Global consultancy firm Accenture recently came out 2019 Accenture Global Financial Services Consumer Study, titled ‘Discovering the Patterns in Personality’ which gives an insight into how customers want to engage with financial services providers. The study, covered in Banking Frontiers, highlights 4 power personas – pioneers, pragmatists, skeptics and traditionalists.
The study finds that customers of financial services firms – banks and insurance companies – are more willing than ever to share data – provided that data sharing powers integrated propositions and offers that are tailored to their needs. “The pressure is on for banks and insurers to provide highly personalized services, but how can they accommodate a million markets of one,” asks the study.
The study covered more than 47,000 banking and insurance customers across 28 markets in Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, Africa and North America, to assess what the customers value, what differentiates them and how they want to engage with financial providers. It found that (i) consumers want integrated propositions addressing core needs, (ii) consumers increasingly want a fully personalized offering from their financial providers, (iii) consumers are willing to share data with their providers in return for better advice and more attractive deals, (iv) consumers want better integration across physical and digital channels, and (v) consumers are likely to say that they trust their banks and insurers more than they did 12 months ago.
The survey divides the consumers covered into 4 broad personas based on how they perceive and engage with banks and insurers – pioneers, skeptics, pragmatists and traditionalists. It found that the differences between these personas are striking and highlight how traditional demographic segmentation, such as by age or wealth, can miss important nuances of how consumers view their financial providers. The study feels these personas offer a pattern banks and insurers can use to build responsive, personalized services for their customers.
