We talk about how vital audience research is all the time. Now it’s time we show you just how important it is and what a difference these key insights can make in the real world.

We’ve recently worked with Jarvis, a new pension app for the self-employed, and talking to their audience completely altered the way they understood their audience’s retirement mindset.

Originally assuming self-employed contractors would be interested in retiring early, through interviews we discovered what they want most is to enhance their freedom to choose whether they work or not.

Here’s how we did it.

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💡 The goal

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When we first started talking to Jarvis, the goals they wanted to achieve were:

• Gain a focused understanding of their target audience
• Ensure their product roadmap resonated with their market for a successful launch
• Narrow down a possible target audience of 4.7million people
• Identify a niche market of around 200,000 individuals who would embrace their platform
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✏️ Our approach

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Our research projects are always split into three areas:

• Business & market forensics
• Primary research
• Competitive positioning
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1️⃣ Business & market forensics

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To get the research with Jarvis started, we did a deep dive into the market. We explored the unique pension challenges and goals of the self-employed while looking at market trends and key players.

Working with Jarvis’ existing personas, we refined them based on their business objectives. We eliminated certain groups such as sole traders, to have an initial focus on higher net-worth individuals.

This allowed us to focus on the ideal target audience: self-employed contractors, earning at least £5,000 per month with existing private pensions.

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Key takeaway:

👉 The key to sustainable growth is focusing on the area where you can drive the most value. Focusing your marketing efforts on a smaller niche, to begin with, is far more effective as you’re more likely to attract prospects who’re the right fit.

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2️⃣ Primary research

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To validate our theories, we conducted in-depth interviews and these conversations revealed a surprising insight.

Originally, Jarvis assumed they’d be valued for helping individuals retire earlier but this wasn’t the key goal for contractors. Instead, they want to work for longer, with more financial freedom and control over their workload.

Next up, we conducted a survey, identifying the areas where Jarvis could create the most value in the lives of self-employed contractors.

Through these surveys, we found that only 20% agreed they wanted to retire as early, compared to 60% who wanted more freedom and control over whether they worked or not and 66% who agreed they’d prefer to ramp down the work they do as they get older, rather than stop altogether.

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Key takeaway:

👉 People buy products to make progress on what matters to them, so talk to your audience and uncover the “why” behind their purchase decisions. When you align with their true motivating needs, they’ll think “That’s EXACTLY what I’m looking for”.

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3️⃣ Competitive positioning

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To stand out in the market, it was crucial for Jarvis to differentiate itself from competitors.

By understanding contractors' preferences and analysing competitors, we created a unique value proposition that resonated with the audience, whilst distinguishing Jarvis in both traditional pension provider and fintech pension categories.

Key takeaway:

👉 To carve your unique space in the market, you need to look at it through the eyes of your target audience. Unearth what they care about and how you exceed their expectations. Value curves are a secret weapon for crafting a niche value proposition that will make your audiences go “Woah, this is something I need and can’t get elsewhere.”

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📊 Our conclusion

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The Jarvis case study serves as a reminder of the importance of proactively engaging with potential customers through interviews & surveys.

By gathering accurate insights, Jarvis was able to focus on the most promising segments and align their product & marketing strategy with the genuine needs of their audience, launching a platform that truly resonated and delivers value.

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💭 What does Jarvis say?

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“The essence of a company lies in comprehending its purpose and crafting solutions that authentically address the intended outcomes for their target users. At Jarvis: Smarter Pensions, we are on a mission to design a pension plan that helps users know how much to save each month, and retire with confidence.”

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Royden Greaves, Founder of Jarvis

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Our key takeaways:

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👉 Your initial assumptions about your audience may not be accurate, so it’s important to ensure you’re getting out there and talking to them.

👉 It’s about getting to know the market as much as it is about getting to know your audience.

👉 And it may seem simple and obvious, but LISTEN TO YOUR AUDIENCE.