Sponsor Impact report published finalised guidance on the consumer duty in Sparking corporate imagination July 2022 and its expectations make for interesting A recent report from Kantar, The imperative of reading, including that firms should: imagination, argues that while imagination may sound Put consumers at the heart of their business and focus like reaching for the stars, it is actually a core on delivering good outcomes for customers; provide competency for success. In our post-big data, products and services that are designed to meet post-pandemic world, the report says that insights customers needs, that they know provide fair value, are the spark of corporate imagination and finding that help customers achieve their financial objectives, them means putting humans at the centre of things. and that do not cause them harm One business leader interviewed for the report Communicate and engage with customers so they can described data as people in disguise. Another said: make effective, timely and properly informed 80% of our data is commercial; 20% is consumer. decisions about financial products and services, and We lose sight of the people buying our products on a can take responsibility for their actions and decisions regular basis. Not seek to exploit customers behavioural biases, Insights must develop a richer diversity of data, lack of knowledge or characteristics of vulnerability; resources and skills about the human experience, consistently consider the needs of their customers, beyond the label of consumer. and how they behave, at every stage of the product/ The next step in customer centricity is really putting service life-cycle the human back at the centre, not the consumer, says Continuously learn from their growing focus and J Walker Smith, knowledge lead at Kantars consulting awareness of real customer outcomes division. The human-centric view encompasses the Ensure that the interests of their customers are consumer-centric view; thats part of peoples central to their culture and purpose, and lives we do consume; we need products; we embedded throughout the organisation like ads, frankly, and we dont really dislike Monitor and regularly review the digital but there is more to it outcomes that their customers are than that. experiencing in practice, and take Smith says that marketers needed action to address any risks to good better analytics 15 years ago. Today, The human-centric customer outcomes. however, he feels marketers need view encompasses the The onus is on firms to gain a deeper greater empathy about the human consumer-centric view; understanding of people and ensure situation and the lived experience of thats part of peoples lives human insights, rather than just data, people as they go through their inform product development. Nationwide day-to-day lives. He cites ColgateBuilding Society, an InSites Consulting Palmolives work in North America as client, is seeking to do just that. As a an illustration of a brand pivoting to become member-led organisation, bringing our members more human-centric. Lifestyle research showed experiences to life and putting them at the centre of how how difficult people were finding it to remain upbeat in we create our products and services is key, says Livvy a world that seems to be lurching from one crisis to Gill, research manager at the building society. The another. On the back of this insight, Colgate introduced stories from our research add to our data to provide a its Smile campaign on the power of optimism allying more colourful and engaging picture. While we continue the brand with a lifestyle idea rather than a traditional to use primary and internal data to inform and evidence category one, with the underlying message that Colgate our decisions, the stories we tell about real people bring is on peoples side. that data to life and inspire colleagues to take action. Wellbeing leapt up the corporate agenda during the Nationwide runs a number of regular pieces through pandemic and, together with regulatory and its Member Connect community, combining a survey environmental, social and governance pressures, has approach with deep dives, to help stakeholders feel meant that the C-suite is more inclined to consider the closer to the experiences of its members, and ongoing human dimension than was arguably the case four or diary studies to help build understanding and empathy five years ago, even when introducing business model over time, according to Gill. changes in response to volatility and new opportunities. Increasingly, the role for the research team, she notes, Those who do are steering a smart course. A report is to help activate insight within the society and to from the University of Oxford and EY, The future of inspire stakeholders to become more member-centric in transformation is human, found organisations that put their approach. She adds: The focus on real people, humans at the centre of their transformation journey are real lives and real experiences helps us solve real 2.6 times more likely to be successful than those that do problems for our members. not (73% chance of success versus only 28%). 24 Impact ISSUE 40 2022_pp22-29_Report.indd 24 13/12/2022 11:34