The ongoing push to digitise business operations is a critical step in fostering economic growth. In Tanzania, the collaboration between the Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) and private sectors to simplify tax services is a prime example of this positive change. However, a digital service’s true success is not just in its existence, but in the quality of its user experience.
As a product designer and strategist, my professional life is dedicated to crafting digital experiences that are easy to use and effortless to navigate. My personal journey into entrepreneurship presented a unique opportunity to apply this lens to a digital service called SmartEFD. Like many aspiring business owners, I was initially deterred by the bureaucracy of business registration and tax compliance. The subsequent digitisation of the BRELA process offered a glimmer of hope. When I discovered the SmartEFD service, with its promise of minimal TRA dealings, I was optimistic about a simplified path to tax compliance.
My three-year journey with the SmartEFD app, while functional, highlighted significant friction points. While the core purpose of issuing fiscal receipts was met, the user experience was far from ideal. The interface and user flows were not intuitive, and a proper onboarding process for new users was noticeably absent. As a professional, this experience was frustrating, as it underscored a significant gap between a service’s potential and its execution.
Expert Analysis: Identifying Critical Gaps in the Customer Journey
A deep dive into my experience reveals critical issues within the customer journey, particularly concerning a core business function: subscription renewal. The current process is inefficient, manual, and creates unnecessary friction for users.
- Manual and Fragmented Renewal Process: The annual subscription renewal is a cumbersome, manual process. When a subscription expires, users must proactively initiate contact with the company across fragmented channels—SMS, Instagram DMs, or WhatsApp—to request renewal.
- Inefficient Communication: The reliance on multiple, unoptimised communication channels leads to significant delays. My experience this year, involving hours of waiting for an SMS response and days for an Instagram reply, is a clear example of a system not built for efficiency. The need to use one channel to get bank details and another to send payment proof is a major point of friction.
- Lack of Automation: The entire renewal journey is dependent on human intervention. This not only burdens the support team with repetitive tasks but also subjects the customer to long waiting times for what should be a simple, automated transaction.
Recommendations for a Better User Experience and Increased Efficiency
Based on this analysis, here are my expert recommendations to transform the SmartEFD user experience and improve operational efficiency:
- Automate the Subscription Renewal Process: The most impactful change would be to integrate an automated, in-app renewal feature. This would allow customers to renew their subscriptions directly from the app, eliminating the need for manual contact and fragmented communication.
- Integrate Seamless Online Payments: To support automation, the app should integrate with a reputable online payment solution. This could be achieved by leveraging a recognised service like CRDB Merchant Solutions (I made payment through the bank so they can use this as a starting point for online payments) or a third-party provider such as Selcom Payments. Such an integration would allow users to make secure payments directly within the app, receive instant confirmation, and have their service renewed without any manual intervention.
- Enhance Communication and Resource Allocation: By automating this core process, the company can free up its human resources from manual, repetitive tasks. This team could then be reallocated to more valuable activities, such as providing proactive customer support, developing training materials, or improving other aspects of the user experience.
To achieve a seamless and self-service experience, I have redesigned the user journey by proposing a user flow that automates the subscription renewal process. This new flow is built on four key stages: proactive alert and notification, a direct path to payment, a range of secure payment options, and instant confirmation and activation upon a successful transaction.
By implementing these strategic changes, the service can move beyond mere functionality to offer a truly seamless and professional experience. This not only increases customer satisfaction and retention but also provides a crucial competitive advantage in an increasingly digitised market.