Stop losing to customer indifference.

Lots of brands say they’re “customer centric.”

But their digital experiences tell a different story.

We see this in financial services all the time. Generic dashboards, cluttered navigation driven more by what marketers want than people need. Copy written for “the user,” not a real person with real stress, constraints, and goals.

Here’s a simple way to start fixing that gap: use research-backed personas to design digital experiences that reflect who your customers actually are, not who the stakeholders on your org chart wants them to be.

Finsights, Shiny’s proprietary study of U.S. adults, uncovers the mindsets, emotions, and attitudes that shape how individuals approach money and financial institutions. Across that study, we see the same pattern: people are comfortable living digitally, but far less comfortable managing money.

Pair that with broader market research, and the story gets sharper:

• A McKinsey study found that 73% of global banking interactions now happen through digital channels
• McKinsey also reports that 71% of consumers expect companies to deliver personalized interactions, and 76% get frustrated when they don’t

So, no doubt people are using your digital experiences – in fact, they’re expecting those experiences to recognize their real needs and help them as a result. Here’s the question: do your brand’s experiences meet those expectations?

If your answer is no, personas can help you close that gap.

Root every digital touchpoint in empathy

Well-built personas aren’t cute names and stock photos. They’re customer insights grounded in data and research representing clusters of behaviors, motivations, and pain points. Done right, they give product, marketing, and UX teams a shared vision of who they’re designing for and what matters most to those people. Research-based personas get at the heart of what matters to an individual and that enables teams to focus on making better design decisions that meet those needs. In that way personas build empathy and improve communication across teams, reinforcing their value as a practical tool rather than a nice-to-have.

In financial services, a persona might look like:

• A “Fee-Avoider” who is hyper-sensitive to anything that feels hidden or surprise-inducing
• A “Reluctant DIYer” who will use digital tools—but only if they feel guided and helped, not simply dropped into it and abandoned
• A “Goal-Oriented Planner” who wants progress signals more than clever rewards copy

When you apply personas to your marketing and experiences, you’re not just tweaking UI or adjusting copy. You’re choosing language, defaults, and flows that either increase or reduce anxiety for specific, real people.

Translate pain points into better architecture and navigation

Most teams stop at “our customers are confused.” Personas push you to ask who is confused, where, and why.

If research shows one persona often abandons an application when hitting the income details step, that’s a sure sign that there’s work to be done to clarify the flow, like:

• Simplify labels and break complex questions into smaller chunks
• Surface “Why we’re asking” tool tips at points of abandonment
• Bring helpful content and chat options closer to the point of confusion
• Ensure that we’re asking for the information at the most logical point of the application

The same logic applies to navigation. Menus, dashboards, and self-service paths are better organized around how your key personas actually look for information—not how your organization is structured.

Create seamless flows, not disconnected screens

Real people don’t experience your digital presence as “pages” or “features.” They experience a flow: I log in, I see something, I decide what to do next, I either feel clearer or more overwhelmed.

Personas help you design that entire flow as one coherent journey:

• For a “just tell me what to do” persona, you might emphasize checklists, step indicators, and one obvious primary action per screen.
• For a more self-directed persona, you might highlight tools, comparisons, and the ability to drill deeper without losing your place.

Why this matters in a commoditized market

Your institution is not the only bank or insurer with a decent app and website anymore. The bar has moved. In a world where products look similar, relevance and ease are what differentiates.

When your digital experience is built on personas that reflect who your customers really are:

• You reduce friction by designing around specific pain points
• You build trust by reflecting people’s real anxieties and goals
• You encourage repeat engagement, because each interaction feels like it was made for them, not broadcast at them

That’s the work: not adding more features but making the experience feel like it actually knows—and respects—the person using it.

We’ve seen it again and again: In commoditized financial categories, the best way to defeat customer indifference is through ruthlessly helpful experiences. If you commit to personas as a core design tool and building digital experiences that truly reflect the customers you actually serve, you’re on your way to defeating that indifference.