Not every customer is comfortable calling customer service for minor hiccups while using your products, and that is where product documentation shines!

Over 55% of Fintech customers according to FintechExtra are reported to abandon a product during onboarding, despite the help of the support team and a clean user interface. This is because customers value ease and simplicity. 6 out of 10 times, a user's reaction to a poorly documented product is ‘Nah, I am done with this.’

Look at cowrywise (A Nigerian Fintech).

Notice that the customer made reference to the ‘robust information’ and how the information aids him using Cowrywise’s application.

This is what good product documentation does. It meets your user at the exact point of their needs and provides a solution to their problems. This would drastically increase customer retention, because existing users would stay longer and they would recommend your products to their peers leading to increased customer adoption (this would reduce the burden on your marketing budget!).

Why should Fintech companies be conscious of their product-documentation?

If 40% of the calls your customer service team receives on a daily basis is about a particular issue, it shows that your product is in dire need of proper documentation. Proper documentation cuts the time and cost of training support teams to answer questions your documentation should already explain.

Meet Joseph (Your typical Fintech customer)

Joseph (fictional character) is in a grocery store queue trying to make payment on your app, but he encounters hiccups. He’s not calling customer support, he’s stressed. What Joseph needs is a properly documented ‘FAQ’, he can quickly breeze through, spot the errors, make corrections and process his payments in seconds. Instead, he loses trust and leaves faster than you say churn! because when it comes to money, trust is everything.

According to Wyzowl survey (2024), 63% of users abandon a product or app due to a confusing FAQs. For fintechs, this means customers never get to engage with their products long enough to upsell them on different features. Hence the need for effective documentation practices.

All customers love ease, and ease is exactly what proper documentation provides.

Now you might ask; How does proper product documentation increase the customer retention in a Fintech company ?

Customer retention is only possible if all stakeholders (employees) productivity is increased. The table below shows the different stakeholders, the different product documentation they use, and how it increases their productivity:

For Internal teams

For External teams

Fintech products evolve fast, so clear documentation is non-negotiable. When the marketing team understands your products' new tools and features, they would deliver sharper marketing messages and campaigns. This would get you more interested customers driving cross-sell and up-sell and which ultimately leads to:

• More revenue through up-sell.

• Increased customer lifetime value through cross-sells.

In simple terms, bigger money and longer staying customers.

Now that you know why product documentation is necessary for Fintech startups, let us answer the very big question:

How do you create proper product documentation?

Well, it's simple. Hire a technical writer!

Technical writers are skilled in documentation practices and the previous paragraphs have explicitly explained why proper product documentation is key in customer retention.

If you want longer staying customers, more profitable customers, a ton of good reviews (referrals) you need a technical writer that understands your users' problem and how to meet them halfway through clear documentation.

Good marketers bring customers your way.

Good technical writers make your customers stay.