IDIs: financial product owners, APAC

When we received a brief from a returning client of ours, asking for our assistance arranging a new phase of research in a number of APAC markets, we were happy to help. The goal was to understand the needs of consumers of financial products in various APAC markets, including Hong Kong, Indonesia, China, India, Malaysia and Singapore. These are exciting markets in which to field research, as consumer perspectives are often under-represented in this part of the world. This project allowed our researchers to get to the core of what great research is about: discovering fresh insights in markets where this type of primary research is rarely conducted by financial services companies.

The methodology requested was 90-minute in-depth interviews, held online. Our target audience was a mix of men and women aged between 20 and 65 who could be described as ‘emerging affluent’ or ‘mass affluent’ in social class. Those who are emerging affluent are regarded as sitting within the top 40-45% of the working population in their country. For balance, we made sure to include a varied mix of household compositions, from those who are single to participants who are married (with or without children). All participants were to hold, or intend to hold, one or more financial services products. These include banking, investment and health or life insurance policies.

The FieldworkHub team handled the recruitment and scheduling of each research session. We recruited articulate participants who spoke good English in India and in Singapore, as these IDIs were 90-minutes long and covered complex needs and decision-making processes. For Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong and China, we conducted the IDIs in participants’ native language, to ensure we gathered the best possible insights unobstructed by a language barrier. For balance, we recruited a mix of different types of policyholders, including those with house insurance, life insurance, and various types of investment products. We also included a 50/50 split of gender, a mix of different ages (where possible), and those at different life stages (single, married without children and married with children).

Participants were required to be on camera throughout the call, and we carried ouit tech checks with each participant to ensure smooth running of each session, since the client was moderating the sessions themselves. We delivered feedback after the initial pilot session and consulted with our client on what adjustments should be made to refine the discussion guide. Despite it being challenging to recruit people in the 18-24 age group who have life insurance policies, we managed to fill all of the client’s quotas. Our client mentioned how valuable they found the feedback they received, particularly as we had managed to obtain perspectives on unique ways of life, including in rural areas, that are often under-represented in research.