In the FM of April 24-30, the Purple Group was the subject of an article offering an in-depth analysis of the investment firm and its EasyEquities business. It was a fairly run-of-the-mill profile of an investment platform and business that has attracted a good amount of journalistic interest recently, and rightfully so.
EasyEquities has created a business that allows for fractional share ownership, which has made a significant impact on the local market. By offering local private investors the option to buy fractions of a single share, it provides them with the opportunity to invest in promising companies. Whether they can’t afford the price of a full share or, for the sake of diversification, prefer not to put all their money into a single share, the benefits are obvious: it encourages them to save more, and more frequently, by giving them direct access to stocks they would otherwise not be able to access.
But there’s a gaping hole at the centre of the article: the view of the customer. This is something frequently neglected by management and business leaders. Why? Retail businesses are all about the customer. Surely anyone even remotely involved in retail understands this?
If there is one business that is worth exploring from the customer’s viewpoint, it is EasyEquities. It is a great business with a great product, and it was the first of its kind to hit our local market. Its runway should be huge. Similarly, its impact on personal savings and its contribution to creating a healthy, long-term financial environment in South Africa are huge. That’s why it is frustrating that a major financial magazine covering it so in-depth in most respects missed its most vital asset: its value to the customer.
It’s easy to google EasyEquities and see the company’s user ratings. At the time of writing, there are 621 reviews with an average score of just 2.8 out of five. Statistically speaking, 621 is a significant sample and can reveal quite a bit about how something is viewed by its customer base. More than just the ratings, though, the actual reviews give us an even clearer understanding of customers’ expectations and experiences — and they are even less encouraging.
On Hellopeter, things seem even more dire: 578 reviews with an overall rating of just 1.5. This rating, and the accompanying reviews, should be the stuff of nightmares for any business leader. And this pattern continues on Trustpilot and Facebook: users are not happy. At all.
By every measure, the customer service appears abysmal. Something has gone seriously wrong, yet this flaw seems to be overlooked — certainly in the FM article, and presumably by the company itself.
Why is this fundamental aspect of business so routinely ignored?
EasyEquities is just one example. Customer satisfaction ranks low at numerous businesses, but isn’t this Business 101? Surely, business leaders take enough pride in their product to ensure something as simple as basic customer satisfaction? And why do financial journalists feed into this phenomenon by abdicating their responsibility in this most essential part of business reporting?
Alon Lever
By e-mail
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