While it’s still part of many people’s routines, I can’t remember the last time I needed to go into a physical bank. The convenience of transferring money digitally, depositing checks using my phone, and applying for new products online has removed a lot of the in-person experience we were all once used to. While digital banking certainly has a multitude of benefits, that in-person time gives the bank a physical and tangible connection with its customers. The one-on-one experience helps staff read and relate to their customers in ways that digital banking can’t.
Context helps to drive interest and deepens engagement.
So many transactions and interactions with customers, like me, are performed virtually these days. I fear the result may create a gap between the insights we collect and the actions we take based on those learnings.
We are enthusiastic about the research we perform, the data we collect and the insights we uncover for our Banking and Financial Services clients. Yet sometimes when we meet with clients to present a story and share research insights, we can fall short of helping stakeholders get that “in-person” connection with the customers we’ve spoken to. We assume that they’ll be able to digest and engage with the data however we present it, but without additional context, that story can fall flat and fail to compel action among our clients.
In a world full of billions of online interactions daily, it is perhaps as critical as ever that we slow down and take the opportunity to create more of a personal connection between the customer insights data we collect, our stakeholders and the end customer. Time and again we see that doing so makes our insights more engaging AND more actionable.
In a world full of billions of online interactions daily, it is perhaps as critical as ever that we slow down and take the opportunity to create more of a personal connection between the customer insights data we collect, our stakeholders and the end customer.”
Build interest in the story to drive more action.
Below are three approaches we’ve found to be effective and successful in achieving this goal of turning insights into action for our Banking and Financial Services clients:
1. Use the power of video.
As I’ve said in previous posts, as humans, we’re visual creatures. A simple image can unleash a multitude of connections, thoughts, and emotions in just a few seconds. While it’s certainly not for every study, by creating a video version of your report, complete with music, voiceovers, images, and the voice of the customer — things that bring your data to life — we have a greater opportunity to capture stakeholders’ attention, and when you share the insights, you’ll likely stand out in the crowd from what other vendors and competitors are doing.
Giving people the ability to contribute to the story and the research insights spurs greater engagement among your stakeholders during readouts.”
2. Make insights stick with Post-it® Notes.
Giving people the ability to contribute to the story and the research insights spurs greater engagement among your stakeholders during readouts. It can be as simple as providing everyone with a pad of Post-it Notes and asking them to write down anything they find interesting, confusing, or surprising during the presentation. At the end of the presentation, encourage participants to post those stickies on corresponding poster boards throughout the room. You get more engagement, interesting feedback, and stakeholders feel a sense of ownership.
3. Tell the right story to the right audience with bespoke reporting.
Many of us include an Executive Summary in our reports to deliver the key insights and data in a succinct and narrative-driven way. This works well in many situations, but one-size-fits-all reporting doesn’t always hit the mark with every audience. If you want to get people to listen to your story, you need to know who you’re talking to – you need to know who your audience is. We work with teams to tailor reporting to specific stakeholder groups. This may mean creating multiple mini drafts of a report, but the result is a more compelling story, an engaged audience, and stronger research activation.
We encourage you to use these approaches as often as possible to ensure the research connects with your stakeholders and leads to more engaging and dynamic activations.
Want to explore more engaging ways to involve your team in the research story?
