About us
Why Financial Services?
Money and the perception of those within the financial services industry has become arguably one of the hottest topics of conversation from the boardroom to the dinner table.
But whatever people’s views, there is no doubting that for most of us money is central to our lives. It informs our decisions and can be a source of comfort or worry. Yet we would rather do almost anything else rather than spend time thinking about, organising or planning our financial future.
Money is central to our lives, yet we spend little time thinking about our financial future
Consolidation, new regulation and distribution, plus changed attitudes and greater scrutiny, have made the world increasingly difficult for financial services brands to navigate, let alone deliver a consistent customer experience.
For an industry that has always struggled to really understand people’s needs and motivations, this is the time to demonstrate that they do know what their customers think and how they feel, backing it all up with products and services that are relevant, transparent and what people need.
Financial services are the commercial glue of our society, constantly evolving, shifting our thinking and challenging our assumptions. As a research business with a passion for understanding people’s needs, motivations and how they form their opinions, what more could we ask for?
Our approach
We are totally focused on financial services. It’s the only sector we work in, and we know a lot about it.
Mixing common sense, commercial awareness and our vast experience, we will always design a custom-made research program that takes account of your business problem, the market issues and the research practicalities.
We invest much of our time finding out what people really think, and a lot more of it thinking about what that means in the context of your business.
We build this intelligent, analytical and creative thinking time into your project, because it is here that we can add real value and where your investment in the research can pay real dividends.
We do this by only using highly experienced Director level researchers to handle every aspect of every project. Nothing is delegated to more junior staff.
But we don’t work in isolation: we’ll involve you throughout the project and will occasionally draw on a few expert partners so that the project itself can benefit from the collective knowledge, different perspectives and combined brainpower of the different teams.
Our response to COVID 19
The coronavirus pandemic has affected the market research industry, as it has every other industry. As the country starts to return to business ‘as usual’ (albeit with a new interpretation of what that means), we expect to see an increase in the demand for market research.
However, the new normal will not be the same as the old normal. Not at first, and perhaps not ever.
This has significant implications for how market research needs to be conducted, and this is especially true for qualitative research, which accounts for the bulk of our work at Strictly Financial. Find out more about our response to COVID-19.
Methodologies
As a specialist qualitative agency, we employ a range of different techniques including:
- Group discussions and iterative learning pools
- Face to face depth interviews
- Paired depths and triads, decision making units
- Rolling depth interviews
- Telephone depth interviews with pre-placed material
- Skype depth interviews with shared screens to review and discuss stimulus material
- Desk-based approaches using past research
- Client workshops, with or without respondents
- ‘Hot house’ proposition development sessions
- Vox pops and filmed case studies
- Key Account Research
- Qualitative longitudinal research
- Online qualitative research (see case study here)
- Exploration of behavioural biases
Outputs
We tailor our output to meet the specific needs of individual clients, which may include:
- Regular updates on project progress and emerging findings
- Immediate post-group feedback
- PowerPoint presentations with numerous verbatim quotes and, if requested, video clips
- Word reports written to publishable standard where required
People
Strictly Financial was born from a desire to get back to doing what we love – research.
Leaving the international agency world behind suits us, but we also believe it suits our clients. We don’t delegate down to people with limited experience; responsibility, accountability and ownership are never hidden behind multiple layers of account management; instead, you have a direct and open relationship with us, the people doing the work.
Claire Labrum, FMRS
Claire has worked on both sides of the fence – for financial services companies and research agencies – which allows her to see both the creative and commercial potential of research.
She has a wealth of experience in product enhancement, development and innovation as well as being well versed in the complexities of brand related issues, having been involved with several large, strategic brand and communications projects.
Claire was made a Fellow of the MRS in 2021 in recognition of her contribution to the industry.
Get in touch with Claire
claire@strictlyfinancial.com
07792 362524
Dave Skelsey
Dave has always specialised in the qualitative side of the research landscape, initially with B2B clients, then professional services like accountancy, law and management consultancy, before finding his niche in financial services.
With his ability to get beneath the surface, test out ideas and understand the issues for both individual and business customers, he has advised firms across product development, strategic brand development and positioning, advertising and communications.
Get in touch with Dave
dave@strictlyfinancial.com
07710 043990
Our network
Whilst Claire & Dave carry out most of the work personally, there are occasions when we do need to call in additional resources. Find out about our network of experienced and senior financial researchers.
Our accreditations
Strictly Financial is an MRS Company Partner. Dave holds individual full membership and Claire is a Fellow of the MRS. We also. Strictly Financial has Cyber Essentials accreditation. We carry PI and liability insurance as standard.
We have FSQS Registered Status which further demonstrates our committment and credentials to the industry.