Curiosity, customers and designing for complex lives and needs

When curiosity got the better of Pandora and she opened the infamous box (or jar if you’re really into Greek myth), she released all of the evils into the world. That’s how the story goes. The theme of curiosity leading to tragedy is repeated through myths, legends and fairytales.

These age-old stories warning us against curiosity could hold us back. And yet, we all know that we have to be endlessly curious about the lives and needs of our customers in order to design and deliver great products and services.

At Inclusive Outcomes, we help organisations get a better understanding of all of their customers, not just the ones that are easiest to design for. Our Pandora’s box unleashes the challenges (and therefore opportunities) of people’s complex, unpredictable and imperfect lives.

This image outlines the three stages of our approach to vulnerability insights, which is repeated in the article. It has two orange arrows and one purple arrow. 1. Nature and scale of vulnerability. The Inclusive Outcomes Vulnerability Study allows us to understand the nature and scale of vulnerability for segments, target markets or product lines, showing which characteristics are most prevalent as well as indication of impacts. 2. Impacts of vulnerability characteristics. Once we know which characteristics are most prevalent, we focus on the impacts on people’s financial lives, and on their needs for specific propositions and additional support within the customer journey – we do this through deep customer insights. 3. Applying to the work you do. We work with you on priority areas for action, from proposition and service design to customer journey and communications. We ensure all work is aligned to the good outcomes you want to deliver, and how the impact of any activity can be measured
How do we help you with this?

The FCA has asked firms to:

a) Understand the nature and scale of characteristics of vulnerability that exist in their target market and in their customer base

b) Understand the impact of vulnerability on the needs of consumers by asking themselves what types of harm or disadvantage their customers may be vulnerable to, and how this might affect the consumer experience and outcome

Whether you’re at the start of your vulnerability strategy, or you’re ready to deepen your understanding in specific products lines or segments, we can help you understand the needs of customers in vulnerable circumstances and embed this across your work.

  • 1
    Inclusive Outcomes Study: First, our study gives you a detailed understanding of the nature and scale of characteristics of vulnerability. We do this in a way that can be mapped to your target market or segments, and identify some of the most common or critical impacts
  • 2
    Bringing needs to life: Then, we bring this to life with deep insight on impacts and needs, and what your customers need from you. This highlights how your current practice is meeting or not meeting their needs, and the consequent impacts on customer outcomes
  • 3
    From insights to action: We work with you to apply the insights practically, from proposition design to customer journey, our insights are always actionable to help you deliver good outcomes
This image outlines the three stages of our approach to vulnerability insights, which is repeated in the article. It has two orange arrows and one purple arrow. 1. Nature and scale of vulnerability. The Inclusive Outcomes Vulnerability Study allows us to understand the nature and scale of vulnerability for segments, target markets or product lines, showing which characteristics are most prevalent as well as indication of impacts. 2. Impacts of vulnerability characteristics. Once we know which characteristics are most prevalent, we focus on the impacts on people’s financial lives, and on their needs for specific propositions and additional support within the customer journey – we do this through deep customer insights. 3. Applying to the work you do. We work with you on priority areas for action, from proposition and service design to customer journey and communications. We ensure all work is aligned to the good outcomes you want to deliver, and how the impact of any activity can be measured
Should we be wary of curiosity, or embrace it?

Poor Pandora, whose curious nature didn’t result in good outcomes for anyone. Stories about women causing the downfall of humanity are never going to be my personal favourite. But stories about curiosity, and making changes for good, always are. Maybe this is less about Pandora and more about Bluebeard’s wife, whose curiosity and bravery eventually set her free.
Or, more likely, it’s simply about the fundamentals of good design and delivery with customer outcomes at the core. Whether it’s products, services, journeys, letters, emails or anything else, being curious about the needs of all of your customers – and then acting on these needs with good intentions and a bit of bravery too – never gets old.

Get in touch

We’re already helping organisations understand the nature and scale of vulnerability within their target market – and take action on the needs of customers in vulnerable circumstances. If you’d like to know more, contact lauren@inclusiveoutcomes.co.uk

Find out about Lauren Peel
Lauren Peel

Lauren is a leader in consumer and financial vulnerability with over a decade of experience in consumer strategy and delivery, from insights and co-design through to experience and propositions.