Explore Financial Planning Behaviors

A global financial investment management leader wanted to develop strategies and services to better target the large percentage of consumers who do not enlist paid professional financial advice. The research goals were particularly relevant as consumers have increasingly shifted their financial management behaviors from in-person to online interactions.

APPROACH

W5 conducted one-on-one, in-depth interviews with consumers classified according to varying levels of investible assets between $50K to $500K. Interviews were structured as an opportunity to have natural conversations about their approach to planning and goal setting as opposed to narrowly focusing on perceptions of financial management and investing. By delving deep into respondents’ emotional and rational decision-making processes in other areas of their life, W5 uncovered context for financial decisions.

RESULTS

W5 identified five unadvised consumer personas used to communicate the similarities and differences in consumers’ beliefs, behaviors, and attitudes towards financial planning and advisement. W5 also produced a video highlight reel to bring the voice and perceptions of the unadvised consumer directly to decision makers at the client’s headquarters. Viewing and targeting unadvised consumers from a more human perspective, as opposed to data-driven asset levels, allowed the client to focus on the motivations and barriers around finances and financial management that encouraged empathetic engagement strategies and relationship building.