KQ Article

It’s a universal attribute of human nature, one that is responsible for many of the biases and misguided decisions that saddle us in our lives. I remember teaching this to my Intro Psych students at the University of Minnesota:

We readily forgive ourselves for the same things that we criticize others of doing.

Put another way, we tend to be enamored with and lenient toward our own opinions and actions. He’s flighty, but I’m progressive. She’s wishy-washy, but I’m thoughtful. And so on.

A subtle form of this thinking that appears in business is our tendency to assume that because we place such high value on our own views on things, then those views must be relevant. This dynamic plays an important role in protecting our egos. But it can also be damaging if we don’t remember to back away, remove Thy Self from the situation, and acknowledge the myopic effects of placing ourselves smack in the center of everything.

It’s not always ourselves that we are aiming to serve, especially in the working world, and financial services professionals have myriad opportunities to exercise this principle. Many of us are required to make quick decisions that will have far-reaching consequences. In these situations, it is important to note that we are not the target audience. We are not the new homeowner managing a mortgage, or the graduate repaying a loan, or the small business owner investing for growth.

And in these vulnerable times, we are not that person wondering whether a financial institution is even necessary anymore.

Shared behaviors
For the last 10 months, the Deluxe Collaborative has been researching customer willingness to perceive their bank or credit union as a partner that adds value they are willing to pay for. What we found is that many bankers feel they already know who these coveted customers and members are, saying something along the lines of, “They are just like me.” They’re not.

These people aren’t a particular age group, or living in a particular place, or working through a particular life event. They aren’t one particular thing of any kind, and this makes it extra hard to get a clear picture of exactly whom we are dealing with here.

Since we can’t just install an airport scanner-like device at branches that records each customer’s financial goals and attitudes toward your institution, we took the research approach. We scoured the data to identify any shared behaviors among customers who showed signs of willingness to consider — and pay for — a deeper relationship with their financial institution.

Here’s what we found. People in this group are:

• More likely to own multiple accounts that they use to manage, save and budget their money
• More likely to have financial goals established and recorded
• Less likely to pay off their credit cards at the end of the month
• Less likely to keep extra money in their account as a buffer

This group also shared the opinion that their bank or credit union should focus innovation on:

• Making it easier to access their money
• Helping them accomplish important financial goals
• Enhancing the relevance of their products and services
• Helping them bank more independently

As this industry moves into reinvention, these shared behaviors can clue you into knowing who the early adopters of a new product may be, and who might become an effective advocate for swaying non-believers. But most importantly, they will also help you control that natural tendency to assume that your tastes and preferences mirror those of your target audience.

_{© 2010 Martie Woods}