Case Study
Business Issue
A financial services company sought to revamp its checking account portfolio by replacing existing products with more innovative offerings designed to attract new customers. At the same time, the client needed to ensure the new accounts would remain compelling to current customers—especially high-value account holders. With 12 potential account features under consideration, the client needed a way to quantify which features truly mattered most to consumers in order to prioritize development efforts and maximize growth potential.
Custom Approach
To guide product design decisions, we applied the MaxVal™ solution to precisely measure the value consumers place on each of the 12 proposed checking account features, as well as the value of those features relative to one another. Unlike traditional importance ratings or ranking exercises, MaxVal™ quantifies feature value in a way that allows direct comparison and trade-offs, producing a clear, prioritized feature set.
MaxVal™ also offers advantages over commonly used MaxDiff scaling. It requires less questionnaire space, reducing respondent burden while maintaining high data quality—especially important when evaluating a large number of features. The approach also allows room to address additional business objectives within the same survey and supports richer feature descriptions, which was critical in this study since several account features required more detailed explanation.
Using a proprietary algorithm, we calculated MaxVal™ scores and standardized them so that a score of 100 represents the average value across all tested features. Scores below 100 indicate below-average value, while scores above 100 reflect above-average value. The precision of the method allows features to be compared by order of magnitude, and groups of features can be combined to estimate the total percentage of potential value captured within the overall feature set. Results are reported in a clear, interpretable format, as shown below.
Growth Outcome
The action-oriented output of MaxVal™ delivered precise guidance for product development. The client gained a clear understanding of which checking account features delivered the greatest value to both prospective and existing customers. Armed with this insight, the financial institution was able to confidently prioritize feature investments, balance innovation with retention needs, and move forward with a product portfolio designed to support a successful launch and long-term growth.
Smarter product decisions start with knowing what customers truly value. Contact us to learn how MaxVal™ can guide your next product development initiative.
