With this barrage of interactions, comes countless chances for startups and emerging brands to wow customers with a great experience, or disappoint them with a frustrating one. To understand the complexities of modern service and how to get it right, we first need to look back…

From call centres to chatbots

To say that the service landscape is changing rapidly is an understatement. Not long ago customer service meant people who were physically there to listen, empathise, and help. Yup, we’re talking in person, face-to-face interactions in high street shops or banks (millennials can look away now as this might feel uncomfortable).

Next came the bustling cacophony of UK-based call centres, where operators in headsets were warriors of public relation battles – usually only called upon when things went wrong.

This morphed into cheaper call centres based abroad, where bad lines and thick accents (on both sides!) sometimes caused communication issues and frustrations.

After that, brands experimented with online customer service teams who were usually impossible to reach ‘in person’ and responded only via email.

Cut to 2024 and in many startups and businesses, customer service departments have been replaced by AI-powered chatbots, promising cheap, efficient, round-the-clock availability.

The dawn of customer service

Unfortunately the reality is often rather different – with furious customers stuck in chatbot loops for hours because the AI can’t understand or recognise simple commands or language and can’t help them to speak to a person. Cue the FT magazine’s cover a few months ago with the pleading headline from Consumer Editor Claer Barrett: “Can I just speak to a real person? How customer service became a living nightmare.”

Is modern customer service the worst of all worlds?

The data would seem to suggest so. According to Cavell’s 2024 Voice of the Consumer Report April 2024, 44% of UK consumers feel that customer service has worsened in the past 3 years, with many expressing frustration with ineffective automated systems like chatbots. A significant portion of consumers (50%) still prefer speaking to human agents for resolving customer issues effectively, and most (79%) prefer service from someone in their own country.

Building a customer-centric culture in startups

So the challenge we’re all facing is how to turn this around – how do we steer the out-of-control AI-driven customer service bus away from the precipice?

I’d argue that for the discerning startup, succeeding in today's highly competitive landscape means not only crafting an impeccable customer experience when people are using your product or service, but also meticulously cultivating the team responsible for delivering this service – whether that’s front of house or behind the scenes.

Cavell’s 2024 Voice of the Consumer Report April 2024, included this pertinent quote from The Institute of Customer Service: “For too long, customer service had been seen as an after-thought, part of after-sales activity. Instead, it is integral to the success and failure of organisations.”

Look outside your industry for inspiration

Embedding customer service into the very DNA of company culture is a no-brainer. When myself and my Co-Founder and Co-CEO Eduard

Panteleev were in the early days of setting up ANNA, we looked outside of the fintech industry to see what we could learn. For example, Eduard arranged a trip to American shoe brand Zappos’ HQ because he admired their culture.

The online shoe retailer built its empire upon an unwavering commitment to customer satisfaction. Its strategy was simple yet revolutionary: empower employees to do whatever it took to deliver "wow" service – no scripts, no time limits, just genuine human interaction.

This insight revolutionised the way we ran our fintech.

It's not a quick fix, it needs to come from the core

These cultural bedrocks are not laid overnight. They require leadership to embody and champion the philosophy of customer obsession; leaders must model the behaviours they want to see – active listening, empathy, and accountability – inspiring their teams to adopt these principles as their own.

My approach is: don’t speak about brand values, live them. Customers (and staff) might not believe what you say, but they’ll trust you if you do the right thing, particularly when it’s not necessarily beneficial to the business.

Solving customer pain points: service as a business driver

At the heart of exceptional service is the ability to solve customer pain points effectively. Understanding these challenges is not only crucial for customer satisfaction but also a significant driver of business success. When a service anticipates and addresses these pain points, it fulfils its basic promise and also helps the brand stand out in a crowded market.

To achieve this, startups must invest in thorough market research and customer feedback mechanisms, offering solutions that are tailored and personal. This process involves actively listening to customers, empathising with their struggles, and innovating with targeted solutions. When successfully implemented, these efforts turn service into a robust competitive advantage, fostering loyalty and advocacy among consumers.

Specialising helps: find your niche

At ANNA we are laser-focused on making financial admin easier for SMEs. This very specific niche helps us stay on track in everything we do because any activity or project has to tick this box – from developing the app and working on the road map to our 24/7 customer support. You can call this your brand’s mission or golden thread, but to me it’s just common sense. It makes every decision so much easier!

AI and humans - the perfect combo for excellent customer service?

So you’ve done your research, found your niche, and you know you’re solving your customer’s pain points. How can you best support your customers in using your service?

Obviously this will vary dramatically according to the type of startup, the number of staff, and the nature of the business. But we think we’ve cracked it at ANNA, and we’re willing to share our magic formula with Startups Magazine readers – we’ve found that great customer service comes from a combination of human and AI support.

AI takes on more than 80% of our customer queries but when there’s something more complex or emotionally charged that the AI cannot handle, or the customer simply asks, “Can I speak to a human?” they can speak to our ‘human’ CX team in under a minute.

Companies like Apple also take this approach: its Genius Bar services are complemented by digital interactions so customers get both the immediacy of tech solutions and the comfort of human guidance.

How can side hustlers and solo founders navigate customer support?

The good news is that this kind of hybrid model is achievable even for side hustlers or solo founders, because you can go as techy with it as your budget allows.

If you’re a more established company, you may have the luxury of a dev team, so you can build a Generative AI to handle queries, and have a customer service team standing by to handle calls or emails.

But you can also get a plug-in platform solution like Zendesk or HelpScout, or at the most basic level, have an online page of FAQs. Just ensure that customers can easily find a number so they can phone a real person if these automated solutions don’t hit the spot.

How to handle the 24/7 culture

As digital transformation accelerates, consumers are increasingly expecting brands to provide 24/7 customer service and rapid response times. For solopreneurs and small startup teams scrambling to meet such demands, the challenge is like running a marathon at sprint speed.

According to new research in Australia from the Zoho Corporation, almost a quarter (22%) of Australian customers expect instantaneous responses from small businesses, 37% expect a reply within 30 minutes, while a further 13% expect a response in 30-60 minutes. The vast majority (86%) say that 24/7 customer service is either extremely or somewhat important.

The reality is that if you’re a sole trader or a solo founder, you will need sleep sometimes! The answer is in managing expectations – if you are only answering your phone during business hours then say so clearly by the number, and let them know what response times are likely to be during office hours.

Transparent communication about service capabilities and response times can prevent dissatisfaction and foster trust. Try to strike a balance, so your commitments are ambitious and achievable.

Empower your customer support teams

Whether you are answering the phone to customers yourself or have a small team supporting you, it’s crucial that everyone is trained. And I’m not just taking a quick jog through the usual FAQS – to really empower your teams to offer great service you should go beyond basic

troubleshooting to include interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence, and a deep understanding of the brand ethos.

Tech can help too: CRM systems, knowledge bases, and real-time analytics can transform service delivery from reactive to proactive. When paired with an innate ability to connect emotionally with customers, these tools enable teams to craft memorable service experiences that resonate long after the interaction ends.

This article originally appeared in the November/December 2024 issue of Startups Magazine. Click here to subscribe