Deliverable
Persona “Tori, The Balancer” with accompanying journey map spanning Awareness, Consideration, and Onboarding – one of four personas developed from the qualitative phase.
Mixed Methods Research · Financial Services
Combining a 2,000-person segmentation survey with 30 in-depth interviews to define the value proposition for a new online-only bank entering an unfamiliar category.
Context
Business Objective
The client sought to create a new line of business in the form of an online-only bank. The catch: they had no experience or brand reputation in the financial sector. My team was tasked with understanding the value proposition of an online-only bank and developing one for our client.
Research Objectives
Understand how people perceive their banking brand relationships. Assess the current banking landscape to discover where the client could play.
Discover what would trigger someone to start a new banking relationship.
Outcomes
The client was able to launch a bank with several deposit products. Communications based on the value proposition saw high engagement on digital channels.
Process
A segmentation survey (n=2,000) was fielded on Qualtrics to understand current banking needs across age, household income, and region, compared against psychographic attributes. I designed and programmed the screener and survey instrument and worked with panel providers to manage quotas and fielding, then worked with data scientists to build segments based on k-means cluster analysis.
30 1-hour remote interviews were then conducted across demographics to understand banking relationships, what would influence a new banking relationship, and how banking behaviours change with life stages. I designed the methodology, wrote the discussion guide, led the interviews, and managed respondent scheduling.
People’s banking relationships are shaped less by rates than by clarity, ease, and proactive guidance. A new entrant with no brand history can compete on the quality of the digital experience and the legibility of its communication – not on legacy trust alone.
Four personas and accompanying journey maps, analysed and synthesised from the qualitative data. These artefacts were used to define the MVP of the banking solution and informed the value proposition behind the eventual launch.
Deliverable
Persona “Tori, The Balancer” with accompanying journey map spanning Awareness, Consideration, and Onboarding – one of four personas developed from the qualitative phase.
Insights
Banking relationships are driven more by ease and clarity of digital experience than by rates alone.
Customers want proactive tools that help them reach savings goals, not just static account management.
Clear, jargon-free communication builds trust faster than brand history for a new entrant.