CSSS Consumer
Finance Conference
“Lessons from the coal face on
reaching the mass market”
by Greg Buckle
Metropolitan’s vision
“Creating prosperity for Africa’s people”
8Represents its ideal positioning in the eyes
of its customers
8Is an expression of where the company
wants to be, and where it is going
Metropolitan’s mission
“Serving Africa’s people through
affordable financial solutions that create
financial growth and security”
Strategic position
8Metropolitan is the largest long-term
financial services group in southern Africa
focused on the low and middle-income
markets
Group structure
Agenda
8How we define our market
8Reaching the market
8The challenges and successes
8Where is the market going?
How we define our market
8Metropolitan’s market segmentation:
h Entry level market
R 1 - R 2 999 p.m.
hAspirant market
R 3 000 - R 5 999 p.m.
hEmerged market
R 6 000 - R 11 999 p.m
hAchiever market
R 12 000+ p.m.
Note: Income is not the only measure used to determine our segments but is
used as an easily identifiable measure
Entry level customer profile
8Lifestyle:
8Age:
8Gender:
8Income:
Living standards measures 1 – 5
16 - 29
Male/female balance
Stable monthly personal income
of R3000 – R6000
Aspirant customer profile
8Lifestyle:
8Age:
8Gender:
8Income:
Living standards measures 4 – 6
25 – 49
Approx 50/50 Male/female
Unstable monthly household
income from R950 – R2000
Reaching the market: KSFs
8 Reach
8 Awareness
8 Appealing solutions
8 Trusted
8 Distribution
8 Transaction fulfilment
8 Education
8 Promotion
8 Products needs-based and
appropriate
8 Brand and “street
credentials”
Distribution
8Face-to-face
8Company representative
8Independent brokers
8Affinity groups
8Direct
8Unconventional - cover2go
Fulfilment
8Wide branch and customer service footprint
8Initiatives to move to an “anywhere, anytime” model of business
8 Telephonic enrolment of policies (REI)
8 Virtual marketing offices and “lone
ranger” service consultants
Promotion
8Lines between product, promotion,
education and fulfilment are blurry
8Promotional model being worked with is:
8Education heavy
8Provides a point of distribution
8Can result in instant fulfilment
8Builds the brand
8Affords promotion opportunities for other
products
Where are these people?
8Commuters!
Media campaign
Print media (10 x 7 strip
inserts)
Newspapers targeted: Daily
Sun, City Press, Sunday Sun,
Soccer Laduma 1
Shoppa shows
8 Two teams do shows in the
north and south of the country at
high traffic venues applicable to
the target market
8 The show is held on a flatbed
trailer with a backdrop –
continuously throughout the day
8 The show format is that of two
characters acting out debt and
savings
Shoppa shows
8 Product solutions are also
offered
8 Consumers take part in the
show by means of lucky
draws and playing games
such as spinning a wheel to
win prizes or picking prizes
from boxes
8 Financial advisors also
attend shows to explain
products to customers
8 Shows are also held at large
events such as the under 19
Safa soccer championships
Blitz teams
8 Distribution of leaflets and promotion of products 5 days of
the week through 15 Blitz team members
8 Shoppa shows over the weekend
8 60 000 pamphlets distributed in one campaign
Events
8 Targeting large church
groups because this
market relates to gospel
music
8 Exhibition stalls at
churches with branding
and promotional
material, on HIV/Aids,
what to do in the event of
a death, etc
Powa Towas
8 Branded containers at
major train stations
8 Service office manned by
advisors
8 Leaflet drop at strategic
points to promote Powa
Towas
Mall promotions
8 Target emergent market (R6 000
to R12 000)
8 Teasers and competition leaflets
distributed at robots
8 Exhibitions at large shopping
centres to promote products
8 Competitions to obtain leads
Challenges and successes
8Distribution cost vs policy size
8 cheaper distribution than face-to-face is
less able to deliver the educational value
8Variable incomes
8 persistency of policies lower
8 increasing penetration will be slow
8New players
8Conflicting regulatory pressures
8 FSC vs commissions restructure + FAIS
Challenges and successes
8Increasing market share by number of
policies: 3rd in 2003 to second in 2005
8Maintain highest share of funeral policies
in the entry-level market
8Brand value and affinity is very strong
8Ahead in “know how” and being streetwise
8 a number of our initiatives and
“experiments” are producing good
results and critical learnings
Where is the market going?
8Increasing financial awareness
8Increase in locally relevant and
unconventional marketing mixes being
tried
8Increasingly banked as initiatives start to
bear fruit
8Increasingly wealthy, with increased
discretionary spend on non-essentials
such as cell phones
Where is the market going?
8No threat of saturation in low income
markets
8 huge growth potential in LSM 4–6
8 many of these are the LSM 7 – 10s of
the future
Thank you