Consumers and customers are individuals and the sheer amount of information available to them has led them to expect to be treated as such. There is a lot of marketing theory and literature dedicated to the customer journey and how this increasingly has to reflect a high degree of independence as part of the experience.
But if customers want to feel like individuals, how should this influence the attitudes and approaches of those providing them with services?
The Value in Specialisation
What aspects of service provision go particularly well with a personalised experience? One answer is specialisation. As Martin Byrne of explains, “You can’t guarantee to be good at everything, but you can work at being the best in a particular field”.
Martin’s mission is providing a niche financial service to businesses, centred on protection through specialised cover, including share protection, key person and life insurance.
“I deal with individuals so my own approach is completely individual”, Martin observes. “Anything financial absolutely depends on trust, which is where personality becomes so important”.
Martin’s business has an overall collective identity but within this there is plenty of space for individuality.
“In many ways, Business Protect is a kind of refuge from big banking and faceless finance”, continues Martin. “This applies both to who we have working for us, and our customer base.”
A State of Independence
Individualism does come in for some criticism. It can be singled out as a root cause of selfishness, divisiveness and alienation. However, in business terms, and in contributing to an improved service culture, individualism works.
“As with so many things in life it’s about balance. Taking an individual approach to business isn’t about having blinkers on, but about working to your individual strengths and projecting these outwards as part of the service you provide”
Martin Byrne, Business Protect
Business Protect effectively answers two needs. One is that of the customer who wants to have an individual, personalised service. The other is that of the financial services provider, who channels a powerful individuality through a specialisation.
“We serve our customers best by being ourselves and by reflecting our values through the level of independent, individual service we provide”, concludes Martin.
If you want to avoid faceless finance and look towards an individual approach to your business protection, please call Business Protect on 0161 9562470.