According to Ali Hussain of the Sunday Times, ‘The FCA says: “Firms earn higher margins from consumers who are less aware”. This is a truism if ever there was one. Making money from your customers’ ignorance demonstrates a disdain for ordinary people and it is rife in financial services’
The interesting point…who admits to being less aware? Consumers will happily admit not to being experts, but being ‘aware’ is something they will admit. So it’s about the language used and little curiosity employed. To be more aware you need curiosity. If the consumer accepts what they told at face value, and are, therefore ‘less aware’, then as the FCA explains, ‘firms will make higher margins’. The consumer may say, so what. I don’t mind firms making higher margins if they make me more. Alas, that equation does not work.
It’s worth remembering awareness is not polarised. It is a spectrum. If you are curious and open-minded, it’s often easier to say you don’t understand and then build awareness.