Establishing product-market fit for a fintech startup

Challenge: The company was launched in a very saturated market competing with giant market players with no specific positioning, making it harder to control customer acquisition costs. The two main focuses of the company were

What was done:

1. Data Analysis & Dashboard Creation

• Conducted in-depth analysis of company growth data and team structure.
• Led the creation of data dashboards from scratch, in collaboration with the data engineer, to consolidate data and automate key metrics for customer acquisition, activation, and retention, driving informed decision-making and KPIs.

2. Competitor, Market, and Customer Research

• Conducted comprehensive research on both customer and competitor landscapes, analyzing trends, strengths, and market positioning. 
• Developed strategic direction based on insights gathered from the research, identifying opportunities for differentiation and growth. 

• Engaged with customers through interviews and surveys to gain deeper understanding, enhance market visibility, and refine product offerings.

3. Customer Acquisition Strategy

• Identified the necessary resources to kickstart active customer acquisition, including hiring and interviewing talent, and setting up their respective channels for success.
• Initiated acquisition through paid ads and cold outreach, with optimized resource allocation focused on high-intent conversions to improve lead quality.
• Implemented structured conversion tracking to provide deeper insights and enable strategic adjustments. 
• Designed targeted abandonment recovery flows to capture leads at various stages of the consumer journey.

4. Customer Activation Strategy

• Analyzed activation metrics and recommended UI/UX refinements to streamline onboarding and improve activation. 
• Hired and onboarded a new specialist to support clients in not only starting their subscriptions but also actively using the product. 
• Led multiple activation campaigns in collaboration with the onboarding team to drive engagement and usage.

5. Product-Market Fit Refinement 

• Based on ongoing customer acquisition and activation efforts, including customer interviews, surveys, and on-product surveys, existing personas were refined, and messaging was optimized to address their unique needs and pain points. 
• The onboarding process was enhanced by incorporating qualifying questions to better classify new leads, resulting in improved analytics interpretation by evaluating performance through the lens of these refined personas.

6. Consumer Journey Workshop

• After extensive learning and data collection, including conversations with real customers and leads, analysis of paid and organic channel results, and understanding consumer needs and pain points through human onboarding and customer success, a consumer journey workshop was conducted. 
• This workshop helped align the knowledge of the real customer across the company and various functions, visualizing key touchpoints, identifying experience gaps and pain points, and generating new product and marketing initiatives to enhance the overall customer journey.

Impact and next steps

In just 3 months, customer acquisition and activation departments were created from scratch, with well-defined strategies and execution plans. Multiple campaigns were launched, tested, and optimized, providing valuable learnings that informed continuous improvements. The product-market fit, messaging, and buyer personas were refined through ongoing efforts, while analytics systems were built to support data-driven decision-making. The team was equipped with the necessary channels and toolboxes to ensure future growth and success.