How investing in customer experience is investing in your startup’s growth

When deciding which areas of their startup to invest in from the get-go , many founders and CEOs tend to dismiss customer experience (CX). Until customer support requests or product feedback starts to pile up, founders put CX on a back burner. . It is seen as a cost center, to be put off for as long as possible. Small businesses often have only a small number of staff available to achieve large goals, and that all-important ROI is more likely to be achieved by focusing on marketing campaigns, product development, or attracting capital investors, right?

Not necessarily.

If you were to be lured into a coffee shop by the tantalizing smell of roasting beans, but your barista was standoffish and unfriendly, even the most delicious cup of coffee is unlikely to convince you this shop should be your regular haunt, as the experience would be tainted by the attitude of the staff. Particularly if, across the road, another establishment served beverages just as tasty but with a smile and question about your day. Which of the two would deserve your customer loyalty?

The significant impacts of ignoring CX are backed up by research – a report from CB Insights found that 14 percent of startups fail because they ignore their customers.

CX is not just an expense; it’s a growth channel waiting to be harnessed. Research has shown that successful experience-led growth strategies can improve cross-sell rates by 15 to 25 percent and boost companies’ share of wallet by 5 to 10 percent. This is because the investments do not go unnoticed. A study from American Express found that customers will pay 17  more to do business with a firm that provides quality service.

As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, customers crave meaningful connections with their chosen brands. A positive CX leads to lower churn rates; when customers have a pleasant experience with your brand, they’re more likely to stay loyal. Retention becomes your superpower, boosting customer lifetime value and bolstering your bottom line.

Good CX also generates referrals – for example, when a customer shares their positive experience with a support agent after a friend complains about how long they spent on hold with a competitor. Happy customers turn into brand ambassadors, creating a ripple effect of organic growth.

In an era where customer acquisition costs are skyrocketing – one study shows that it has risen by 222 percent in the last eight years – this word-of-mouth marketing can be a lifeline for startups.

The inverse is also true. Research has found that customers are more likely to complain publicly about negative experiences than recommend positive ones, so brands that don’t optimize their CX run the risk of handicapping their growth.

But even if they have acknowledged the importance of CX, business decision-makers may face the challenge of limited resources and expertise. Building an in-house team that focuses on CX is an expensive endeavor, and it still may not end up having the collective years of expertise required to implement strategies correctly.

Forward-thinking brands often partner with specialized customer support providers like PartnerHero as a cost-effective alternative to building an in-house function. These external teams of trained professionals can seamlessly integrate into your startup, handling live chat, moderating user-generated content, managing customer emails and calls, and even taking care of your social media accounts.

By outsourcing CX to experts, you can ensure high customer satisfaction without the heavy burden of recruitment, training, and infrastructure. Indeed, PartnerHero has access to hundreds of professionals across dozens of industries, so you can be sure that they can quickly find the right person for your specific business needs. Its leading employee retention rates also mean partner programs enjoy the stability required for associates to build product expertise.

This is more important now than ever, as customers have come to expect more from their online experiences with brands. One 2022 study found that 88 percent of service reps agreed that customers have higher expectations now than in previous years.

The bar has been lifted, in part, by the boom in AI-powered self-service options. As these bots can deal with more routine queries, those that end up being directed to agents have become more complex. But, with frontline contact center attrition rates reported to be up to 80 percent, companies can find the skills gap leads to dissatisfied customers. By outsourcing their CX team, companies can get the expertise they need to keep up with rising consumer demands.

What’s more, as business requirements change, it is far easier to scale up or down an outsourced team than a captive one . PartnerHero offers standard 30-day rolling contracts, so you can adjust team size as necessary and minimize any financial risks associated with long-term commitments. The services also cost around 50 percent less than building an in-house team from the start, so it’s a more cost-effective solution overall.

There are many CX outsourcing companies out there – the market is expected to grow to US$81.5 billion this year because companies are boosting their investment in CCaaS and other cloud-based CX tools. This is to cater to trends like increasing smartphone users and the big data revolution.

But PartnerHero stands out – it offers a truly end-to-end solution, which includes CX strategy, tool selection and implementation, moderation, and quality assurance. The company, founded in 2014, outsources dedicated customer support teams, as well as those that can take care of AR/AP, onboarding, and back office tasks like data entry and inventory management.

Everyone it employs must meet language skills requirements to ensure they can connect with customers across all channels, and therefore PartnerHero boasts the highest English language proficiency in the business.

Contact PartnerHero today to discuss how it can tailor its services to meet your business’s needs and unlock the full potential of CX.