How WorldRemit streamlined the time to insight in 11 markets

WorldRemit are at the driving edge of modern international remittance. In the words of their CMO, Uwe Hook’s, “WorldRemit is a leading international payments company that offers the opportunity for our target audience – aspirational migrants – to send money to their extended families and friends, to strengthen the human bonds between them.”

But the remittance market is undergoing enormous change, that started years ago but has sky-rocketed in the current global situation. As Uwe explains, “At the moment we’re seeing an accelerated shift into digital. The digital transformation really started years ago in the remittance and payment space, but COVID-19 has really accelerated that trend dramatically. Suddenly, for many, cash isn’t the primary monetary instrument; digital is much safer. It’s much easier to access, you don’t have to go anywhere to access your digital money. Everything is being digitally transformed, and the payments and remittance market is no different.”

In a sector and economic situation that’s shifting so rapidly, how can a global company like WorldRemit ensure they’re at the cutting edge of their industry in every country they operate in? Simply, by being data-led. 

We spoke to WorldRemit’s interim CMO, Uwe Hook, and their research manager, Beatrice Ramelle-Rigollet about how WorldRemit uses Attest to keep up to date with their market and their position within it. To spot new opportunities for growth and track campaign success (amongst much more!). 

A world before brand tracking

A data stack that provides insight into customer and user experience tells a portion of the story of your marketing work, but when you’re building a world-renowned and trusted brand, Beatrice explains how introducing brand tracking tools begins to fill in the insights gaps: 

“Before Attest was recommended to us, there was no brand tracking in place for key health metrics including brand awareness. Our marketing and insights teams have business data available to them via Google Analytics and other UX tools. We also had tools for CRM research and conducted qualitative in-person and focus group interviews. But we needed a tool specifically for consumer data.”

There were consumer conversations ongoing, albeit on a smaller scale, as Uwe explains, “In addition to the customer data tools we use, we’re also doing qualitative research, in the form of in-person research and consumer focus groups.” 

For a global brand like WorldRemit, the benefits of a consumer data tool that collects data from 11 markets sparked new possibilities to scale up the insights available to them. 

The solution

“We came from a place where we had no brand research. Now we run a quarterly brand tracker, with added monthly dips into brand awareness. Attest has enabled our insights team to deliver key brand metrics and insights to the rest of the business within a couple of days, where there were previously none,” explains Beatrice. 

The insights team at WorldRemit provide the marketing function with up-to-date insights on both “senders” and “receivers” (the two audiences within the remittance market) in 11 global markets. 

Both time and costs have been reduced because Attest gives WorldRemit quick access to their global target consumers, without the protracted process and lack of control of briefing in a research agency. As Beatrice puts it, “Attest streamlines the time to insights.” And as they run more and more brand tracker dips, the time saved accumulates thanks to the ability to duplicate surveys and make slight tweaks before scheduling for the next dip.

Access to the audience is both reliable and direct, reducing the risk of brand and campaign work. WorldRemit knows they needn’t take risks with their brand, campaigns and UX design, because Attest can reliably deliver the audience they need to make data-backed decisions. 

From the marketing perspective, Uwe explains, “From the brand tracker we can understand some of the emotional drivers from users. Together with our other data sources, the results are used to make both product and business decisions. We can see how our competitors are doing, which is obviously important for us to understand to see where the opportunities are for us to grow and disrupt the space even more.”

The evolution of consumer research

As the partnership between WorldRemit and Attest grows, and as Attest’s platform continues to evolve, the uses for quick consumer data at WorldRemit also grow. “Attest’s team is always happy to help with combining the results of the 11-market brand tracker. This gives us the capacity to explore new use cases and use the new functionality added to the platform. The brand tracker was the first use we had for Attest, but since then we’ve also used the tool for pre- and post-campaign evaluation, and for some UX design testing.”

And looking to the future too, research will play a big role in WorldRemit’s response to the uncertain world we face. Uwe sums it up,”The experience we’re having in the UK is different from the experience in Nigeria, and is different from experiences in the US. Research is vital for us to understand what is going on in all these markets. Compared to before COVID-19, everything has changed. It’s a generation defining event, and research will help us understand user behaviour for the future.”

Consumer data has introduced new possibilities for tracking metrics for the marketing, product and insight teams at WorldRemit. And with shifting consumer behaviours in the remittance market, and the world at large, asking consumers your own questions, tailored to your brand’s needs, is more important than ever. Control over research, and the confidence that comes with knowing you can quickly and easily access consumers around the globe is important to WorldRemit. 

If you’d like to discover how your own brand can create a brand tracker, get in touch or check out our pre-templated surveys.