Stephen Pappas knows all about startups.
After all, he founded six of them, and wore a range of different hats (everything from driving an ice cream truck as a teenager to owning his own airline).
In his current role, Pappas is a senior vice president, CMO and head of U.S. operations for Nashua, N.H. and Australia-based Panviva, a leading omnichannel customer experience company, that helps small and medium businesses deliver real-time information to further boost their customer retention in today’s digital era. One of his clients is AAA Northeast based right here in Providence. Rhode Island Inno caught up with Pappas to discuss why customer experience is critical for all companies, and his thoughts on the Ocean State’s startup scene.
Rhode Island Inno: Panviva is a company known for offering customer engagement solutions. What does that mean and why is customer experience important for big and small companies alike? Pappas: In 2020, it is very important for businesses to realize that consumers hold much more power because information is more readily available to them than in any other time period. Price and inventory are known variables and all vendors are no longer competing on these factors, while loyalty is a hard hill to climb right now. If all of those factors are close or equal, then how do companies win out? The answer is customer experience. Everyone has more choices today. It’s not like the Old West when you’d see the rider coming into town and passing one barber shop, one saloon, one hotel, one general store and one funeral parlor. Choice is very important, but that is only part of the story. Choice is the “pre-purchase.” Experience is the “during and after sale.” It is the single factor that a consumer remembers and speaks about for a longer period.
In addition to product and price, making consumers feel welcome, addressing their senses, developing a great atmosphere and being where they need you to be is the perfect storm to achieve real loyalty. Panviva is a cloud technology offering that instills confidence for employees to always have the right information at their fingertips. Delivering this information so an employee can provide the best customer experience at every point in the process. It’s the guide on the side that helps them know what to do, what to say, how to navigate systems and policies and concentrate on the memorable experience of the customer to elevate to remarkable.
RII: You have been an entrepreneur six times? Out of all of your experiences, what is the best advice you have for today's entrepreneurs? P: In all my businesses, I always adhered to a mantra of two simple words: "Remarkable" and "memorable." As you build each aspect of your business, from product to service to hiring to training to on the job support, always keep in mind that you are building a remarkable business. You want to give your customers a good and positive reason to be overwhelmed, to remark to others about how great it was.
In parallel, you can keep the thought that each customer should remember their experience. It’s not good enough to have transactions unless they are memorable. As consumers keep remembering their experience, and feel compelled to remark to others or provide testimonials and reviews so that others can enjoy similar experiences, your business will flourish. In other words, memorable experiences keep individuals loyal and coming back for repeat business. Remarkable experiences expand the circle further out to offer you more opportunities to build more relationships with new customers.
RII: One thing you have always said is that "you are not in the business of flipping startups." What did you mean by that, and why is it important for startups to not form for the sole purpose of exiting? P: That’s a very good question. I almost equate it to serving two masters. I have always approached each new venture from a "build for long-term" aspect. I was serving my customers. In an exit goal situation, a business owner may consider the customer plus the exit. I have seen many times owners making decisions that benefit the exit over the customer. Exits happen and I give you that, but better exits happen when you have built a solid business by creating incredible experiences for your customers. My point here is, do not focus on an exit, focus on the customer.
There are many examples of companies that were built expecting an early exit. If you think about all of the thousands of decisions that get made in a new venture, it’s staggering. But what if many of those decisions cut corners, or allow a product to go out the door without being fully tested or overlook the experience and just look at the price and product? I feel entrepreneurs and management should always be accountable for how the customer feels. Is this a decision that’ll be good for the customer? What would the customer think of us doing that? Do yourself a favor and give the customer a virtual seat at the management table.
RII: What steps can a small state like Rhode Island take to help its startup ecosystem progress? P: According to Rhode Island Commerce, there are almost 100,000 small businesses in the state, with just over 225,000 workers, which is more than half of Rhode Island’s workforce. States provide assistance of many types for new entrepreneurs, from setting up a corporation, to providing name availability to tax requirements.
Where I feel states can do more is to create incubators that focus on business types that Rhode Island needs. But mostly, it can do more to better prepare its new entrepreneurs for their launch. I think that states like Rhode Island have an incredible opportunity to look and celebrate future entrepreneurs that can create a better Rhode Island. Rather than let them go online to download some business model generation canvases, help them work through the planning, development, building, funding, training, hiring, marketing and all of the other support they need. I can speak for myself and know many serial entrepreneurs would be happy to lend their time to reinvest in their state’s future success by being a resource to a budding entrepreneur.
