powerful presentations by CX thought leaders. Muadh Al Omairi, Vice President – Commercial at Infoline, spoke on the topic: 'The New Currency of Business'. Dr. Hazem El Nadi, Senior Vice President - Business Development – MENA at COPC, delivered a compelling session on 'The Silent Advantage: How Proactive CX Service Journeys Beat Reactive Support.' This theme was echoed by Dr. Emmanuel Manyonganise, Head of Customer Experience & Digital Transformation at Bank Albilad, who spoke on the topic: 'The Evolution of CX towards Hyper-Personalisation and the Use of AI in CX'. Navin Prasad Durgaprasad, Executive Vice President and Global Head of Experience at Bahwan CyberTek, delivered an insightful session titled 'Spirit of the Moment – A CX Meets AI Story'. Alex Rodriguez, Creative Director & Head of AI Creative Content at Saatchi & Saatchi, UAE, explored the future of brand engagement in his talk on 'The Future of Creative Content: How AI is Redefining Brand-Customer Relationships.' Other notable speakers included Tanmay Sahoo, President & IMEA Area Leader at Novulis, who discussed 'Future-Proofing CX with AI-Enabled Business Apps,' and Nour Taher, Co-Founder & CEO of Intella, who addressed the blending of emotional intelligence and automation in her presentation on 'Humanizing Automation.' A panel discussion on the topic 'Beyond Expectations: Designing CX Strategies for a Digital-First World' brought together key industry experts including Muadh Al Omairi, Infoline; Vanessa Humphrey, VP Strategy & Partnerships, Tadoom; Hawra Fida, Head of Customer Experience, Al Mouj Muscat; Dr. Hazem El Nadi, COPC; Ammar Askari, Head of Customer Experience, Bank Dhofar; and Eng. Asim Al Zadjali, Business Consultant. The moderation was done by Ahmed Khalifa, Head of Customer Experience, Oman Data Park. The event culminated in the Oman CX Awards 2025, which honoured top brands in over 25 categories based on nationwide consumer voting. Winners received the Times of Oman Best Brand in Customer Experience Award. In addition, nine exceptional organisations and professionals were felicitated for their role in advancing CX innovation in the Sultanate. The Oman CX Forum & Awards 2025 marked a significant step in the nation's journey towards a more service-focused, experience-driven business environment, setting the tone for future advancements in customer experience excellence.
Entrepreneur
6 hours ago
- Business
- Entrepreneur
What Every Brand Gets Wrong About Using AI
Fast, scalable AI-powered marketing can boost efficiency, but when brands sacrifice empathy for speed, they lose trust. Here's how to drive loyalty in the age of automation. Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Artificial intelligence has definitely changed how we do business, for the better in many ways. Chatbots that reply in seconds, algorithms tracking your behavior so you can instantly get what you want and automation handling routine tasks faster than any human team ever could. But just because it's fast doesn't mean it feels good. Efficiency is great, but I've seen too many businesses losing the human element that actually builds trust and loyalty. If your digital experience feels robotic, scripted or cold, people won't stick around, no matter how "optimized" it is. At some point, tech needs a heartbeat behind it. Otherwise, all you're doing is automating disconnection. Related: How to Scale a Marketing Strategy That Works When automation goes too far Yes, automation is powerful. It keeps things running. Chatbots answer questions 24/7, tools auto-schedule content and systems track customer behavior. But let's not ignore the downside. Sure, 51% of consumers prefer interacting with bots over humans when they want immediate service. But what if they don't? What happens when customers get frustrated from waiting or having to repeat themselves? Think about the entire experience. When every interaction feels automated, customers begin to question whether anyone is really paying attention. Bots can't read the room. They can't hear tone, detect frustration or understand nuance. So, while automation helps scale, it often kills connection if you rely on it too much. Your chatbot can still handle basic questions, but when things get tricky, a handoff to a human rep makes all the difference. Most people aren't expecting perfection. They're looking for effort, care and responsiveness. When that's missing, the tech isn't helping — it's hurting. Personalization is now a necessity, not a mere desire Personalization is now a basic expectation, but it can't be all AI. In 2024, Forbes surveyed over 1,000 U.S. consumers for their State of Customer Service and CX Study and found that 81% of customers prefer companies that offer a personalized experience, and they expect this personal touch across the platforms they use, not just in-store or over email. No surprise there — it confirms what we already know about personalization. Customers want fast, relevant and thoughtful service that feels made for them. But here's where brands get it wrong: They use AI to automate "personalization" based on click behavior, email opens or CRM tags — and stop there. The result? Generic messages dressed up in personalization tags. "Hi [FirstName]" isn't what people mean by thoughtful. Yes, AI helps scale insight. But real personalization comes from real-time awareness, in those moments that can't be predicted. Knowing that a customer just called support five minutes ago changes how you respond to their next email. This isn't something AI alone can deliver. It takes judgment, context and care. Let your team go off-book when it serves the customer. That's what humanizing your strategy means: efficient, but never robotic. Because personalization shouldn't feel predictive, it should feel considered. AI might tee it up, but humans close the loop. Related: 5 Innovative Ways to Give Your Customers the Personalized Experiences They Want Do what the algorithm can't Speed, data and automation can open the door, but connection keeps people coming back. Ask real questions The comments section is the closest thing you've got to a real-time focus group. It keeps your blind spots in check. Ask what your customers are struggling with, what they want to see more of and what's missing. They'll tell you when something's off. If you're paying attention, you can adjust before it becomes a bigger issue. Reward frontline feedback Your best insights aren't in your dashboards. Want to improve a feature? Ask the person fielding complaints about it. Want to write better copy? Talk to the person who knows the objections your customers keep bringing up. Build a process where frontline teams can flag patterns, share feedback and influence decisions. When your team sees that their input shapes the brand, they become more invested. And when customers see that their voice actually leads to improvements, they trust you more. Lead with your story Sprout Social reports that for 86% of consumers, authenticity is a major factor in choosing which brands to support. That's why storytelling — especially the messy, honest kind — builds trust faster than any email sequence ever could. It doesn't have to be dramatic or polished. Some of the most powerful brand moments come from raw, unscripted content: a phone-shot video, a glimpse of what went wrong behind the scenes, a quick peek at how you build your product. The truth is, customers don't just want to be sold to — they want to be in a relationship with the brands they buy from. Seeing real people doing real work is what turns that relationship from transactional to emotional. Related: How Brands Can Embrace Authenticity in a World Craving Transparency People first, always AI is here to stay, and that's not a bad thing. Use automation. Streamline. But remember, the brands that will truly thrive are the ones that know how to scale connection, not just automation. The future of digital isn't less human. It's more intentional. Next time you build a marketing campaign, send an email or respond to a comment, ask yourself: Does this sound human? Or just efficient?
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
bolttech integrates AWS Gen AI to enhance efficiency
Singaporean insurtech company bolttech has integrated AWS generative AI solutions to lower costs of its operations and personalise customer services. The platform, "bolttech Gen AI Factory," has been developed using Amazon Bedrock and enhances the existing call centre platform, already operating on Amazon Connect and Amazon Lex. Gen AI Factory adds speech-to-speech capabilities to bolttech's chatbots, enabling multilingual, natural conversations with customers and allows teams to create Gen AI applications within the insurance value chain. The pilot, which began with Korean, provides 'real-time' responses to insurance policy queries, catering to both simple and complex enquiries. Through automation of basic activities such as claims processing, it allows bolttech's agents to focus on improving operational efficiency and customer engagement. With AWS's infrastructure, bolttech aims to use AI for better risk assessment, early warning systems for threats, and AI -driven virtual assistants for claims processing. AWS Singapore country manager Priscilla Chong stated: 'bolttech is an example of a company delivering innovation using generative AI to enhance customer experiences, improve operational efficiency, and drive innovation in how insurance services are delivered and consumed globally. We're thrilled to support bolttech, and we're pleased that AWS's choice-based, model-agnostic approach is delivering AI-powered convenience to discerning customers at the forefront of the AI revolution.' The company is already using AWS tools to expedite time to market. It has reported over 50% reduction in time updating code documentation files with Amazon Q Developer. bolttech Asia CEO Philip Weiner said: 'At bolttech, we remain steadfast in our vision to connect people with more ways to protect the things they value. To achieve this at scale, we rely on the right data and AI infrastructure. AWS's cloud computing and Gen AI services, including Amazon Bedrock, provide the foundation to access diverse model choices, deliver superior price-performance ratios, and robust trust and safety enterprise features that align perfectly with our needs. Earlier in May 2025, bolttech entered a joint venture with Sumitomo Corporation to offer device protection in Asia. "bolttech integrates AWS Gen AI to enhance efficiency " was originally created and published by Life Insurance International, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Forbes
a day ago
- Business
- Forbes
The Connected Aftermarket: How Industrial Companies Can Make Services Smarter
In recent years, economic uncertainties have driven industrial companies to seek out new streams of revenue—ones that aren't subject to the vagaries of supply chains, extreme weather, and geopolitical matters. For many, that new stream has been aftermarket services. Providing services outside of the pressures involved in equipment production and sales is what makes aftermarket sales so attractive—and profitable. The average operating margin from aftermarket services globally is two to three times higher than the operating margin from new equipment sales. And with digital technologies and smart operations driving new opportunities—and demands—for customer service, now is a good time for industrial companies to explore or expand aftermarket services. Aftermarket sales can satisfy the expectation of customer-centricity. With the proliferation of smart technologies, customer experience and seamless interactions are table stakes for any business-to-consumer (B2C) enterprise—and that approach is increasingly extending itself to the business-to-business (B2B) market. And with good reason: 88% of customers say the experience a company provides is as important as the product itself. Even more compelling, customer-focused organizations report a 49% increase in sales or revenue, a 45% increase in profitability, and a 70% increase in customer loyalty and satisfaction. One of the ways to build out customer-centricity—and therefore, aftermarket services—is connectivity. That is, assets that are connected through digital technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, machine learning (ML), artificial intelligence (AI), and Generative AI (GenAI)—most of which manufacturers have already incorporated into their operations. But these technologies can take aftermarket services to new levels. According to a Deloitte Consulting LLP survey, 70% of companies that have implemented digital solutions improved their customer experience. Drawing on these technologies can enable industrial companies to develop a connected aftermarket—which can extend the value chain beyond the factory to the full lifecycle of the product. It can connect vast networks of assets, people, and materials to create an integrated system that is in a better position to offer good customer experience. Working like a B2C in a B2B environment is likely a new world for many industrial companies. They often don't have the data—due to legacy systems and siloed operations—to understand their customers and can lose track of a product once its sold. Industrial companies' linear mindset based on traditional production lines can make it hard to stand up aftermarket services—which don't necessarily fit into a predictable sequence. This also means there can be an overall lack of experience in building out customer-centric solutions. To deliver aftermarket services that offer the customer-centricity of a B2C and take advantage of today's connected and advanced technologies, industrial companies should consider the following actions: Digital technologies such as IoT, sensors, machine learning, and GenAI have fueled the proliferation of smart operations in manufacturing and continue to drive gains in productivity and efficiency. These technologies and the aftermarket service they enable can help industrial companies form a buffer — while offering an improved customer experience which could lead to loyalty.
Malay Mail
a day ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
The GULU Introduces Smart Queuing Solutions to Address Long Wait Times at Chong Kee Gold Shop in Hong Kong Amid Gold Price Surge
Alleviating congestion in front of the shop: In Hong Kong's hot and humid summer weather, customers no longer need to wait outside for extended periods. They can wait for their number to be called in a shaded area, avoiding exposure to the sun and enjoying a smoother selling or buying experience. Higher operational efficiency: Staff can focus on serving customers rather than managing crowds. In addition to customers being able to enter the shop faster, this also helps reduce staff workload. Data analysis support: Ticketing machines can record the daily number of service users and peak hours, helping Chong Kee Gold Shop better understand resource allocation and quickly respond to high customer volumes due to persistently high gold prices. HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 30 May 2025 - In response to the recent surge in gold prices and the resulting long queues, THE GULU is announcing its collaboration with Chong Kee Gold Shop in Central to implement an advanced queuing solution. This initiative aims to improve the management of long queues outside Chong Kee and alleviate congestion in front of the shop, ensuring faster service for customers selling or buying the end of April, Chong Kee Gold Shop faced unprecedented customer volume as gold prices surpassed $3,500 per ounce, leading many sellers to sell gold and causing long queues to form outside the store. According to multiple media reports, the shop was bustling, and the extended wait times posed challenges for both customers and GULU, with its professional queuing solutions, is providing a comprehensive queuing system that not only streamlines the waiting process but also allows Chong Kee Gold Shop customers to enjoy a smoother selling or buying experience. In addition to the ticketing machines chosen by Chong Kee Gold Shop, which allow customers to wait orderly according to system-assigned numbers without fear of missing their call, reducing on-site confusion and unnecessary wait times. THE GULU also offers smart queuing services, allowing customers to reserve their queue position through THE GULU app, reducing wait times and ensuring a more orderly flow of queuing solutions bring several benefits:said Eric, founder of THE new system has shown positive results, with customers expressing satisfaction with the reduced wait times and improved service quality. Through the digitized queuing process, Chong Kee can now manage customer flow more effectively, allowing staff to focus on providing excellent major financial institutions continue to favor gold prices and Hongkongers have a time-is-money mentality, THE GULU will strive to support businesses like Chong Kee in quickly addressing these challenges. Our queuing solutions not only help manage people flow, but as pioneers of mobile queuing, we ensure businesses benefit from operational efficiency, enhance their technological image, and customers can flexibly arrange their time and enjoy better learn more about how THE GULU can assist your business in optimizing customer flow and enhancing service efficiency, please visit to see various success stories from our clients!Use the promo code "GOLDGULU" to book a free on-site demonstration and enjoy special offers for new customers. Offers are subject to terms and "GOLDGULU" OFFER NOW: email us at [email protected] or call +852 2295 5922Hashtag: #THEGULU #queue #lineup #crowdmanagement #goldprice The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. About THE GULU THE GULU is a Hong Kong company focused on smart living and efficient queuing, a leading app that uses technology to put Hongkongers' efficiency-first mentality into practice. We focus on technology and customer service, providing innovative solutions for businesses to enhance operation efficiency and customer satisfaction.
