How African fintech startups can provide excellent customer service
Noel K. Tshiani is the founder of the Congo Business Network. Since April 2019, the network has been working with fintech startups, banks, the Ministry of Entrepreneurship, the National Agency for the Development of Entrepreneurship in the Congo, the Ministry of Telecommunications and consulting firms to develop the fintech sector in Kinshasa with the aim of increasing financial inclusion and developing the culture of digital payments.
Fintech startups in Africa continue to attract most of the money raised from international investors as entrepreneurs work to launch a series of innovations that are transforming Africa’s financial services industry by making payments transactions cheaper and faster for consumers. But startups often struggle to provide excellent customer care due to a few factors, including:
- Lack of resources: Fintech startups often have limited resources, making it difficult to invest in customer service.
- Lack of experience: The majority of fintech startups in Africa are new to the market and may not have the experience or expertise to provide excellent customer service.
- Lack of focus: Fintech startups are often focused on testing the market by developing new products and services, and may not have the time or resources to dedicate to customer service.
Despite these challenges, there are some things fintech startups can do to improve customer experience, such as:
- Invest in infrastructure: Fintech startups need to invest in the infrastructure that will support excellent customer service. The minimum includes a call center, a website chat function and social media support.
- Invest in software and tools: Several software and tools can help fintech startups provide excellent customer care. Priority should be given to customer relationship management (CRM) software, knowledge bases, fraud detection, risk management and ticketing systems.
- Train customer service agents: Fintech startups need to train their customer service agents to provide excellent customer service. Training should cover customer service best practices, product knowledge, conflict resolution, reputation management and problem solving skills.
- Focus on customer satisfaction: Fintech startups must prioritize customer satisfaction. That means listening to customer feedback, resolving customer issues quickly and going the extra mile to ensure customer satisfaction.
Excellent customer service can contribute to business growth and success for fintech startups in various ways. Firstly, it can help attract new customers. When customers have a positive experience with customer service, they are more likely to do business with a company again.
Second, excellent customer service can help retain existing customers. When customers are satisfied with the level of service they receive, they are less likely to switch to a competitor or speak negatively about a startup. Third, excellent customer care can help build brand loyalty. When customers have a positive experience with customer service, they are more likely to recommend a company to friends, family or colleagues.
Fintech startups can take the following actions daily to ensure exceptional customer service:
- Be responsive: Customers expect quick and accurate responses to their inquiries. Make sure you have a system in place to handle customer inquiries in a timely manner.
- Be knowledgeable: Your customer service agents should be knowledgeable about your products and services. Well-trained employees will be able to answer customer questions quickly and accurately.
- Be empathetic: Customers want to feel heard and understood. Your customer service staff should be able to empathize with customers and offer solutions that meet their needs.
- Be proactive: Don’t wait for customers to come to you with problems. Reach out to customers to see how you can help them and follow up to make sure a customer doesn’t have unmet needs.
- Be positive: A positive attitude can go a long way in providing customer service. Your customer service team should be friendly, helpful and positive.
In conclusion, by investing in world-class customer experience, fintech startups in Africa can improve their chances of success because excellent customer service can help attract new customers, retain existing buyers and build brand loyalty.
In the highly competitive world of financial services, paying close attention to customer service will contribute to the increased sales, improved customer satisfaction and higher profitability that many entrepreneurs are now seeking to achieve across Africa.
