Raising the Bar on Customer Understanding
17
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Do your customers understand your comms well enough to get good outcomes?
Yougov tested two versions of five different financial communications: one as firms currently send it, and one rewritten using the Plain Numbers Method. The testing involved asking people to answer questions about the information they received and whether they could understand what actually matters for them.
The headline finding
The Plain Numbers version significantly outperforms the original version on comprehension. People reading the Plain Numbers version were far more likely to answer five out of five comprehension questions correctly.
Why this matters
Consumer Duty asks firms to show that their communications help customers make informed decisions and support good outcomes. In addition to raising customer understanding, this latest research shows that participants felt more confident about what to do next after reading the Plain Numbers version.
Why attend?
Join Mike Ellicock from Plain Numbers, Matt Palframan from YouGov, and guest speaker from the FCA, Jonathan Pearson, as they walk you through:
- the major findings from the research, including a deep dive into one of the comms that was tested
- how by applying the Plain Numbers Method, the bar on customer understanding can be raised
- how the research indicates positive knock-on effects for the rest of your firm, including customers feeling more confident about the next steps in reaching their financial goals.
This session will show you where to start when it comes to identifying lower levels of customer understanding in your own comms, and how to raise the bar in order to evidence supporting good customer outcomes.
Speakers
Mike Ellicock
Chief Exec and Founder of Plain Numbers
Mike is a social entrepreneur. Following a military career, an MBA and brief stints in banking and maths education, he launched National Numeracy in 2012, building the organisation into a well-respected national charity. Having handed over as Chief Executive there in 2020, Mike launched Plain Numbers in early 2021 and is now utilising his unparalleled knowledge of this largely hidden consumer vulnerability to work with firms to improve comprehension and thereby enable good outcomes for customers.
Matt Palframan
Head of Financial Services Research, YouGov
Matt leads YouGov’s financial services research team and has over 20 years industry experience. Having worked both agency and client-side, Matt has maintained a passion for consumer research ensuring that strategic business decisions are centred around and driven by robust, reliable, and actionable consumer-led insight. In recent years, Matt has developed a suite of Consumer Duty–aligned research solutions, including the Consumer Duty Index — the UK’s largest study measuring whether consumers are truly getting the right outcomes from the financial services brands they use.
Jonathan Pearson
Head of Department for Consumer Policy and Outcomes
Jon has spent over 25 years in financial services regulation working in a variety of functions including Strategy, Supervision, Competition and most recently Policy. Currently, he holds the position of Head of Department for Consumer Policy and Outcomes, with his remit including the Consumer Duty – and particularly supporting firms and consumers in realising the benefits of the Duty, as well as co-ordinating the FCA’s work on vulnerability and financial inclusion.
17
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM