Digital inclusion consultant.
Digital inclusion is whether a customer can finish the journey on the channel you offer. I led the first Digital Inclusion Customer Strategy, and the Digital Skills Hubs, for pensions customers.
What digital inclusion means in a UK firm
The decision in front of a product lead is which customers stop once the journey is online. The FCA's FG21/1 guidance says low digital capability may prevent consumers from accessing services online. A firm that operates through one channel should consider how it will respond when a customer cannot use that channel.
I am not a law firm and I am not a compliance monitor. I look at the customer evidence.
When the digital step cannot finish the job
The Consumer Duty consumer support outcome expects the channels a firm does offer to meet the needs of its customers, including customers with characteristics of vulnerability. The FCA has described firms that move a complex case, such as a bereavement query raised in a chatbot, across to a person.
That is the test I use. Where does the journey assume a working device and confidence with the form, and is a person available when that assumption fails. The vulnerable customers page covers the wider question. Financial inclusion is the partner question, when the barrier is the product itself.
How you can tell people are being left out
Look at who completes the journey and who drops out, then at the step where they stop. A hub can raise engagement among the people who reach it. On the Digital Skills Hubs I launched, customer engagement increased by 84%. That figure is about the people who got there.
The hub dealt with the content. Reaching the customers who would not search for it was the rest of the work. I wrote that up in what the Digital Skills Hub taught me. It worked in the hands of Digital Champions, who could point someone to a specific video. A page on its own did not reach those customers.
What I help with
- A digital inclusion customer strategy. The kind I led when pensions journeys were moving online.
- Support people can find. Content such as a Digital Skills Hub, plus the route that gets it to the customer who will not search for it.
- The step that stops people. Where the journey assumes a device and confidence with the form, and where a person needs to take over.
- A bounded first read. The customer experience diagnostic is 2-4 weeks when you want the map before a larger programme.
Why me
I spent seven years at a FTSE 100 insurer across proposition, customer strategy and customer sustainability, so I have been inside the budget conversation as well as the customer one. The Digital Skills Hubs were built inside that firm, for pensions customers.
Proof
I led the first Digital Inclusion Customer Strategy and designed and launched Digital Skills Hubs for pensions customers at a FTSE 100 pensions and savings provider. Customer engagement through the Digital Skills Hubs increased by 84%.
The lesson I took from the hubs is that content and reach are separate. The people least likely to find a skills page are also the people a digital journey is most likely to lose.
How we can work together
As a consultant on a defined project, as a contractor on day rates, or as an interim if the gap is a person rather than a project. Fully remote on CET hours, on site when it matters, flexible on contracting route, and I'll be straight about rates on the first call.
Related thinking
- Financial inclusion
- Vulnerable customers
- Digital inclusion in financial services
- What the Digital Skills Hub taught me
Get in touch
If a digital journey is losing customers, or a skills hub is live and the people who need it are not finding it, tell me the product. I will say on the first call if I am the wrong person.
Common questions
What is digital inclusion in financial services?
Digital inclusion is whether a customer can finish the journey on the channel the firm offers. For a bank, insurer, pension firm or fintech, that includes the customer with a working device and the customer whose digital capability is low. I am not a law firm and I am not a compliance monitor. I look at that journey.
What should a firm do when customers cannot complete the digital journey?
The FCA's FG21/1 guidance says low digital capability may prevent consumers from accessing services online. A firm that operates through one channel should consider how it will respond when a customer cannot use that channel. I start with the step where people stop, and with whether a person is available when the digital step cannot finish the job.
How do you tell if a digital journey is excluding people?
Look at who completes the journey and who drops out, then at the step where they stop. Customer engagement through the Digital Skills Hubs I launched increased by 84%. That figure is about the people who reached the hub. The content and the route to the customer who would not search for it are separate pieces of work.