Marketing

Know, Understand and Appeal to the 3 Types of Buyers

September 18, 2020   |   0 Min Read


Although, the current UAE population is over 9 million which makes about 0.13% of the total world population, converting maximum buyers is a challenge (ahem, nightmare) for the insurance marketers and sales teams. Insurance is more of a ‘promise’ that the insurers sell versus a tangible product. Hence, it is essential to have a strategy to approach and to convince prospective buyers to believe in this ‘promise’.

A recent interesting study supported by the Russell Sage Foundation reveals that most customers can be placed into 3 diverse buyer groups subject to the level of pain they experience when they anticipate a purchase.

Knowing and understanding these 3 types of buyers could potentially benefit every insurance marketer to help their customers overcome pre-purchase uncertainty and avoid post-purchase regrets.

The 3 buyer types or categories are:

Each of these clusters has unique spending habits and needs to be met before they reach a buying decision. Let’s look at these groups closely:

Buyer #1: Unconflicted or Average Spenders

Average Spenders are usually price-conscious. The probability of converting this set of buyers is the highest, and so it is imperative to understand them well. They apply logical reasoning when making a buying decision. They demand financial and emotional satisfaction from a purchase be it a tangible product or a ‘promise’ that comes with an Insurance policy.

Typically, an Average Spender in the UAE, when looking to purchase an insurance product, would research the insurance providers, look for reviews, call the customer care number and even repeat the process to confirm the details. The insight that a customer care team or a financial consultant can use is that this buyer would appreciate being provided with a pool of information ranging from eligibility, benefits, terms and conditions, premium charges, loyalty benefits, etc.

Tips to increase the probability of converting Average Spenders into your loyal customers:

  1. Keep it real – do not exaggerate the benefits, list them out, and educate this group about the need for insurance. Explain quickly how it will act like a “Hero” during times of need and unforeseen situations.
  2. Show them overall benefits – introduce them to your organization’s heritage, client testimonials, recent campaigns that may have resonated well with the audience, claims reputation, and ease of registration.
  3. Show them product benefits – have an easy-to-understand product guide handy and share it with these customers while in conversation or email it right after the call or present it during the meeting.
  4. Pitch the promotion – talk about the special offers that you may have such as 1-month or 2-month free premium, buy now pay later options, Loyalty membership, or any giveaways.

Buyer #2: Spendthrifts

These are a chunk of impulse buyers who typically require minimal convincing to do a purchase. They love to treat themselves by spending and are often judged as materialistic and extravagant. They experience the least purchasing pain.

These buyers love luxury and anything that is a status symbol or give them a sense of adventure, gratification, or some other externally perceived emotional need. Spendthrifts are any marketers and sales consultant’s dream customers. Although many of these have been signed up by the top tier insurance companies for at least 1 insurance or insurance combined investment product, there is still plenty of room for upselling or cross-selling opportunities that are untapped.

Tips to increase the probability of converting Spendthrifts into your loyal customers:

  1. Focus on exclusivity – create a set of ‘premium’ advisors in your call center or high-quality consultants to service these customers.
  2. Create exclusive products – listen in on their requirements and create a product package that is exclusive and meets their emotional and functional needs. Whether is a living product that may have elements of robust investment cum insurance proposition or motor insurance with add-on benefits such as luxury replacement car only or repairs at state-of-the-art garages only features or service-based exclusivity of on-demand purchase and service requirements.
  3. Packaging is key – define a superior customer experience from product marketing, product collaterals, online experience to service experience in a manner that is exuding ‘exclusivity’ and ‘luxury’. Highlight different types of benefits that they get through the journey- monetary, emotional, and brand.
  4. Charge a fee – in order to make it sustainable for your business, you can charge an additional fee for some of the add-ons. Spendthrifts, whilst not being oblivious to price, do weigh the ‘benefits’ that come with the add-ons and if the add-ons are meaningful, they won’t mind paying the fee.

Buyer #3: “Tightwads”

Tightwads definitely is the biggest conversion challenge to Marketers as they are unbending as the name suggests. These buyers experience the most ‘buying pain’ out of the 3 groups and do not like to indulge in a commitment unless they are completely sure of ‘all the benefits’. They feel excess regret when they encounter monetary loss. Tightwads undertake thorough research not only of the product or service, but also about the company, its history, and credibility, online reviews, cost of the products, value for money, etc. From an insurance perspective as well, these customers need to see that they’re getting the best value for their money.

Tips to increase the probability of converting this group into your loyal customers:

  1. Strong content – consider publishing informative or educational content in the form of blog articles, product features comparison sheets and eBooks that will answer your buyer’s questions.
  2. Back it with statistics – support your product propositions with facts or statistics such as the number of claims approved in the Financial Year, Claims Satisfaction Rate, NPS (net promoter score) data, and turnaround time with claims and service, a positive customer service testimonial that gained industry or social media’s attention in recent past.
  3. Targetted marketing – work with your Digital marketing team to optimizing and personalize your company website and social media pages to cater to this set of buyers.
  4. Be transparent – be upfront with your pricing plans and eliminate any hidden fees/charges but frame your prices in small parts. For instance, instead of displaying the annual insurance premium which may cost AED 3000, display the monthly cost, AED 250/ month. However, be honest, specific, and candid with your pricing and product description.
  5. Use of the signal – these buyers believe in being prepared for the worst. Use those ‘negative’ emotional signals in your marketing campaigns and turn them into ‘positive’ assurance your organization can give. For instance, use tag lines such as ‘Secure your family and your future with our Savings Plans.

The idea is to get into the minds of these 3 distinct types of buyers, simulate their behaviors and expectations, and apply them to your product offering, service levels, and experience design to ultimately yield high conversions.

At FWD, one of our greatest superpowers is the understanding of the impact and power user insights have on creating a successful financial service organization. Get in touch with us, if you need the support to unlocking user behavior relevant to your target market and how you can use them into the different components of the user journey.


Article by: Vidya Veerapandian

Vidya is the Founder of FWD. Vidya is a financial services and insurance marketer.

Share this Article