The top four free Finance category iPhone apps all have something in
common (besides being located in the iTunes store):
Practical Functionality
With these four apps users can check balances, look at statements and monitor their finances with no unnecessary add-ons or frills. In other words, the apps are a complement to the already existing online banking sites, not a replacement. And while some users describe these apps as “nothing special,” that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Although mobile devices are quickly becoming a primary means to accomplish tasks, find information and experience media, their very scale and design helps dictate functionality.
You wouldn’t use a snorkel mask to go scuba diving. (You wear one so you can explore the ocean—but not to the extent that you would with air tanks and scuba gear.)
So what does this say about the future of financial apps?
Although we will be capable of accomplishing more through our mobile devices as technology, bandwidth, and battery life evolves, the medium will continue to dictate the material. Applying for a loan, reading terms and signing a contract on a mobile device simply isn’t practical. Financial apps will allow users to accomplish the tasks they deem necessary on the go. In effect, there will be more financial apps for more financial institutions as the consumer needs grow, but the depth of the apps may not increase at the same speed. Yet, mobile banking and monitoring interfaces will become more intuitive and therefore easier to use—driving mobile banking usership alongside smart-phone technology.
Consumers are already considering mobility a factor when deciding on financial institutions. Does the user find functional value in the app? Is the interface user-friendly? These mobility-centric questions will continue to fuel innovation in the financial services decision-making process. One of biggest challenges for the future of financial apps is to, as Mike Maddock puts it in Always Bring Donuts, “Design useful things."
Is your company better at having an idea or making an idea happen? Knowing where your organization's strength lies is a vital first step toward innovation success
Perhaps no other country celebrates innovation the way America does.
This passion for inventions started early in our history. Did you know that George Washington signed the First U.S. Patent Grant on July 31, 1790, and the patent examiner was none other than Thomas Jefferson? (Thank you, Google!) In America, we're reminded of the life-changing power of inventiveness every day. Some of the greatest inventors of yesterday spawned the greatest brands of today. What do the names Chrysler, Coleman, Goodyear, Campbell, Colt, and Edison mean to you? Cars, tents, tires, soup, guns, and the electric lightbulb, of course.
When you dig a little deeper, you start to notice an incredibly important aspect of inventiveness: For every yin, there must be a yang.
For example, the next time you are marveling at the wonders of Disney, make sure you remember Roy. While Walt was dreaming about his Magic Kingdom and making a mouse talk, his brother Roy was actually making sure that Walt's dreams would come true. Roy was the operational genius; a yin for Walt's yang.
Turns out, the best companies are a lot like Roy and Walt Disney. They are naturally good at creating new ideas and executing them brilliantly. All too often, we here at Maddock Douglas (and maybe at your firm, too) stop at the first part, and pat ourselves on the back for being innovative, even though we aren't exactly sure what to do with a great idea.
At our firm, ideas come easy. In fact, we believe big, beautiful, million-dollar ideas are a dime a dozen. Want to see? Picture yourself sitting on a plane. Hmmm. Let's see. Airline ideas. Why don't airlines create a loyalty card? You'd pay for travel at the beginning of the year in exchange for some sort of special treatment or perks—say, no fees for checking luggage; free food and drinks (including alcohol), and access to their "president's club" lounges so you would have some place—other than the gate—to wait for your plane. Sure, you can pay à la carte for all these things, but it would be more convenient for you if the airline bundled it all together, and better for the airlines since they would get the money up front. Starbucks has created plenty of cash flow with this idea. Why not the airlines?
Here's another idea: Airlines should sell luggage engineered to fit perfectly into their planes. The airlines get new revenue and quicker boarding because bags are all fitting nicely into place. You get the picture.
For all of us who say ideas are easy, there are others who say executing is easy. These are the operational experts—the Roy Disneys if you will—who know how to drive the best ideas forward. The corporate equivalent of them would be the director of R&D and the COO. You don't think of them as product innovators, but once they have an idea they execute it—hopefully to perfection.
We find that companies, like people, are usually good at either creating ideas or executing ideas. The trick is to know which describes your company. If you or your company are about operational excellence, but desperate for big ideas, consider importing this kind of thinking via a business partner.
Want proof that we are on the right track? Venture capital companies are full of Roy Disneys, and they know it, so they don't waste time trying to think up new ideas. They know what they are good at and go do it. And here's a bold statement: We also believe that right now venture capitalists have a golden opportunity to revive the spirit of innovation in America. But we'll save that for the next article.
For now, ask yourself this. Is your company a Walt or a Roy? Figure it out and go find a yin for your yang.
Smartphones are everywhere. But what about smart content? Last week, we talked about the importance of strategy and insight. And now, it’s time to explore the ultimate creative commercialization frontier: mobile whitespace.
Many have done it before, that is, faced the “White Bull,” also known as the blank page. Only now, in the digital age, we’ve been presented with mobile whitespace, the gift of nearly unlimited digital possibilities that fit in the palm of your hand. What we choose to fill it with today has the potential to revolutionize the mobile space for years to come. With the purchase of two billion apps to date, we know that content is the lifeblood of anything worth paying attention to. And now, we also know that useful and interesting content gains more traction and leaves a greater brand imprint. But let’s go beyond that. Let’s talk targeted innovation.
For those of us without Tivo or DVR watching a favorite show, we’re bound to see the same thirty-second spot at least more than once. After the third time, you may be annoyed. Granted the strategy behind this placement is brand penetration, there’s a big problem: if anyone is interested in purchasing the commercialized service or product, they’re probably in one of many buying stages. And if they’re receiving the same singular message that is anchored to one stage, over and over, the brand loses relevancy. This content strategy is the equivalent of asking a multitude of various questions about the product and receiving the same answer, over and over—whether or not it makes sense.
To make a purchasing decision, people want more pertinent information, not the same set of facts. And in the mobile realm, we have an extraordinary opportunity to give people information they may want or need to assist them in making a purchase. Mobile content is faster—replacing a message is no longer a month long conundrum. And if customers are interested in a set of products and choose to opt in, we have the information we need to help them, instead of pushing one message into their faces, hoping for the best. After all, just as Apple puts it: Smartphones are “solving life’s dilemmas, one app at a time.” Why not help solve the purchasing decision dilemma?
Now is the time to innovate in this space and to turn insights into relevant realities. Now is the time to truly consider the consumer. And with mobile technology literally ramping up, we have the chance to do something revolutionary.
Next week, I’ll be discussing the emerging technology driving mobile innovation. Tune in next week to see what’s next and why.
Last time, in our column "Insurers: Effective Innovators—Almost,", we said—in total sincerity, we want to stress—that insurance had the potential to be one of the most innovative industries on Earth.
The response to that column was actually better than we expected. Yes, some of you laughed, others got offended, and more than a handful of you questioned our sanity (a special "thanks" for the offers to pay for the psychological counseling you felt we needed). But most of you got our point: To consistently launch successful new products, insurance companies, just like the firms within your industry, simply have to do a better job of understanding and aligning the three critical underlying components of innovation.
Marketplace success occurs when:
1) You discover a significant need.
2) You conceive of a new product, service, or business model to meet that need.
3) There is clear communication that connects No. 1 to No. 2.
Our point last time was that most insurers—like most businesses in general—spend the majority of their efforts discovering and fulfilling the need, and as a result short-change the communication portion. Innovation is a three-legged stool. If you get the insight and idea right but get the communication wrong, your launch will tip over. It will fail.
To keep that from happening, let us give you three and a half ideas to help you get the communication right. We often tell clients that a bad idea executed brilliantly is the same as a brilliant idea executed badly. They both result in failure. Insurance companies everywhere are sitting with two out of the three ingredients for innovation success in hand. They have created amazing financial tools to help businesses and people in a myriad of ways.
If you met with a creative expert in the insurance industry (they exist), you would soon find out that there are thousands of challenges—everything from putting your kids through college to dealing with the economic downturn—that insurance can help you meet right now. But very few people know about these solutions insurance companies can provide, because the industry has done such a lousy job of communicating about its innovative products.
As a high-ranking marketing friend in the insurance industry recently told us, "If our innovation score was like the SAT, we'd score very high in math but woefully low in verbal."
So how do you correct this issue? Let's say that, like the typical insurance company, you have identified a significant need in your market. And let's also agree that you have a new product, service, or business model that meets that need. Here are three and half ways to make sure your idea resonates with your customer or end consumer. (We'll continue to use the insurance industry as an example, but feel free to substitute your industry—or better, your company—every time you see "insurance.")
1) Speak English
Do you know what "Universal Life," "Variable Life," or "Whole Life" is? Like most industries, insurance often forgets that insurance professionals are the only ones who understand its language.
It is critically important that you constantly keep this in mind (and act accordingly): You are not the true experts of the benefits your products deliver—your customers are the experts. They use everyday words when they talk about their wishes, dreams, and fears. If you are not using the words your customers use to describe their needs as you go about explaining what you have to fill them, you are making your job 20 times harder than it has to be. The voice of the customer must resound clearly in all of your communication.
1.5) One Voice
If everyone has to agree on the key characteristics of the message you are going to communicate, you will end up with a really bland message. The higher the number of people who have to agree, the worse this gets. Create a small innovation team—or just one person—and empower that team. Get out of the team's way. Let it live (or die) by how often it's right. You will get a clearer, better message to market faster.
2) Get the Benefit Right
"Life insurance"? Seriously? Somebody decided to call it "life insurance"? We have a feeling that life insurance got its name because nobody wanted to sell something "death insurance." But people aren't buying life (or death) insurance. They are really buying benefits such as an inheritance for their kids or a paid-off home for their surviving spouse.
The point: Would you rather buy "Education for a Whole Entire Family Insurance" or "Whole Life Insurance"? When companies connect the correct insight/benefit (legacy) with the product (insurance) and communicate the benefit evocatively, e.g., "The Five Generation Scholarship Plan," something magical happens. It sells.
3) Engage the Influencers
Now more than ever, social media sites have allowed us to find those who really care the most and get them engaged in the new idea. We can ask for their insights about how to communicate it, and give them credit. Make them evangelists and carriers of the message. Once your campaign starts, they will be attached to it and help propel it.
This idea is critically important when it comes to people who sell the product directly—like agents. It is important for other advisers, too. For insurance, this would include CPAs. Think: Who are the influencers, advisers, and agents in your industry? When was the last time they helped you discover a need, invent an idea, and launch it?
It is easy to think a great idea sells itself. It doesn't. Learn to use the voice of the customer to communicate what you have while you are formulating the product itself. Your odds of success will increase dramatically.
What if we told you insurance is one of the most innovative industries we know? (Hold the smirks. We are serious.)
What if we went further and said that the insurance industry was poised to assume the leadership position when it comes to creating new products, services, and business models in our economy? You'd probably think we were trying to sell you a whole life policy.
Well, the fact that you don't believe us—and again we are totally sincere about this—says a lot about the problem insurance companies have when it comes to innovation, a problem that we bet your industry may have as well. And therein lies a tale.
1. There is a significant need or insight. 2. A product, service, or business model meets that need. 3. There is clear communication that connects No. 1 to No. 2.
By this definition, the insurance industry is clearly innovative—at least when it comes to creating a product that fulfills a need. Consider some of the more obvious benefits available through one type of coverage: life insurance.
Life Insurance
A. Need or insight
B. Solution
C. Benefit
Your heirs need money while your assets are in probate.
Life insurance benefits are paid quickly.
Your heirs receive the benefits from your policy quickly.
You need a way to protect your assets from creditors.
Creditors cannot get at your life Insurance assets.
Your assets are protected.
You want to make sure your heirs aren't saddled with any of your debts (including estate taxes and funeral expenses).
You can take out a life policy whose benefits are specifically designed to cover these costs.
Your loved ones are not burdened with expenses caused in your life or death.
You want to provide an estate for your loved ones, or to help fund a charity, after your death.
You can take out a life insurance policy and have the proceeds fund whatever you want.
You create the legacy you want.
The table begs one obvious question: Did you know about these benefits? Probably not. The insurance industry often has two of the three key ingredients for successful innovation: the need and the idea. What is missing is the ability to communicate these ideas in a way that is relevant to increasingly busy people.
A Failure to Communicate
An aside: The fact that up until now the insurance industry has fallen down when it comes to innovation is ironic because innovation couldn't happen without insurance. Every year, hundreds of new products are launched. Products that you put on your skin, your kids, your pet—services that require you walk up steps, get on new rides, and use heavy equipment. Business models that require you to write down your Social Security number and push "Send." The fact is that most of these new ideas would never be launched unless the potential liability associated with each was covered by—you guessed it—insurance.
So, you would think that the insurers would be a master at communicating the benefits they offer. But the fact that they are not is, unfortunately, not unusual. Many times the best insights and products are overwhelmed by poorly executed communication. If you don't agree with this, consider that perhaps the most successful insurance marketing in the past decade involves a talking duck and lizard.
There is nothing wrong with using a cute symbol to get someone's attention. But how many people could tell you a) the names of the companies employing either symbol, and b) what products they're selling, and c) what specific benefits those products offer? Our research shows: not many. Your honor, we rest our case.
The good news is that it is incredibly easy to fix this part of the equation, particularly when you have a suite of products that are quite flexible and a CEO who believes change is necessary. For this reason, we believe the whole insurance industry is at a dramatic tipping point. Expect to see much more relevant and creative products soon. Why? Because we believe insurers are taking a cue from other industries and beginning to uncover meaningful and immediate needs that their products can readily serve. Once they figure out a way to communicate them effectively, watch out.
Communication Is Essential
Two of the questions we always ask when people complain to us that their hot new innovation effort has yet to gain traction: "Do people know about it?" and "Do they think they need it?" Invariably we hear some variation of "Of course they do" in answer to the first question and "How could they not?" to the second. Let's stop here for a second. Do you know that feeling you get in your gut when your IT department explains—using industry shorthand—a cool new technology? Think. What percentage of those words did you understand or care to understand?
Do you remember how you felt on your first day in chemistry class, when you were being passionately taught something that had no relevance to you at all? What if this is how you are making your customers feel? What if they don't understand your product? What if the words you are using don't resonate with them? What if they don't see the benefits? What if they don't think your product is worth their time?
Think back to our definition of innovation. It occurs when need + product (to fulfill the need) + communication (about how the product fulfills the need) are completely intertwined. If the communication fails, your whole innovation effort is severely crippled.
Innovation opportunities within the mobile arena are major game changers. With the proliferation and widespread adoption of the smartphone, brands are faced with a wide range of possible solutions and strategic choices when attempting to fill in this commercialization whitespace. Although auto brands like Volkswagen and Audi have already seen considerable success integrating their brands into the mobile spaces by leveraging the popularity of mobile gaming, for many others, the mobile waters can be tricky to navigate. Pepsi’s app “Before You Score,” a mobile interface designed to help adolescent boys and young men target different “types” of women, “score” and then share their experiences on Twitter and Facebook, received so much negative feedback from both women and their target audience that Pepsi eventually pulled it. In this consumer-driven market, what makes mobile advertising successful—and what makes it a liability?
Strategy
Accurate insights and up-to-date data are crucial to great brand strategy.
Without it, brands end up overestimating the needs, desires and attitudes of their target market. And that, as we all know, ends up in near disaster. Mobile marketing is one of the most recent developments in the means of delivering the message, and for many it can be an innovative medium to build on. However, a foundation of solid research that supports an actual need is required to build something of worth—to the client and the consumer.
Content
We’ve all heard “content is king,” but what is content? For mobile advertising, the content is the medium within the medium.
People are great at avoiding, skipping, or just plain ignoring ads—why shouldn’t they? What value does a logo bar on an RSS feed add to the lives of your target audience? Probably not much. To successfully penetrate the mobile space and your target market, brands have to add value to peoples lives and give them something they want or need to use or see. The method of delivering relative content has become part of the content in the mobile space.
