Situation

Actions

Results

Case Study

Growing the Business by Understanding Customers' Needs

A large financial services company realized that it was losing about $50 million a year as brokers seemed to drift away and gradually stop doing business with them. They guessed that the brokers were dissatisfied with the service or commission rates, but they didn't really know what mattered most to these brokers. They asked Schmalensee Partners to study the requirements of these disappearing brokers in order to determine how to recover their business.

Because each broker represented a large annual revenue to the company, Schmalensee Partners was able to take the time to dig more deeply than usual into understanding their requirements. We began by mining company databases to determine purchasing histories and identify key patterns. Then we conducted in depth interviews with 100 of these disappearing brokers, focusing on four distinct buying pattern groups who seemed to have the greatest potential for the company.

Using executive interviewers, we asked the brokers what mattered to them, what attracted them to the company originally, where they placed their business when they left, and what caused them to leave. We ended by offering to have a company representative call if the broker wished.

We learned that their basic requirements were being met but they wanted more personal contact.