Why Making Products People Love is the Best Marketing Strategy

SadaPay has arrived at a milestone. Our app has now been downloaded more than one million times ?? This has been done with negligible marketing spend. We get asked quite a lot about how we’ve been able to do this, especially in a commoditized industry like fintech. If I had to summarize our customer acquisition thought process, it has been this since day 1: Make Something People Love. Not like, or admire or be kinda impressed with. L-O-V-E ??

When a company creates high-quality products that people truly love using, they don't need to spend a lot of money on advertising and marketing to sell them. The customers themselves will do the marketing for them, through word-of-mouth recommendations and positive online reviews.

This is because people are more likely to trust the opinions of their friends and family, or other customers who have tried the product, than they are to trust a marketing message from the company itself. When a product is truly loved by its users, they will be eager to tell others about it and recommend it to them. Seeing the SadaPay debit cards all over social media is a sign that we have struck a chord with our target user. It takes a lot for someone to put their own reputation on the line and recommend something to their friends. And that too a “payments app”. We are grateful for each and every one of our users who do this ??

The SadaPay Marketing Flywheel looks something like this:

In contrast, if a company creates products that are mediocre or inferior, they will have a harder time selling them, even with an expensive marketing campaign. People are savvy consumers, and they can often tell when a product is not worth their money. In today's world of online reviews and social media, it's easier than ever for people to share their experiences with a product, good or bad. If a product does not have a delightful user experience, they will likely share their negative experiences with others, which can damage the company's reputation and make it harder for them to onboard more users. This results in increased Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC) which negatively affects the bottom line. And bottom line is where the rubber meets the road ??

So, how can a company create products that people love? Here are a few key learnings we’ve had at SadaPay:

1. Understand your customers - deeply: The first step to making products that people love is to understand your customers and their needs. You need to know your main customer persona thoroughly. Don’t design for everyone.
2. Focus on quality: Creating high-quality products should be the top priority for any company. Invest in the culture, processes and technologies that will help you make the best possible products. Don't cut corners or sacrifice quality for the sake of cost or convenience. Take your time to do it right the first time. Users don’t have the patience to deal with half baked and shoddy implementations.
3. Prioritize customer feedback: Listen to your customers' feedback and use it to improve your products - constantly. Encourage customers to share their thoughts and suggestions, and make sure to respond to their feedback and take it into account when making decisions about product development. Never stop learning.
4. Innovate and improve: Keep pushing the boundaries and constantly strive to improve your products. Look for new ways to make your products better, more useful, or more enjoyable for your customers. Don't be afraid to try new things and experiment with new ideas.
5. Provide excellent customer service: This is a really underrated “hack” and very hard to do well. Make sure that your customer service team is well-trained, empowered and equipped to handle customer inquiries and concerns in a timely and professional manner.?

When a company creates high-quality products that people truly enjoy using, they don't need to spend a lot of money on advertising and marketing to sell them. The customers themselves will do the marketing for them, through word-of-mouth recommendations and positive online reviews (in our opinion, the 2 best customer acquisition channels in 2022!)

By deeply understanding their customers, focusing on quality, and constantly striving to improve, companies can create products that people love and build a loyal customer base.