Using behavioural economics to increase headline earnings

Genesis Analytics was commissioned to deliver additional headline earnings to a financial institution over a period of three years.

The behavioural economics project aimed to increase open-web lead conversions by increasing the sales of various products to leads that are generated on the company’s digital platforms. Before the intervention the sales fulfillment conversations that the employees had with customers were not fully optimised. The team developed a behaviourally informed conversation that enabled sales personnel to cross-sell more effectively.

The project resulted in a 33 percentage-point uplift in sales over a four-week period. The (modest) business case demonstrated that upon roll-out the intervention would contribute about R270 million over a three-year period to the client in additional headline earnings.

To further enhance the project’s impact, the project team designed an incentive programme in the sales environment that motivated employees to continue using the tools until they were fully imbedded in the process.