The following SMART 100 profile and the information it contains is a duplication of content submitted by the applicant during the entry process. As a function of entry, applicants were required to declare that all details are factually correct, do not infringe on another’s intellectual property and are not unlawful, threatening, defamatory, invasive of privacy, obscene, or otherwise objectionable. Some profiles have been edited for reasons of space and clarity. More about the SMART 100.
This innovation initially came to life when…
…we were designing the mozo.com.au website. We realised that many people who shop around for loans and credit cards already have one. While other parts of the site provided a wealth of information about available products, we also wanted an interactive tool that started with the user’s existing product and picked out those products that would save them money. And once we started to develop Health Check we realised how impossibly difficult (and time consuming) this would be for the average person to do by themselves.
WHAT & HOW
The purpose of this innovation is to…
…help Australians make more informed decisions about their finances. Health Check provide Australians with a customised diagnosis of the best financial products and actual savings they could make by switching home loans, credit cards, car loans or personal loans.
It does this by…
Users enter their current loan details into a simple online form. Mozo’s proprietary Health Check technology compares the current loan against hundreds of other loan products and gives a detailed summary of potential savings and top performing loans that would save the person the most money in interest and fees. Users can then apply directly from Mozo’s website.
PURPOSE & BENEFITS
This innovation improves on what came before because…
Other comparison sites focus on letting you compare individual pieces of information, e.g. which loan has the better interest rate. But they don’t make it easy to compare the overall cost given your situation. Health Check takes into account the actual level of debt and the repayments you’re making and calculates which products would save you in interest and fees.
Its various benefits to the customer/end-user include…
Health Check takes the headache out of comparing banking products. The simple, easy-to-use tool not only reduces the time it takes and stress involved in making complex financial decisions; most importantly, it puts money back in Australians’ pockets.
COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
In the past, this problem was solved by…
It wasn’t. Banks actually banked on the fact that this level of comparison was virtually impossible for consumers to do themselves. Consumers would have to contact banks individually and do their own analysis and calculations. The increased visibility that online tools like Health Check provide consumers has directly resulted in increased competition among banking products.
Its predecessors/competitors include…
See previous answer.
TARGET MARKET
It is made for…
Australians aged 25-49: people characteristically ‘time poor’ but who have active finance needs dictated by lifestyle changes such as getting married, buying a house, having children, etc. These Australians are prime purchasers of credit cards, home loans, car loans and personal loans. Health Check provides each user with a customised diagnosis based on their particular financial situation. Our data shows that homeowners who have run their current loan through Health Check can save on average $35,000 by switching providers.
DISTRIBUTION STRATEGY
It is available for sale through…
Another life-saving benefit of Health Check is that it’s absolutely free. There’s no need to sign up or register. Users simply go to the Mozo website (open 24 hours a day, seven days a week) and click on Health Check.
Our marketing strategy is to…
Use public relations and social media to build up a base of health check advocates who spread the word. We’ve successfully had over 10,000 customers use Health Check through mozo and via our Fairfax Digital partnership. We’re getting heart palpitations just thinking about the results we can expect once online advertising starts in the coming months. Dial 000!
SUPPORTING IMAGES AND/OR VIDEO
SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR THIS INNOVATION
While the judging is now officially over, you can still show your support for this innovation in one of the following three ways:
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To check out the Anthill SMART 100 Readers’ Choice winner for 2010, click here.
