How can you improve your startup's customer experience without spending $1000s?

SDS 006: Clarifying Customer Experience

Hey! thank you for reading issue 006 of Startup Definition Sunday (SDS). 

SDS is the newsletter for founders, bringing you clarity one actionable tip at a time.

SDS arrives every two weeks (you guessed it) on Sundays.

In every issue you can expect: 

• 1 Definition of startup jargon

• 1 actionable tip you can implement right away

• 1 article on Africa tech that you should read

• 1 gift for founders

Let's dive in:

(PS I'll never sell your information, ever)

Hi, Jasiel here. As quite a few of my twitter followers guessed, this month I have TWO guest posts from some awesome friends of mine.

Today's post is by Maureen (@MsBawoni on twitter - definitely worth a follow). Maureen is the founder of Bawoni Consult, a pan-African customer experience consultancy. 

You can probably guess what today's issue is about but here's why you should keep on reading:

At the end of this issue, you will get four simple ways to design your startup's customer experience and establish your company as your customer's favorite. 

But, let me leave Maureen to tell you more.

What does customer experience mean?

Customer experience (CX): overall impression and emotions a customer has when interacting with a company, its products or services encompassing all aspects of the customer journey, from initial awareness and consideration, to purchase and post-purchase engagement. 

Why should customer experience matter to you?

Here's the truth: customer experience may be focused on customers but founders gain the most when they place a strong emphasis on customer experience from day 1 of their business journey.  

Robust customer experience leads to increased customer loyalty, improved reputation, competitive advantage, employee engagement and most importantly, increased revenue.  

Every founder knows that increased revenue is the Holy Grail of a successful business. A great customer experience is the map that gets you there.

What do you need to deliver stellar customer experience?

You don't need to bookmark another thread. You need just three things in your company to deliver stellar customer experience. 

Well-defined organisational structure: A clear hierarchy of defined roles and responsibilities is a critical first step. It will ensure that customer inquiries and concerns are handled promptly and efficiently. In a world of poor customer service, this already sets you head and shoulders above your peers. Beyond the satisfied feeling your customers will get, clear role division helps to establish a culture of accountability, and effective communication across the company ensuring that employees understand their role in delivering a positive customer experience. This seamless and consistent customer experience is guaranteed to improve customer satisfaction, foster brand loyalty, and drive business growth. 

Customer-centric mindset and culture: It is almost cliche but the customer always comes first. Customer-centric companies understand this and embody the mindset across all decision-making. A customer-centric company prioritizes customer satisfaction and consistently seeks feedback to improve its offerings. Ask yourself this: what was my last memorable buyer experience? 9 times out of 10, the customer experience stood out to you. Repeat this for your customers.  

This mindset has to be evident through out the DNA of your company: from sales and customer service to product design and delivery. . 

If you remember nothing else, remember this:

When the entire company is focused on creating a positive customer experience, customer loyalty can become the biggest driver of growth.  

This image by our friends at Afridigest HQ cements this point: 

I know what you are thinking: okay Maureen but HOW do I do this? 

How can you begin designing an exceptional customer experience?

I have good news - these 4 steps will set you on the path to begin winning customers over with exceptional customer experience. 

Assign clear responsibilities: Have a clear hierarchy and defined roles but also encourage cross-functional collaboration. A clear hierarchy ensures accountability while improving efficiency. But it’s also important that departments work together to ensure a seamless and consistent experience.

Provide training: Offer consistent customer service training to all employees and not just for your customer service department. If the culture of customer service will permeate your organization everyone (yes, including your intern) must understand the importance of providing an exceptional customer experience across all touch points. 

Implement technology: Designing an exceptional customer experience relies heavily on data because customer behavior is not random. Ensuring you have the right technology solutions such as customer relationship management (CRM) software is key to improving communication and streamlining processes. 

Measure and Improve: To excel in customer experience, you must continuously evaluate and enhance the experience based on BOTH customer and employee feedback. Make improvements where necessary to ensure that customers have an exceptional customer experience. 

So, there you have it. Today, I am gifting you with an opportunity to begin outshining all your competitors (yes, including the one that raised more money than you) and I hope you take it. 

Bonus gift for reading to the end

I put together a free resource to help you improve your customer's experience in just 7 days.  

Yes, you don't need a whole quarter of planning to begin offering exceptional customer experience.

Grab the resource here - did I mention it cost $0?  

If you only read one thing this week, read this...

Jasiel here again. I hope you enjoyed today's guest post. If there are other writers you would love to see write on SDS, shoot me an email or tell me on twitter.

Now to this issue's must-read article...

Easily one of my three favorite Africa tech writers, Abraham, penned an informative piece on the history of venture capital in Africa on Christmas Day last year.

In case you missed it, Christmas came for you again (or is it Valentine's Day?). Check out the article here.

Here's why you should read it: Year-on-year the amount of venture capital in Africa has grown. But, most people believe that venture capital started with Jumia and was perfected by Flutterwave. Abraham encourages you to look further back. 

Founder's Corner

Let's get real for a second: raising a round in 2023 is beginning to sound like going outside in mid-2020 - everyone is advising you against it. Unfortunately, unlike missing weekly drinks with your friends, you can't just pause on the fundraising.

The team at Africa The Big Deal have been curating a database of investors that have done deals in Africa since 2019.

It costs a fraction what you will pay for Crunchbase or Pitchbook BUT the team has offered a 10% discount for subscribers of SDS. Grab it here (and tell a friend!) to help you target investors in your sweet spot. 

Thank you for reading to the end of issue 006.

If you have tried successful ways of increasing your customer's experience, let me know and we can do a sequel to today's issue.  

If you enjoyed reading this, or I missed something, hit reply - it's always great to hear your thoughts on the issue!

Let's chat again in two weeks,

Jasiel