FINANCIAL DIRECTOR BUYER PERSONA EXAMPLE: FD FRANK & STARLING BANK - F&G Funnel Mechanics
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FINANCIAL DIRECTOR BUYER PERSONA EXAMPLE: FD FRANK & STARLING BANK
+ GOALS + CHALLENGES
- Always, without fail, ensure the - Will the new banking ‘fintech’ actually
company finances run like clockwork be reliable and accurate?
(his legacy intact & retirement safe)
- Loathed to part with his beloved, and
- He has to somehow marry that with numerous Excel spreadsheets and
making finance at his company more existing ‘systems’ / ways of operating
tech-savvy and centred (plus data
accessible by mobile & web) - What role does the traditional person /
bank manager have to play in the
- Modern, flexible & real-time finance world of ‘fin-tech’?
FD FRANK + OBJECTIONS + CUSTOMER DATA
- Fear of incorrect, flawed data, and at Length of time they’ve been a
BACKGROUND the mercy of digital issues customer
(0
Frank is the FD for a Bristol-SME, years)
Average purchase frequency
having worked in finance all his life - Fear of increased costs with new tech, (Insert info for current customers only)
for many different UK companies. or it not being covered by the Average
He’s very much from the old-school necessary financial authorities or being spend
(Insert info for current customers only)
traditional banking brigade. easily hackable
Average CSAT score
DEMOGRAPHICS
- Fear of no human interaction and (Insert info for current customers only)
faceless tech. Fear of the unknown / Customer Lifetime
Frank is in his late-60s, with a wife new value
(Insert info for current customers only)
and 3 grown up children. He earns
£100k, has a nice savings stash, and is
looking to retire in the not-too-distant.
+ QUOTES
ATTITUDE
He’s time-poor, but also does
“
Ok my spreadsheets may seem numerous and complex, but they work -
and have done for decades. I’m very nervous about killing them off and “
everything absolutely by the book, moving to something that was only set up a few years ago. The business
and very thoroughly (which possibly bank accounts of these places only started last year!
feeds into the time-poor aspect).
COMMUNICATION PREFERENCES + ASPIRATIONS
Short, concise content ideally, but also - Short / medium term - try and find a fintech solution that overcomes
doesn’t mind lots of words (loves all his objections so he looks to be taking his old finance into the new
books, papers and reports). Uses his decade
phone and loves it for emails and - Longer term - not really applicable for him personally, he wants to
several apps seem useful thus far. retire after this project is complete with both old and new artfully and
professionally combinedWHO WANTS TO SELL TO FRANK?
Starling Bank was the brain-child of ex-Allied Irish Banks COO (also RBS, ABN AMRO and
UBS) Anne Bode. It’s a digital, mobile-only UK “challenger bank” established in 2014.
Challenger banks are small, recently-created (i.e. in the last 4-5 years) UK retail banks
which compete directly with the well-established banks and are differentiated from them
by the fact that they are tech and digital-led or ‘Fintech’.
In 2016 Starling received its banking licence and the largest Fintech funding round of £48
million. In March 2018 Starling launched its business accounts, followed by several rounds
of additional funding.
This year it launched its first ever TV advertising campaign, and Anne Boden released her
book ‘The Money Revolution: Easy Ways to Manage Your Finances In A Digital World’. She
is regarded as a “disruptive banker” who wants to help account holders take better control
of their finances to transform their bank balance.
Starling’s vision is to appeal to any type of customer-buyer, consumer or business,
although in reality they will appeal first to the digitally-savvy and receptive, i.e. those willing
and able to manage their finances predominantly via the mobile app and embracing this
new form technology-led banking.
So how will our persona Finance Frank fare with the prospect of this new world of business
bank accounting so different to that he’s known and revered all his life?PERSONA NAME: FRANK SECTION ONE: WHO
BACKGROUND Frank is the Finance Director of a Bristol-based SME, having worked in Finance for all his life (many decades now) and for many different
Job, career path, companies both in Bristol and elsewhere in the UK, including London. His world is very much that of the old-school traditional banking, whereby
family you set up your business bank account with a reputable and well-established bank of many decades (if not centuries), and then cultivate a close
relationship with a particular bank manager there. For many years now he’s flown under the radar at his company, as he does a great and
consistent job of fastidiously managing the accounts and providing financial information to the company CEO and senior managers. However,
he’s now feeling a lot more pressure, ironically just as he’s looking to scale things back and start to look towards retirement. Recently, some of the
younger managers (and then in turn the CEO) have requested more real-time information on exactly how much money is in the business bank
account, and what recent banking transactions and working capital projections look like. They’ve started talking about phenomena such as
“Fintech” and “real-time banking”. The CEO gets annoyed when she asks for the right-this-instant bank balance and cash-flow state of affairs
(there’s a lot of pressure on sales because of Brexit), and he has to say he’ll come back with the information in a few hours, or by the end of the
day. He set up a series of amazing, but also fantastically complex, Excel-based spreadsheets to crunch the numbers. And although they’re iron-
clad in terms of accuracy, they’ve also worryingly started to freeze on occasion - and nobody else in the business has any idea how they work, so
only he can answer anyone’s questions (which keeps him working late).
DEMOGRAPHICS Frank is in his late 60s and looking to retire soon. He earns £100,000 has a wife and 3 children called Emma, Frank Junior, and John. He’s happily
Identity, age, settled now in Bristol, in a rather expensive house in Redland. He’s a consummate professional; has always worked hard, and late into the night
income,
whenever necessary (quite a lot of the time), crunching the numbers and delivering what’s required. You’ll frequently get emails from him at 2 or
geography
3am. He’s aware that technology is changing everything though, and probably for the better in that it will ultimately make things easier and
quicker for him (real-time information sounds interesting), and will possibly reduce the number of early morning missives he needs to send, as
well as the time it takes him to calculate and extract key data.
IDENTIFIERS Frank is time-poor and therefore all comms need to be short, and to-the-point. He’s only on Facebook to see pictures of his daughter living now in
Attitudes, the US, and other than that only uses LinkedIn which is useful from a business perspective. He reads the FT and broadsheets religiously everyday,
communication and also always watches the news at 9pm every night with his wife. He’s embraced technology in terms of his mobile phone and apps, so is keen
preferences to get information delivered directly into his pocket. He also reads loads of books, and has a membership for a local old boys society where he
dines and listens to talks.PERSONA NAME: FRANK SECTION TWO: WHAT
GOALS 1. The most important thing for Frank is that the business continues to run like clockwork, as that’s what his reputation
(rank) and legacy has been to-date.
2. Ultimately Frank wants to do a great job and continue to impress the CEO and senior managers and ‘retire well’.
3. He wants to demonstrate that he’s not a finance dinosaur and is ready and willing to ‘move with the times’ and
embrace new ways of banking and managing financial information. He knows these new technologies tend to impress
those he works with, and is keen to know more and leave behind a strong but also forward-thinking legacy.
4. He’s also genuinely interested in what new tech can do in terms of real-time information, flexibility and alerts. Getting
the right information at any particular moment in time is alluring. Ultimately he’d love to set up alerts that he needs and
have them sent to his mobile and also email address (he likes to have things sent to multiple places for security).
5. It would also be useful for the CEO and bank managers to be able to access the financial information themselves on
an ongoing basis (and indeed any successor of his), as although he regards himself as fundamental to the business, he
also wants to leave it behind and not have to work quite so long and hard.
CHALLENGES 1. He’s suspicious of how accurate the information he will be given is… he’s used to his beloved spreadsheets and tried-
(rank) and-tested financial categories and ways of doing things, so for him to make the leap to a completely new technology
(and potentially integrated accounting systems, such as Xero etc.) is a huge leap of faith.
2. He’d like to know what scope there is to develop a relationship with a human being bank manager, as this has been
important and necessary in the past. On occasion, the business has hit hard times and his sweet talking has led to the
bank manager affording him / the company some extra lending or time to get things in order - how would this work
with a new digital bank?
3. In moving to a new bank the whole legacy of the banking relationship with the former institution and bank manager is
lost… therefore what sort of support can he and the business receive moving forward, and how easy will the account
actually be to set up in the precise way Frank wants it to look and work?PERSONA NAME: FRANK SECTION THREE: WHY
QUOTES “I’m interested in all this so-called ‘fin-tech’ stuff everyone’s telling me about. But is it actually more about fancy branding and
Real words from the colours?”
buyer about
“Ok my spreadsheets may seem numerous and complex, but they work - and have done for decades. I’m very nervous about
aspirations, killing them off and moving to something that was only set up a few years ago. The business bank accounts of these places only
objectives, started last year!”
challenges
“If anything goes wrong and any numbers are incorrect, that will damage everything I’ve build up for decades: every number I’ve
ever provided has been double and triple checked, and that’s my entire reputation. Ok it may have taken a while to provide the
numbers, but at least I could give my word they were right.”
OBJECTIONS
Why wouldn’t they - Fear that the numbers will be incorrect and the data will be flawed, or digital issues will mean the information gets skewed
in some way.
buy?
- Fear that there will be no human interaction available with the new account, particularly access to an actual bank manager
with whom Frank can build a personal relationship and who may afford him some special dispensations.
- Fear that costs of using the account may increase in the future, as although they’re low right now, is that just to hook new
people into getting an account and then the fees could change and it will have a material impact on my business?
- Fear that if anything were to happen to the bank because it’s new and green, all my business’s funds will disappear and
not be guaranteed by the necessary authorities.
- Fear that because the account is digital, evil hackers can get into the account and steal everything or commit fraud. Or that
lots of people could access the account and cause havoc. Where are the controls and approvals in all this… they’re so
important in finance.
- What happens if someone steal mine, or my colleague’s phone, with access to the account?!
- Feeling nostalgia for killing off his beloved spreadsheets… they have a special name and everything after all…FINANCIAL DIRECTOR BUYER PERSONA & CONTENT PLAN EXAMPLE (STARLING BANK)
THE FLIPPED FUNNEL
AWARENESS The customer’s aware
they’ve got a problem &
they’re trying to define it
CONSIDERATION They’re researching all
possible ways to solve their
problem
DECISION The customer has decided
how to fix the problem & is
looking for confirmation &
reassurance that they’ve
made the right choiceMAPPING TOPICS TO FUNNEL STAGES
AWARENESS: Content here needs to help the buyer to define their problem. It
needs to reflects the buyer and their interests and concerns back to them.
This content needs to shows we understand them, their industry, their
environment, context and issues. Gives useful perspectives and ideas.
Demonstrates we know their world and their problem
CONSIDERATION: This content is about defining solutions. This is content that
shows ways to fix the issues our buyers face and how others have fixed this
stuff. We can start to show how we address these issues and concerns here
DECISION: This is about ensuring the buyer has all the information they need
to confirm they’ve made the right decision to go with us. Technical ‘how to’
stuff, what our products are and how we deliver them, case studies, reviews,
testimonials
ACTION: Sales support stuff – pitch and proposal documents, products in
detail, pricingPERSONA NAME: FD FRANK CONTENT PLAN
AWARENESS: — Frank’s question at this stage is top-level: ‘Is fin-tech for me’? Content here should speak to Frank’s
The customer’s aware they have a fears and anxiety. It should be about demystifying fin-tech. Starling needs to emphasise that
although it’s a new and shiny brand, it is trustworthy. Like traditional banks, it's subject to stringent
problem & are trying to define it
compliance, experience and security requirements . So lots hasn’t actually changed - just the tools
and tech, and for the better.
— In the evening, Frank has more time. He'll want to delve into more detail about fin-tech. Starling
should aim for PR coverage in the FT, Accountancy Now and Finance Officer Weekly. Whitepapers
and books would also be useful. Which is handy since Starling’s CEO Anne Boden has written a book:
‘The Money Revolution'.
— During the working day, Frank will need shorter and more accessible content. The focus should be on
creating / sharing podcasts, blogs, case studies and interviews. Reflect 'people like me' back to
Frank to build his confidence in the brand. Profiles of other FDs who took the leap, never looked back
then retired in a blaze of glory. Make a feature of putting faces to names of the executives in the
new bank. Particularly those with a serious banking pedigree, like Anne Boden. Showing the credible
people in key roles in the bank will address his faceless fin-tech fear. There's scope here too for
educational pieces such as:
'The Basics of Real-Time Reporting’,
'The Finance Director’s Guide to Fin-Tech’
'A Guide to Digital Transformation’
'The Art of the Possible with Fin-tech' (covering futurology, myth busting and expectation setting)PERSONA NAME: FD FRANK CONTENT PLAN
CONSIDERATION — Frank’s question now becomes: ‘Which fin-tech bank account is right for me?’
They’re researching all possible ways to — Starling needs to continue reassuring Frank. But this is when to introduce more detail about the
accounts. A 'Guide to Fin-Tech Bank Accounts' to make it easy for him to compare everything. This
fix their problem
guide needs to be thorough. Share content to show how Starling Bank offers the features and
functionality that Frank needs from his business banking. Share links to forums to show how FDs like
Frank are using digital services. Create sharable videos, posts and snapshots of reporting, data
visuals, alerts functionality. How Starling integrates with accounting softwares (without risk of
implosion).
— Creative and messaging needs to reflect Frank and people like Frank. Demonstrate your credibility
by appearing in the channels that Frank trusts. That could mean broadsheet and TV advertising. Or
even more traditional: sponsoring events at Henley, or hosting a talk at Frank’s London Club. But
don't fall into the cliche trap. He'll be active online. LinkedIn will be useful.
DECISION — Frank’s final question: ‘Am I right to choose Starling in particular?’
They’ve decided how to fix their problem — Send Frank some physical merch (the Anne Boden book, related books from the FT’s business and
finance books of the year, a leather card holder), arrange for a bank manager to meet with him.
& looking for confirmation & reassurance
— And more of the activities that took place at Consideration. So he sees a TV ad that evening, he and
they’ve made the right choice his wife (or the company’s CEO as well!) are invited to Henley, the next morning he sees a full-page
of Starling in the FT.F&G Funnel Mechanics is a marketing and business growth agency We help progressive companies grow through inbound & outbound marketing SARAH GREEN SARAH@WEAREFANDG.COM – 07932 212505 SARAH BRADBURY SARAHB@WEAREFANDG.COM – 07792 296099 JANE FRANKLIN JANE@WEAREFANDG.COM – 07775 660010
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