Summary

The goals we have for our savings and investments are larger, more important, more central to our reasons for existing than are those we may have for our day-to-day existence. (That's just one of the reasons why doing market research on financial services is different from doing research on other products: The difference between how we select investments and how we select food is significant.) And we depend on financial services to help us achieve and protect our progress toward these dreams and aspirations. With a clear understanding of a household's goals, its priorities and their preferences, financial services providers can better design their marketing messages to match consumer motivations. Because these goals are so major, they change considerably depending on a household's life stage.