The problem.
Most Australians don't have a financial adviser. Cost, complexity, and the awkwardness of "I just have one question" all keep people from getting answers they actually need.
Simple general advice was dominated by a few newspaper columnists. The lucky few got an answer. BT has an ambition to give more advice to more Australians. As newspaper sales were fading and digital penetration was exploding in the mid 2010s, an opportunity was available to be the digital newspaper column for those with simple advice needs. This was brand play 101.
The approach.
Ask one question, get a written answer from a real BT adviser. Free. Each answer compliant. Each customer a step closer to a real financial plan if they wanted one.
- Designed the entry experience so asking a question takes about a minute, not a 20-minute form.
- Built the back-office workflow, including answer review and approval, with tight SLAs (we promised 48 hour turnaround).
- Worked with an agency for implementation and a SEO agency to ensure best practice SEO applied.
- Compliance built into the workflow from day one, not bolted on at the end.
The outcome.
A category-defining product within BT's advice business. The brand reached an audience that had never engaged with personal advice before.
Questions ranged from "should I salary sacrifice?" to "is my super on track?", the everyday questions people don't otherwise ask. The service answered them, on the record, for free. An ever growing database of responses was great SEO fodder.
Ask an Adviser was removed from the web in 2019 when BT closed their advice business.
What I learned.
Strong workflows with inbuild reminders and escalations ensure stated SLAs are rarely missed.
Quality content outranks AI generated slop every day. Get the human involved and they eyeballs it gets to pays dividends.