Giving families the best start to their new life abroad
The Challenge
HSBC had ambitions to significantly grow its Expat banking business, a core pillar of it’s overall international proposition to its customers. However, in a world focussed on exchange rates and international money transfers, it didn’t know how to meaningfully differentiate from the other choices customers had.
Services: Customer Strategy, Customer Proposition
The Impact
x2
Doubled the number of new accounts opened following the proposition launch
1st
Won Best Expat Banking and FS Innovation at the EMEA Expatriate Management & Mobility Awards
The Outside-in Perspective
We spoke directly to twenty-five Expats from around the world, those who were new to the lifestyle, and those who were ‘serial expats’, moving from country to country throughout their career. Crucially, we also spoke to the family members of the primary ‘Expat’, to hear what their experience was like.
The Insight
While life for the ‘primary’ expat is often straightforward - with a job, social group and housing already in place - it is far harder for their partner and children. The ‘trailing spouse’, as they’re often called, can feel alone and without purpose, meaning that family unhappiness is the leading cause of failed expat placements.
The Solution
By creating a focus on a specific customer group and mapping the Expat Customer Lifecycle, we pinpointed opportunities for HSBC to create more a family-focused proposition. We shared the insights with 500 colleagues globally, using Virtual Reality to immerse them into their customers’ world, leading to the launch of the ‘Little Expats’ proposition.
“A big thank you! I’m really pleased with where we’ve got to. We've made big strides, and so appreciate your guidance in helping us.”