We pay more for brand names. We pay more for and are advocated of brands that have emotionally connected with us. The richer the emotional content of a brand’s mental representation, the more likely the consumer will be a loyal user. This thinking is just as relevant for financial advice as it is for toilet tissue and car tyres. Puppy dogs chasing a roll of toilet paper and the piece of mind of safety on a wet road have less to do with the end product and more to do with feelings and emotions.
Understanding, therefore, how people think is a critical factor in building consumer loyalty and advocacy. So just how do we make decisions and what occurs in peoples minds to help them evaluate situations? What do we need to know about how peoples minds work?
“Cognitive control and value-based decision-making tasks appear to depend on different brain regions within the prefrontal cortex,” says Jan Glascher, lead author of the study and a visiting associate at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, referring to the seat of higher-level reasoning in the brain.
In normal brain functioning people : a valuation network in the brain auto computes what's good and what's bad, before the person concerned has a chance to consciously understand the decision making process has occured. It is quick. It is intuitive and it is automatic.
This highlights the complexities in dealing with customers where you need them to make a considered rationale choice. The choice has less to do with the rationalities of your proposal and more to do with how they feel about you and your brand. In short they have a gut feel about what is good and what is bad for them: and if you have not connected with them then that good choice (rationally) seems the uncomfortable one.
Most people believe that the choices they make result from a rational analysis of available alternatives. In reality, however, emotions greatly influence and, in many cases, even determine our decisions. In a book, Descartes Error, Antonio Damasio, professor of neuroscience at the University of Southern California, puts forth that emotions are necessary ingredients to almost all decisions. What occurs is that emotions from previous experiences attribute value and impact how we consider the options in front of us. These emotions create preferences which lead to our decision. Damasio’s view is based on his studies of people whose connections between the “thinking” and “emotional” areas of the brain had been damaged. They were capable of rationally processing information about alternative choices; but were unable to make decisions because they lacked any sense of how they felt about the options.
Values
So if you are not using some method of assessing past experiences and values and hierachies in a clients decision making you actually leave so much of your process to chance. When it comes to money: we have values associated with our experiences and these values have been passed to us from our parents. If you are not questioning clients about these experiences your process is like waiting for a magic eye picture to appear.
Psychologist Valerie Wilson tells us that troubled relationships with money stem from childhood. Research shows that money habits are formed between the ages of 6-8.
Consequently these lessons (which we have learnt from our parents) shape the way we feel and act about money and money issues. Our attitudes to money bring with it a range of emotions and behaviour: they can be positive but they can also range from greed and arrogance, to jealousy and fear.
What all of this means is that that you need to embed in your process:
• a means of uncovering a clients values
• questioning on past experiences
• determining a clients hierarchy of choice assessment
• looking at a clients goals and the why of their goals so you can elevate a simple statement of a goal or objective to a highly functional progression and pathway that you indeed can influence
• a show casing of you as an individual and your brand
Dr Peter Noel Murray reminds us that the influential role of emotion in consumer behavior is well documented and studies show that positive emotions toward a brand have far greater influence on consumer loyalty than trust and other judgments which are based on a brand’s attributes. Only by building process in your business that is cognisant of: how people are drawn to brands, make decisions and order their values; can you truly expect to drive customer loyalty and advocacy.
Showing posts with label Consumer Wants. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Consumer Wants. Show all posts
Sunday, 19 April 2015
Thursday, 3 July 2014
The Science and Emotion Behind Trauma Sum Insureds
Is there a right way for calculating the appropriate sum insured for trauma? Do you have a rule of thumb based on a multiple of income or a formula for removing debt? Or is there a science to our art whereby we can combine the emotional fall out and the true cost of disease to determine a sum insured? Trauma cover, cover that provides a lump sum payment to assist an individual navigate through the treatment of a serious illness and focus on getting better not the stress of the financial strain, is where and when a quality adviser led insurance process is invaluable.
When my sister was diagnosed with a menigioma (a brain tumour that grows between the skull and the brain) there were a few things going for her:
• She’s a doctor and very quickly she had the best physicians around her
• It was thought to be benign
• It was operable
• She had income protection and trauma insurance
However what she had not had, was: advice. The policy for trauma did not make a payment. The income protection cover was inadequate relative to her salary at that point in time. Only through excellent financial advice post surgery was she able to maximise her income protection claim and secure an appropriate level and breadth of cover for income protection and trauma for the future.
As an adviser I worked with a rule of thumb for trauma. My best and most desired position was a sum insured that allowed for the removal of debt and the provision of one years income. My least favoured but lowest sum insured I would recommend was at least half a years income for the sum insured. Was this appropriate? That depends on the discussion I had with the client and their understanding with my guidance of the risks and outcomes.
Looking at the cost of disease in time and money provides some science to the process of calculating sum insureds. The Health Funds of New Zealand December 2013 report on the time of work due to sickness found that:
• An average of five weeks per person is being lost from the workforce as a result of surgical waiting list back-ups.
• Many thousands of New Zealanders waiting for surgery are having to take extended time off work, and also need loved ones to do the same so they can take care of them.
• 280,000 New Zealanders currently needed elective surgery with the average waiting time from GP referral to surgery in the public system was upward of 224 days.
• Almost a third of those needing surgery reported experiencing significant pain and said they had had to make lifestyle changes.
• More than half said their quality of life had worsened, mainly due to pain and mobility issues but also due to the psychological and financial stress of their ongoing illness.
A Canadian study, (Cancer and Work: A Canadian Perspective, 2011, Canadian Association of Psychosocial Oncology) reminds us of what we know only all too well that Cancer is a complex array of illnesses that can bring a potentially overwhelming spectrum of physical, psychological, social, emotional, functional and economic challenges. The paper concluded that there are broad reaching effects of having cancer on an individual’s worklife. And sadly that the development in the field of vocational rehabilitation and is fragmented and limited, in part due to its infancy.
This is where trauma insurance cover becomes incredibly important. Not only is the sum insured critical to allow required surgery and treatment to take place as soon as possible whatever the choice of treatment the patient embarks upon, but that they can do so without financial stress and further that upon recovery they have the resources to undertake vocational rehabilitation that can address the impact of the psychological and emotional strain of the disease and recovery.
The costs of disease, the financial cost to the individual and family must be also taken into account. As an example when considering the impact of Cancer the individual may also incur financial and economic costs, which are often overlooked when considering the impact of the disease (Cost of Cancer in NSW, 2007, A report by Access Economics Pty Limited for The Cancer Council NSW). This report found that non-financial costs are also very important – the pain, suffering and premature death that result from cancer. Although more difficult to measure, these can be analysed in terms of the years of healthy life lost, both quantitatively and qualitatively, known as the “burden of disease”.
Their detailed analysis found that, individuals bear around 40.4% of the total cost of cancer, with governments (42.1%), society (16.1%), family and friends (0.8%) and employers (0.6%) sharing the remaining costs. In regard to a dollar figure, the finding was this: that the total expected lifetime economic cost of cancer per person is around $966,000 – of which the burden of disease is $851,600 and the financial cost is $114,500.
Applying the 40% ratio does that provide a sum insured of $386,000? Perhaps, there’s a science to that calculation. Does it match up against my old rule of thumb? In some cases it far surpasses it, whilst in others it falls short. What it does highlight is this: that not all diseases are the same, in fact this Cancer Council report found that brain cancers can be double the calculation above. Not all the impacts on an individual are the same. Psychologically my sister was well prepared, was financially stable and had a good support network. Should these factors, those emotional input,s be part of your fact find and deliberations in determining a sum insured? Perhaps.
What all of this, points to is the value of advice, the matching of the art and science behind providing an insurance solution for a client. As the cost of cancer as an example, increases, as people live increasingly complex lives within complicated family structures, the value of a trusted adviser to shape solutions, bespoke solutions, has never been more important.
Monday, 1 April 2013
The Power of Persuasion : key components of social media marketing
Aristotle described rhetoric, the art of persuasive speaking as having several components those being the characteristics of the speaker : ethos, the power of the message : pathos, and the logic of what is being said : logos.
Aristotle may have been a social media guru in today's world.
A credible speaker, a relevant message, the way in which the message is delivered, being innovative with the message and importantly picking the right community to deliver your message to are the key ingredients for any marketing campaign but especially one which can get instant delivery and feedback such as social media.
So what are these components one by one and how do you maximise your cut through when using social media?
The Source
Credibility 101. So you want to say something. Just who do you think you are? What credibility can you muster?
First : know what you want to say and then determine if you actually can command the authority to say it with believability. There is absolutely nothing wrong with using other sources to quote. The key is to have an opinion on it.
Having an opinion brings with it the power of credibility of authority. If you can combine that with charisma and being real then you're on a winner.
That is why videos work so well.
If you haves something to say then deliver it on person : that is video yourself, staff and anyone that interacts with your clients and talk about what you do for your clients and why.
The best and most powerful source of the message is and should be you.
The Message
It is not the 1990's anymore or worse the 1980's. Fear and greed may work : but it is short term and transactional and if you truly want to engage design a positive message that speaks to the dreams hopes and desires of clients. They want to learn, they want to bond and they want to acquire a better life. Design your message so your clients can see that your services are accessible and let them bond with you.
The Distribution of the message
So what's it going to be : words, visuals, audio, pod cast, text messages, snail mail : in a social media world : video, visuals, pod cast, pictures, : enhance the message by reaching the audience in multiple forms that appeal to different learning styles and stay longer in short term memory. Reinforcement of the message by multiple means cements the proposition in the minds of your audience.
The Right Community
Who are you trying to recruit to your message? Are you crystal clear on who is your ideal client? Only if you have a picture and an understanding of what is important to your key market will you have success. This means that for a time you are going to have to listen to your target audience, where they congregate, understand what they are following and what messages they are consuming. Only then will you be able to construct your message to be relevant and real to your ideal clients.
Those are the main ingredients.....next time ....the how you can actually persuade people to make the right choice of using your services now that they are listening.
Aristotle may have been a social media guru in today's world.
A credible speaker, a relevant message, the way in which the message is delivered, being innovative with the message and importantly picking the right community to deliver your message to are the key ingredients for any marketing campaign but especially one which can get instant delivery and feedback such as social media.
So what are these components one by one and how do you maximise your cut through when using social media?
The Source
Credibility 101. So you want to say something. Just who do you think you are? What credibility can you muster?
First : know what you want to say and then determine if you actually can command the authority to say it with believability. There is absolutely nothing wrong with using other sources to quote. The key is to have an opinion on it.
Having an opinion brings with it the power of credibility of authority. If you can combine that with charisma and being real then you're on a winner.
That is why videos work so well.
If you haves something to say then deliver it on person : that is video yourself, staff and anyone that interacts with your clients and talk about what you do for your clients and why.
The best and most powerful source of the message is and should be you.
The Message
It is not the 1990's anymore or worse the 1980's. Fear and greed may work : but it is short term and transactional and if you truly want to engage design a positive message that speaks to the dreams hopes and desires of clients. They want to learn, they want to bond and they want to acquire a better life. Design your message so your clients can see that your services are accessible and let them bond with you.
The Distribution of the message
So what's it going to be : words, visuals, audio, pod cast, text messages, snail mail : in a social media world : video, visuals, pod cast, pictures, : enhance the message by reaching the audience in multiple forms that appeal to different learning styles and stay longer in short term memory. Reinforcement of the message by multiple means cements the proposition in the minds of your audience.
The Right Community
Who are you trying to recruit to your message? Are you crystal clear on who is your ideal client? Only if you have a picture and an understanding of what is important to your key market will you have success. This means that for a time you are going to have to listen to your target audience, where they congregate, understand what they are following and what messages they are consuming. Only then will you be able to construct your message to be relevant and real to your ideal clients.
Those are the main ingredients.....next time ....the how you can actually persuade people to make the right choice of using your services now that they are listening.
Wednesday, 12 September 2012
How our clients brains stop them making rational decisions
So you've written a great plan, an insurance strategy that is relevant, appropriate and desperately needed by your prospect and yet.....the response is...I'm not sure, I need to think about it.
Maslow offers us some great guidance on motivation and drive.
We at PCE would love to accept that positive view of people that analogy that cream rises to the top that people really do try to be the best that they can be.
For us the one of the greatest examples of Maslow's hierarchy working is Chris Gardner;think Will Smith in the Pursuit of Happyness.
Chris's journey and struggle to be the best he could be was Maslow personified.
But Maslow does not fit when you think of a client walking away from a sound financial plan. Maslow does not explain why someone who has it all still wants more. Maslow can't explain why your COI having engaged you does not continue to provide referrals. Maslow does not explain why people make decisions that appear and probably are totally irrational.
How you understand what is going on in someone's mind and why they make the decisions they do is really the key to positive client engagement.
It's what this website/blog is all about. It's about being the best you can be and being self aware enough that you can engage clients with honesty and genuine curiosity and sincerity.
It's about emotional intelligence and it's application.
As Golemon writes in his groundbreaking work, in 1995, it's about knowing yourself, managing yours and your clients emotions, motivation and understanding motivation, recognising emotions and motivations in your clients, building relationships, maintaining relationships.
People's ability to do this differs and PCE is about developing tools to assist.
But heres the big tip. Ready?
If you want a client to go through a process with you.......do it yourself first.
Go through the PDS and full out your own application. Do a fact find on yourself. Mind map your world on a single page. Get underwritten. Walk through your business with your clients eyes. How do you feel about that policy loading, about some of the personal questions on the application....did you answer the honestly ...really?
What about that fact find process.....how'd it feel.....fake, false, like you were a number.
Draw your family tree......
Examine the way you shop. The last holiday you went on ....did you use a travel agent ...or did you go online......do you value advice when it's your business but diminish the value of advice when it's someone's elses business.
Do you walk the talk?
Do you believe in what you sell? Can you state why you do what you do? Do you know who it is that you help, what problems they have and what you do about it and what your clients feel about what it is that you do?
Our brains have evolved from a brain stem that kept us alive and to this day still regulates all that is automatic.
The other systems that evolved have at their core an emotional centre, the limbic system that receives all the information that bombards us each day and attaches emotional markers to it before our pre frontal cortex makes that decision that we hope is rational but that is driven by experience and acquired knowledge.
What is key here is the emotions that we assign to things, that drive us that shut down rationale thought when the feelings are strong enough.
So how well do you engage your clients on an emotional level? Really? A fact find? What are you doing in your business to really connect with clients?
If you can answer and articulate and demonstrate that then you are well ahead of the curve. And on the way to positive client engagement.
Maslow offers us some great guidance on motivation and drive.
We at PCE would love to accept that positive view of people that analogy that cream rises to the top that people really do try to be the best that they can be.
For us the one of the greatest examples of Maslow's hierarchy working is Chris Gardner;think Will Smith in the Pursuit of Happyness.
Chris's journey and struggle to be the best he could be was Maslow personified.
But Maslow does not fit when you think of a client walking away from a sound financial plan. Maslow does not explain why someone who has it all still wants more. Maslow can't explain why your COI having engaged you does not continue to provide referrals. Maslow does not explain why people make decisions that appear and probably are totally irrational.
How you understand what is going on in someone's mind and why they make the decisions they do is really the key to positive client engagement.
It's what this website/blog is all about. It's about being the best you can be and being self aware enough that you can engage clients with honesty and genuine curiosity and sincerity.
It's about emotional intelligence and it's application.
As Golemon writes in his groundbreaking work, in 1995, it's about knowing yourself, managing yours and your clients emotions, motivation and understanding motivation, recognising emotions and motivations in your clients, building relationships, maintaining relationships.
People's ability to do this differs and PCE is about developing tools to assist.
But heres the big tip. Ready?
If you want a client to go through a process with you.......do it yourself first.
Go through the PDS and full out your own application. Do a fact find on yourself. Mind map your world on a single page. Get underwritten. Walk through your business with your clients eyes. How do you feel about that policy loading, about some of the personal questions on the application....did you answer the honestly ...really?
What about that fact find process.....how'd it feel.....fake, false, like you were a number.
Draw your family tree......
Examine the way you shop. The last holiday you went on ....did you use a travel agent ...or did you go online......do you value advice when it's your business but diminish the value of advice when it's someone's elses business.
Do you walk the talk?
Do you believe in what you sell? Can you state why you do what you do? Do you know who it is that you help, what problems they have and what you do about it and what your clients feel about what it is that you do?
Our brains have evolved from a brain stem that kept us alive and to this day still regulates all that is automatic.
The other systems that evolved have at their core an emotional centre, the limbic system that receives all the information that bombards us each day and attaches emotional markers to it before our pre frontal cortex makes that decision that we hope is rational but that is driven by experience and acquired knowledge.
What is key here is the emotions that we assign to things, that drive us that shut down rationale thought when the feelings are strong enough.
So how well do you engage your clients on an emotional level? Really? A fact find? What are you doing in your business to really connect with clients?
If you can answer and articulate and demonstrate that then you are well ahead of the curve. And on the way to positive client engagement.
Saturday, 18 August 2012
Why marketing campaigns don't work and what to do about it
What response rate are you getting from your financial services / life insurance mail out campaigns?
Be it letters, perhaps flyers, brochures, snazzy postcards with eye catching imagery - what is the success rate you get from either your existing client base or from leads from your centre of influence or even better your centre of influences client base that you are strategically attempting to tap into?
30% success?!!! 20%!? Not less than 15%? Less than 10? Don't tell me less than 5?
In PCEs experience businesses who use generic marketing material, perhaps sourced of he shelf from their product providers, experience a response rate of less than 5%. And this response rate is only the response of calls into the business or requests for more information. The actual real response rate and that is the conversion amounts to less than 2.5% of the original marketing sample.
At this response rate is it little wonder that most small business and even large financial planning firm baulk at the offer from product providers to run a marketing campaign. And the BDM with little else in their kit bag finds it difficult to continue the conversation.
What's wrong here is the misalignment of the marketing material and the client base. The generic messages in the content do not match the need of the prospects.
The analysis of the client base has just simply not been done.
The problem with this equation is the lack of knowledge about what to do about it.
The key is in the message and whether the message is framed to connect with the prospect in a certain way. Advocates of 4 drive theory understand that the curiosity of human beings is heightened enough to cause investigation of a new concept when the gap between the current understanding of an issue and the new information is of a medium variance.
That causes the prospect to drive towards finding more.
In other words we are talking about upwards of 30% response rates.
But most marketing material utilised either does one of two things : one : it does not identify the gap to be large enough and consequently there is no impetus for change OR two: the statement of the issue to be considered is so different to the prospects current situation or made to be so complex that it causes a fear reaction or a complete rejection on either theses grounds or on complexity.
What then is the answer?
It's all about:
- better data mining of the client bases
- smaller subsets
- tailored messages
- better information about the clients that enable the messages to be shaped accordingly
- more creativity with then message
- ultimately closing the gap between the clients current situation and the proposed solution to a point where it is large enough to drive curiosity and small enough for it to appear achievable
For now, think about the messages and material you send to your clients and prospects in your marketing campaigns.
Is it generic of the shelf material that you have sent to a broad set of clients and prospects?
If so .......don't expect a return on your postage spend.
If you want great results....contact PCE.
Be it letters, perhaps flyers, brochures, snazzy postcards with eye catching imagery - what is the success rate you get from either your existing client base or from leads from your centre of influence or even better your centre of influences client base that you are strategically attempting to tap into?
30% success?!!! 20%!? Not less than 15%? Less than 10? Don't tell me less than 5?
In PCEs experience businesses who use generic marketing material, perhaps sourced of he shelf from their product providers, experience a response rate of less than 5%. And this response rate is only the response of calls into the business or requests for more information. The actual real response rate and that is the conversion amounts to less than 2.5% of the original marketing sample.
At this response rate is it little wonder that most small business and even large financial planning firm baulk at the offer from product providers to run a marketing campaign. And the BDM with little else in their kit bag finds it difficult to continue the conversation.
What's wrong here is the misalignment of the marketing material and the client base. The generic messages in the content do not match the need of the prospects.
The analysis of the client base has just simply not been done.
The problem with this equation is the lack of knowledge about what to do about it.
The key is in the message and whether the message is framed to connect with the prospect in a certain way. Advocates of 4 drive theory understand that the curiosity of human beings is heightened enough to cause investigation of a new concept when the gap between the current understanding of an issue and the new information is of a medium variance.
That causes the prospect to drive towards finding more.
In other words we are talking about upwards of 30% response rates.
But most marketing material utilised either does one of two things : one : it does not identify the gap to be large enough and consequently there is no impetus for change OR two: the statement of the issue to be considered is so different to the prospects current situation or made to be so complex that it causes a fear reaction or a complete rejection on either theses grounds or on complexity.
What then is the answer?
It's all about:
- better data mining of the client bases
- smaller subsets
- tailored messages
- better information about the clients that enable the messages to be shaped accordingly
- more creativity with then message
- ultimately closing the gap between the clients current situation and the proposed solution to a point where it is large enough to drive curiosity and small enough for it to appear achievable
For now, think about the messages and material you send to your clients and prospects in your marketing campaigns.
Is it generic of the shelf material that you have sent to a broad set of clients and prospects?
If so .......don't expect a return on your postage spend.
If you want great results....contact PCE.
Wednesday, 22 February 2012
Invaluable Consumer Insights - "How we'd like our financial adviser to engage"
So if you've been a reader of our posts you may be thinking these writings are a bit left of centre, that you have a process for engaging clients in your financial services, financial planning, insurance business and it works just fine.
That's great!
So I need to ask you something.
Can you self assess your process against the following wants of clients?
Recently we conducted some focus groups with consumers on a range of brand recognition issues(in respect to financial services companies) and engagement perceptions by insurance advisers and financial planners.
We found brand recognition high for the 2 major players in the domestic market in respect to the fact that these two AMP and MLC were immediately associated with financial advice. Product recognition was high for BT and Colonial First State but the associated financial planning groups were not recognised.
The major banks had a high degree of recognition for lending services but low recognition with financial advice and the perceived quality of that advice.
In regard to engagement this is what the consumers said they wanted:
- "I want an adviser that shows they are interested in my situation and what I need"
- "I want to understand how what products they recommend are actually going to make a difference to my family"
- " I do not want off the shelf advice, I want it personalised"
- I want the adviser to know what is important to me, before they give me advice" - " I want them to know me, not just my financials"
- "If they can't connect the strategy to my life goals, then I think they miss the point"
- "I feel like I'm being sold something that's standard I don't understand how it's for me"
- "I don't care about generic newsletters in a service offer, I want something that is relevant to me"
- "I got some advice, I couldn't understand it, the report was 100 pages long, it was just a computer programme with my name on the front. Then they asked me to refer family and friends, they are kidding themselves"
-"My mortgage guy knows more about me and my family than my adviser ever could. The guy who did my loans has been to my house, he knows how I live and what sort of people we are"
So, how much do you know about your clients? How relevant and meaningful are your recommendations? What does you advice - written reports - statements of advice - look like, read like?
Still comfortable with your process?
That's great!
So I need to ask you something.
Can you self assess your process against the following wants of clients?
Recently we conducted some focus groups with consumers on a range of brand recognition issues(in respect to financial services companies) and engagement perceptions by insurance advisers and financial planners.
We found brand recognition high for the 2 major players in the domestic market in respect to the fact that these two AMP and MLC were immediately associated with financial advice. Product recognition was high for BT and Colonial First State but the associated financial planning groups were not recognised.
The major banks had a high degree of recognition for lending services but low recognition with financial advice and the perceived quality of that advice.
In regard to engagement this is what the consumers said they wanted:
- "I want an adviser that shows they are interested in my situation and what I need"
- "I want to understand how what products they recommend are actually going to make a difference to my family"
- " I do not want off the shelf advice, I want it personalised"
- I want the adviser to know what is important to me, before they give me advice" - " I want them to know me, not just my financials"
- "If they can't connect the strategy to my life goals, then I think they miss the point"
- "I feel like I'm being sold something that's standard I don't understand how it's for me"
- "I don't care about generic newsletters in a service offer, I want something that is relevant to me"
- "I got some advice, I couldn't understand it, the report was 100 pages long, it was just a computer programme with my name on the front. Then they asked me to refer family and friends, they are kidding themselves"
-"My mortgage guy knows more about me and my family than my adviser ever could. The guy who did my loans has been to my house, he knows how I live and what sort of people we are"
So, how much do you know about your clients? How relevant and meaningful are your recommendations? What does you advice - written reports - statements of advice - look like, read like?
Still comfortable with your process?
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