The customer is always right.
It’s a trope that isn’t necessarily always true, but definitely holds weight. Because, at the end of the day, businesses sell to their customers, and to do that effectively, they have to know what their customers want.
Venmo gave the people what they needed
Venmo, one of the biggest peer-to-peer payment solutions in the world, has garnered great success because it understands the audience it’s appealing to – Millennials.
A few factors played into this:
- The vast majority of Millennials use smartphones.
- They’re more willing to use alternative payment solutions, especially mobile payments.
- Millennials are all about convenience, so a payment solution that makes it easy to make and receive payments appealed to them greatly.
Their updates also keep the Millennial market in mind – like when they added an emoji autocomplete feature because they noticed that their users were posting Venmo notes (similar to payment references) with emojis.
By initially understanding what their market needed (and realising there was a gap for such a solution), and by constantly innovating to make sure their customers get what they want out of their product, they became and continue to be successful.
Market research, the Ozow way
In early 2022, an Ozow contingent spent a weekend living and working in South Africa’s largest township, Soweto.
The 13-strong Ozow team was split up and paired with hosts who would guide them through life in Soweto. From shopping, attending weddings and street parties, to working in taverns, spaza shops and salons, the Ozow team was truly immersed into the thriving heart of the Kasi.
The goal? To learn.
To learn how Soweto’s population live their daily lives, how they spend money, what they spend it on, how their businesses work, and how they engage with each other.
Armed with this information, Ozow plans to give our target market the product that they deserve; one that will help make their lives easier by making payments more convenient. And with cash holding reign as king in an area that serves as a major contributor to South Africa’s billion-Rand informal economy, it is only a matter of time for an alternative payment solution to break through into this market.
Ozow's answer to this is Ozow ME, our peer-to-peer payment solution. With Ozow ME, users can make and receive payments in just about an instant, whether it’s to a friend, family member or small business that has signed up as an Ozow ME merchant.
So, while the customer might always be right, it’s up to those who are creating products for the customer to understand what is needed. Only then can friction be removed for the customer, which in turn creates a successful product.
Follow this link to find out more about Ozow ME. You can also register to use Ozow ME here.
