Despite the dramatic changes that have come about in 2020, Luxembourg has seen very little change — at least on the customer experience front. As with last year, financial services leads for CX best practice, and almost half of the organizations in this year's top 10 belong to this sector. Indeed many of these brands ranked in the top ten in 2019 indicating, that many organizations in Luxembourg recognize that customer experience growth is a long-term undertaking.

That is not to say that COVID-19 hasn't had any impact on CX overall. With customers increasingly looking for safety and security, the pillar of Integrity has become more important than ever. Indeed, it is the leading driver for advocacy, and consumers are more likely to recommend brands if they show that they are taking the COVID-19 situation seriously and are working hard to protect consumers and employees. There is also a hunger for organizations that are seen to be acting ethically, and invest in personalized customer relationships. For this reason, the pillar of Personalization is the current leading driver of loyalty.

To achieve this brands have had to adapt quickly, and the financial services sector has undoubtedly been the strongest in this regard. Brands such as the state health fund CNS, a legal insurance provider in Luxembourg's health care system, are a good example, being quick to attend to people's changing needs. CNS has seen a dramatic climb in the rankings in 2020, with one respondent saying: "Just recently I applied for family-related leave during the COVID-19 period and had no problems. The form was pretty simple to understand.

I also sent in invoices for consultations and received the reimbursements without any problems."

Similarly, the bank Spuerkeess has performed well this year, ranking at number two. In fact, the brand has the highest score in the pillar of Integrity in the whole of Luxembourg, with a spokesperson saying, "this is a confirmation that our brand DNA is perceived and valued by our customers who always are our top priority."

Spuerkeess notes that its digitization has been key to its success, particularly during COVID-19. Overnight, the brand set up a new online service center — in lieu of its physical branches — enabling customers to keep in contact and carry out their business, even to the extent of ordering new credit cards. It also ensured a dedicated phone line was available for those consumers without internet access. In addition, Spuerkeess kept people up to date via its S-NET banking app, which also allowed people to carry out a range of other banking operations such as money transfers.

This flexibility was also in evidence with the book retailer Ernster, which ranks at number three. As with most brands, Ernster had to adapt during COVID, relying entirely on phone and email contact at the height of COVID-19. Each customer received a personalized response, and the brand went to great lengths to deliver books to people's homes, even by bike on some occasions. In addition, Ernster carried out deliveries every day of the week, including public holidays.

"Our CX success is driven by our highly dedicated and passionate employees — one of their greatest passions being to meet their customers," says company owner Fernand Ernster. He describes his workers as "very committed" people who "know their customers well."

Indeed, this focus on people (both employees and consumers) is essential for customer experience best practice across the world. This is certainly the case for Luxembourg's highest ranking brand in 2020 — the insurance company LALUX. Like Ernster, the brand is committed to personal relationships, fully focused on their safety and needs.

As LALUX explains: "The main reason for our success lies in the client-oriented nature of our entire organization. Our primary mission is to be at our customers' sides when needed, to reassure them and offer the right solutions."

To do this, LALUX relies on customer feedback. The brand describes this as a daily process, owing to the fast and ever-changing nature of the world around them. An example of this can be seen in its customer satisfaction surveys, which it conducts after every insurance claim. These help LALUX to continually adapt and improve, and to anticipate people's future needs. It should also be noted that the organization has achieved the highest Resolution score in the Luxembourg study.

As such, brands such as LALUX epitomize customer experience best practice in Luxembourg, and they are a good example for other organizations to follow.

They need to be willing (and prepared) to change quickly, be it in response to COVID-19, or to the shifting needs of their consumers. To do this, they need to fully understand what is happening in people's minds, and this is something that can only be achieved through close, and constant, customer experience insight.