The case for startups to make customer experience a top priority is built around the simple fact that establishing and nurturing a strong customer base is key for startup success. A robust clientele is important for any business, customer acquisition however is far more challenging in the startup industry.
Inherently, startups are tasked with identifying potential customers, making them discern the added value of products or services, finding out how to engage and acquire those users and finally, making sure they hold on to them. For all these things to happen, startups need to place focus on every single stage of the customer journey very early on. This means that building customer relationships and, therefore, shifting attention to the customer experience is critical for the overall success of your startup.
That said, nurturing customer relationships is easier said than done and requires a holistic approach that’s reflected in organizational culture from day one. In other words, prioritizing the customer experience shouldn’t come as an afterthought because its benefits are too significant to ignore.
Here’s what startups can achieve by investing in the customer experience:
Ever heard the expression, customer experience is the next competitive battleground? The startup world is not an easy place to find yourself in. Investors are constantly searching for the next unicorn, users are looking for better solutions to their needs, and startups need to deliver an innovative offering that maximizes value while dealing with immense competition. In this setting, the process of measuring and striving to improve the customer experience will offer your startup a competitive advantage and give you the edge to keep your company ahead of the game.
Consumers today are constantly bombarded with the “next best thing”. The value proposition of a startup is that it offers innovative products that solve your needs. Focusing on the customer experience enables startups to ultimately engage in a conversion with customers, better understand those needs and how to fulfill expectations in terms of product development or user experience.
Customer feedback is a key component when it comes to the customer experience. Organizations that carefully listen to the voice of the customer gain access to insights that reveal not only how to add value to their offering but also understand the market demand in relation to that offering.
Word of mouth is the most effective type of marketing and, nudge nudge wink wink, it doesn’t cost a thing. Users that are happy with your product or service and the overall experience with your company will recommend your startup to their friends, family, and colleagues. The main take away here is that the better the customer experience, the more increased the customer satisfaction. Furthermore, by delivering exceptional customer experience, startups can leverage on customer referrals which in turn can substantially reduce the cost of acquisition.
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Building on the previous point about customer satisfaction, customer retention is crucial for startups. On its early stages, every company is struggling to develop a healthy customer base and, to put in very simple terms, your business cannot afford to lose any existing customers. Placing focus on the customer experience will allow your startup a head start on customer retention.
In conclusion, customer relationships matter and, at the end of the day, can make or break your business. Establishing very early on a customer-centric organization that prioritizes the customer experience can result in great advantages for the success of your startup.
Author Bio:
Keti Limani is a compulsive content creator (CCC) at Surveypal, and an enthusiastic digital marketer. She’s partial to dark roast coffee and thinks storytelling makes the world a better place. Connect with her on Twitter.
