Product providers need to shift focus to users

The probability of launching a financial product and having it be unsuccessful is higher than it has been in the past, meaning providers need to shift their focus more towards the end user.

That is the outcome of a panel session organised by financial services recruitment agency Vantage Recruitment, featuring speakers from Colonial First State (CFS), Bendigo Wealth, and Macquarie.

"Product providers are currently at a tipping point whereby they need to shift their focus from being product-centric to focus more on the experiences of the end user," said CFS general manager of marketing and distribution, Linda Elkins.

"Product manufacturers may be victims of their own past successes, where it used to be possible to simply release a product and know it would sell - that won't be the case going forward," she said. "We are already seeing that new financial products being launched are less likely to be successful than in the past," she added.

"We need to move from being product-centric to customer-centric - that penny has now dropped. Now we're on the tipping point of saying 'how do we do this'," she said.

Many financial services institutions such as IAG, NAB, Challenger, Macquarie, AMP and Westpac (including BT and St George) have now engaged specialist customer experience consultant, Different, to help define product and service strategies by engaging customers throughout the design process.

Creative director of Different, Anthony Colfelt, said companies can benefit from a customer-centric design (CCD) focus by knowing more about how their customers think and interact with a product or service up-front, which can save expenses in terms of restructuring offerings down the track.

"But CCD is an ongoing commitment rather than a one-off expense, and often senior management in financial services want to know up-front exactly how much project cost outlay will be involved - which creates reticence in terms of committing to CCD," Colfelt said.

Bendigo Wealth senior manager, technical and research, Julie McKay said this means a client-focused approach can require a compromise with senior management, who often want to be able to see results straight away, therefore a balance between cost and long-term results is required.

"Accountants will always be measuring the bottom line, but there is a large burning platform now saying we can't keep doing things the same way", McKay said. 

She added, "those financial considerations won't go away, but are starting to take a back seat to the customer focus".

"Another challenge to an ongoing customer-centred design approach is the rapid pace of change within the industry", she said.

"You put all these resources into customer research, then in six months the market has moved and the opportunity has gone. It's a balancing act," McKay said.

The pull of factors such as IT and legacy systems can be insurmountable, but you have to trust the depth of the customers' relationship with the bank, she said.

"If you listen, customers will tell you want they expect. But with the sheer amount of change and new regulations, it's very difficult."