Why Go Customer-Centric?

Cultivating difficult-to-access markets and customers with limited knowledge of formal financial services requires hard work. The number of customers who actively use financial products is usually small, so any opportunity to improve acquisition benefits your bottom line. Consider these key elements when working to acquire new customers:

Identifying / Entering New Markets. Providers often look to new markets when existing ones are saturated – or when they’re seeking new opportunities. First get to know the segments you want to enter, then tailor offerings to better ensure customer success.

Awareness. Customers may need to learn more about the benefits of a product or service if the value proposition is not clear. On the other hand, customers may see the value but find formal financial services intimidating. Overcome this hurdle by developing a more welcoming environment for customers.

Enrollment. Customers are unlikely to sign up if a value proposition is not strong enough. Think through the customer journey to determine emotional and psychological costs and value. Deep costs may be associated with poor customer service or the stress of locating documents for enrollment.

Retention requires anticipating and responding to customers’ changing needs. This is particularly true with low-income segments since life events such as marriages or funerals can result in significant changes in finances. Customers may also jump around to various providers based on sales and incentives. Consider these key elements to retain your existing customers:

Account Opening. Customers may begin onboarding, but something distracts them from finishing the process. Think about how to remove technical barriers to account opening or consider incentives that connect account opening and first use.

Product Use. Providers face challenges because customers may not understand product value or may not have a sense of loyalty as they jump around to various offerings and brands. To ensure active use of your products, retention requires anticipating and responding to your customers’ changing needs through constant dialogue.

Trust and Loyalty. Low-income customers who seek financial services look for the same things every customer wants: choice, respect, voice, and control. By reflecting one or more of these drivers in the products and services they design and deliver, providers earn customers’ trust and build their confidence in using financial services. This enables customer empowerment.

Expanding customer relationships in value and longevity is one of the most effective ways to grow your bottom line. Existing customers drive as much as 50 to 80 percent of revenue, making expansion strategies more cost effective than acquiring new customers. Providers typically increase customer value through cross-selling, adding to their portfolio, or up-selling existing products and services. Consider these key elements to expand your customer offerings:

Expand to New Services. If customers don’t understand your additional products and services, they’ll take outside advice about providers that can fill their needs. To avert this behavior, it’s important to get to know your customers and understand their nuances, decision-making processes, and aspirations. This knowledge leads to greater insights and better solutions.

Increase the Value of Existing Services. Expanding customer relationships requires more than just the right mix of products and services. They’re based on strong foundations of trust nurtured through many forms of feedback and engagement.