Customer Services as a Growth Strategy

Imagine launching a fintech startup in 2024.

Your app offers free transfers, bill payments, cash back, debit cards, nothing different from what Opay, Kuda, Moniepoint, and others currently offer.

In this saturated market, how do you truly stand out?

Do you pump money into paid advertising, echoing competitors' messaging, hoping to drive downloads? Without a strong growth strategy, this often leads to high churn rates and wasted resources. Trust me.

How about you start by truly understanding what customers need and solving their pain points? Your product may offer similar services, but your differentiator lies in the specific customer problem you're solving.

To understand the customers' pain points, do the following:

1. Check out your competitors' (especially the big players) social media comments and reviews.

2. Look out for recurring customer pain points and frustrations.

3. Position your startup to address these specific issues.

Now, here's the game-changer:

In most companies, customer service teams are among the least-earning employees, negatively impacting service quality and engagement.

Position your startup to change this narrative. Hire a Chief Customer Officer (typically your Head of Growth) to lead this charge.

Why does this work?

1. Trust Trust Trust!!! In fintech, trust is paramount. Exceptional service builds this trust.

2. With Word-of-mouth being the most effective and efficient form of Marketing, your satisfied customers will naturally become your brand ambassadors.

3. You will retain a huge percentage of your acquired customers because good service keeps customers loyal, reducing churn.

4. It gives you a competitive edge in the already saturated market.

This strategy is easy to implement.

1. Invest heavily in your customer service team, in training and compensation.

2. Create a cross-functional team consisting of Marketing, Customer Service & Product, reporting to the Head of Growth - the Chief Customer Officer.

3. Promote a company-wide culture that prioritizes customer satisfaction.

4. Use customer feedback to continuously improve your product.5. Share success stories showcasing your commitment to service.

It is very easy for fintech app features to be replicated, but the quality of your customer service and the experience of a satisfied customer? That can't be easily copied.

Customer service excellence isn't just a department, it's a powerful growth strategy.

By positioning your startup as the customer service champion in fintech, you're not just launching another app, you're building a brand that customers will trust, use, and passionately recommend.

What I hope to achieve with this post is to get founders and leaders, especially at startups, to start thinking of new ways to position their businesses in an already saturated market and drive growth.