Neema Kanyua, Moko’s Head of Growth talks about how Moko has managed to grow as a fast-paced e-commerce company…
When Moko started out, we managed every aspect of our deliveries. We owned and maintained the vehicles then hired and trained a driver and delivery assistant for each vehicle. But soon, this system turned into a logistics nightmare when the demand for our products exceeded our delivery capacity.
How did we solve this logistics nightmare?
We decided to outsource vehicles and drivers by partnering with logistics providers like Sendy and Timeless Couriers. This helps us adjust to spikes in demand at any time and with much more ease than before.
Today, with as little as 2 hours notice, we can adjust to spikes in demand without having to sacrifice working capital or the quality of experience that our customers receive. Our delivery assistants are still hired and trained internally so that we can guarantee a world-class customer experience for every delivery we make.
So deliveries aside, what’s the toughest part about building an e-commerce company?
Building trust with consumers is really tough. That’s because Kenyans, or online shoppers in general, are used to being disappointed by e-commerce companies. Our approach has been to take time to build credibility with our small but mighty base of initial customers.
Since most of them leave honest online reviews about their Moko experience and talk about us to their friends, other customers gain more confidence in us. We also have a heart-warming customer care team that is available over 12 hours a day to address any queries or concerns people have.
Finally, we create opportunities for people to test some of our products risk-free by offering perks such as a 45-day trial period and a 5-year warranty for all our mattress purchases. We’ve seen that all these approaches help us build credibility and grow our sales.
And what’s the best part of growing an e-commerce company?
E-commerce makes our operations ‘lighter’. For example, we don’t need massive showrooms where the majority of the space is used for storage. This helps us to focus our complimentary retail footprint on allowing customers to experience our culture, people and products.
But the best part is certainly the convenience our customers are treated to. To furnish your home with a Moko product, you don’t have to live close to our shop or to rent a pickup for the day to carry a bulky item like a sofa. You can simply check out our catalogue of products online, place an order from your phone, and we’ll bring it straight to you.
Your furniture shopping experience doesn’t get any better than that, does it?
