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Discovering customer needs through research

Brief Case

Introduction
Barclays is a global bank. It provides a range of financial products and services. These are aimed at distinct markets. Each market can be split into segments. A market segment is a part of a customer group that shares characteristics. Examples would be students or mature people. Market research helped Barclays to find the right product offer to meet the needs of students and improve its student account offer.

Purpose of market research

Market research gathers data on current and future customers. This data lowers the risks when making business choices. Before using market research, Barclays made sure it was aware of all the issues. Its reasons for targeting students included the chance to: target new students each year create a long-term relationship with students.

Types of market research

Barclays research involved both primary and secondary types. Primary research involves finding the answers to questions for a specific purpose. It may include: face-to-face surveys questionnaires telephone interviews focus groups. Primary research can be costly and take time. However, it can provide an advantage, as rivals will not have access to it. Barclays primary research began by asking who its key customers should be and what their needs were.
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Who are our key customers? What are their needs?

Evaluation

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In-line management

Help customers Take One Small Step to managing their money better every day

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What proposition should we offer to meet their needs?

Delivery/ implementation of product or proposition

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How should it be delivered?

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After this, an external agency set up an online questionnaire. This was to find out student opinions. Research results may be quantitative or qualitative. Quantitative research involves numbers. It is often shown on graphs, tables and charts. Qualitative research gives data on how people feel about products and services. Secondary research is quicker to carry out. However, it may not be as specific. It uses published data from research already carried out. These include: market research reports sales figures competitor or government publications.

Implementation and evaluation

Barclays established a working group to set up the new student proposition. It created key account features, which were: no monthly fee an interest-free overdraft facility up to 2,000 from opening the account mobile phone banking and a network of local branches. Barclays found that an incentive offering mobile broadband would have the most appeal. Barclays took Orange as a partner to offer 25% discount on mobile broadband to those who signed up for a student account. Barclays then promoted the offer through: a word-of-mouth campaign literature in bank branches online advertising direct mail to prospective students.

Research findings
Through research, Barclays was able to find out students main concerns and feelings. The outcomes of the opinion panel and the sample of students showed that students: relied on different forms of credit needed to own high-tech gadgets, such as laptops wanted separate accounts to manage borrowing and spending expected incentives. This information helped Barclays choose the best offer for students.

Conclusion
The student account proposition that Barclays developed was an insight-led approach. It shows how it is vital for a business to listen to its market. To do this well means to target market segments to find out customer needs. The bank was able to gain insight into students needs using market research. As a result, Barclays increased its share of the student market.

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