Our solution

Together with consumers, InSites Consulting and Bankwest realized an intensive and iterative qualitative exploration, to really understand what consumers expect from a bank. We organized 15 executive interviews with bank leaders, followed by focus groups and online community discussions with 447 consumers and business owners across Western Australia and in Sydney. Finally, we validated our findings through a quantitative survey with 1,500+ participants. At each stage, we debriefed the bank’s senior leadership through workshops.

We identified five universal consumer truths:

1. Consumers believe banks have treated them with disdain for decades, which resulted in high levels of consumer cynicism
2. Consumers feel that banks show little regard for everyday realities and challenges
3. Consumers think that banks hold all the power and knowledge
4. Dealing with a bank is all one-way – consumers feel they are doing the hard work themselves
5. Consumer see banks consistently prioritizing new customers over existing customers

The most resonating idea across segments was to invest in a more equal relationship between a bank and customer, allowing customers to have less ‘bank’ in their day-to-day life. Consumers want their bank to be there for them when they need it, and not to encroach on every aspect of their lives.