Startups form almost every day in an emerging economy like India, with major uplift from funding, ever changing technology, and to attain a piece of the escalating market share. However, what they often tend to forget is that – it is customers that ultimately decide the fate of startups. No matter how hard we try to ignore it, but the truth is that customer experience is what drives almost all brands.
Make no mistake – customer experience is not restricted to the experience customers draw from your products/services. It necessary includes the entire buyer’s journey, right from discovering about your company, to consideration, and finally purchasing.
Why do Startups need Customer Experience?
Whenever new startups are formed, they need to keep in mind that they have to address a problem statement, and they can provide a unique solution to customers to overcome the problem. This way, the entire experience of customers can be taken to greater heights. Once customers get an idea about the value of your products/services in their lives, they will automatically start liking your startup more.
Research has shown that there were 3100 startups in 2014 in India, and the figure is likely to increase to over 11,500 by 2020. However, a handsome number of startups don’t go a long way towards being successful, and this is precisely because they haven’t focused on fostering the experience of their customers. Startups also increasingly need to see customer experience as a medium to garner priceless feedback, insights and opinions, with the help of a strong two-way communication.
What Approach Should Startups Adopt?
First and foremost, startups need to understand that even when they don’t have any customer during the initial days or months, they still have themselves to turn to for feedback. This means that you have to start thinking as a buyer and not a seller, and what kind of product would you be interested in buying. As once remarked by Mark Zuckerberg – “I mostly built stuff that I liked”, when asked what made him create Facebook. However, startups should also proceed with caution, and this is where market research should be employed, when you want to start a company around a product that you prefer to buy.
The second level is when you have already acquired customers. Accept it or not but startups put an immense amount of effort towards attaining customers, and much less when it comes to retaining or engaging them. Getting a good customer base is a commendable job, but it is a more important task to listen to your customers and respond in a timely and appropriate manner, to better customer experience.
Lastly, startups need to put a special emphasis on personalized interactions with customers. This can be a challenge for most startups with inadequate resources but this can be easily overcome with CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software. Moreover, startups should monitor what customers and others are saying about their brand on social media mentions, app feedback, and chats. Thereby, startups will be able to create customized products and services to better suit the changing needs of people.
Did you feel encouraged to improve your customers’ experience? If yes, give us a call at Ameyo Emerge and we will set things right for you.
