SMSF service providers need to take a different view on how they service customers from the common approach of using product as the starting point, according to a research executive.
CoreData and Janus Analytics director of research Tai Rotem said service providers need to “flip perspective” and place themselves in their customers’ shoes.
“We tend to look at what is out there now and try to make it better,” Rotem said.
“We convince ourselves we have a competitive offer and then wonder why consumers are not flocking to us.”
He proposed applying a “jobs-to-be-done” framework explored in a Harvard Business Review article to help service providers understand the problem customers are trying to solve, how they articulate the problem and what they feel are the main hurdles preventing them from solving it.
“We need to understand how rationalised functional benefits link to the underlying emotional needs they satisfy, exposing where real value lies,” he said.
“In the end, it’s really about servicing their emotional and ‘core values’ needs: peace of mind, reducing tension, self-identity, FOMO (fear of missing out), whatever it may be.”
Service providers must also focus on the customer experience and look for ways to reduce effort, and make it a unique and relevant experience for them, he said.
They should understand what value means to various segments of the market so it resonates with how consumers view value, he added.
“The ability to expand your offer to currently underserviced market segments and improve operational efficiencies is where the next wave of growth in the SMSF market is going to come from,” he noted.
When it came to SMSFs specifically, he outlined five things service providers can do now to achieve success.
His tips include understanding each market’s segmented underlying needs, experience and value assessments.
In addition, service providers must understand comparative advantages in delivering value, as well as how the offers resonate with each segment and map them to needs, and understand how analytics, channels and touchpoints work for the brand, he said.
They should also choose customers they can work with best and develop capacity to broaden this over time and develop valuable relationships at scale, Rotem concluded.
