Make the message easier to notice, trust and act on

Translate each behavioural barrier into a clear communication objective, recommended approach and practical examples.

How to use this toolkit

Start with the required customer beliefBe clear about what customers need to understand, trust or feel before selecting a technique.

Match the approach to the barrierUse techniques that directly address the reason customers hesitate.

Adapt examples to the channelApply the principle differently across web pages, email, advertising, sales conversations and customer materials.

Combine approaches only when they do different jobsAvoid adding multiple techniques that repeat the same message or make it harder to understand.

Choose a customer barrier

Relevance

The primary task is not to explain more. It is to help suitable customers recognise themselves in the category.

Many suitable homeowners dismiss reverse mortgages before assessing the product, because the category feels associated with financial distress, very old age or having no other options.

What customers told us

49%

have little or no familiarity with reverse mortgages

26%

are unsure whether the product is right for them or whether they are eligible

“Not for me.”

Customer verbatim

“Only after 80 years old.”

Customer verbatim

Why this happens

People rarely assess a financial product from first principles. They first ask whether it appears relevant to someone like them. If the category is associated with financial distress, very old age or having no alternatives, financially capable homeowners exclude themselves before considering the actual product features.

Narrow category stereotype
Low self-identification
Early rejection
No eligibility check
No product consideration

Communication task

Shift the customer from “Reverse mortgages are for people in a very different situation from me” to “Bee Mortgage could be a responsible option for someone in my circumstances”.

Recommended strategy

Replace the distress stereotype with recognisable, responsible use cases

Show financially capable homeowners using home equity deliberately for needs they can recognise, such as home improvements, supporting family or creating greater flexibility in retirement.

Behavioural principle

People pay more attention to information that reflects their own life, goals and circumstances.

Similarity, self-referencing and identity congruence · Similarity and self-referencing

Applied executions

Website

Make your home work harder for the retirement you want. Explore whether your equity could help with home improvements, family support or greater financial flexibility, while continuing to own and live in your home.

A major home repair. Helping your children. More breathing room in retirement. Concrete circumstances make the category recognisable where a general benefit statement does not.

Homeowners use their equity for many reasons, from making the home easier to live in to helping family or creating more flexibility in retirement.

Normalises deliberate, planned use. Avoid repair, health and family pressure framing, which reinforces the distress stereotype.

Calculator

Could your home equity give you more options? Enter a few details to see an indicative range and whether Bee Mortgage may suit your circumstances.

Approval and evidence notes

Sample copy written against the diagnosed barrier. Every line needs legal, compliance and brand approval before use.

Supporting techniques

Concrete use casesSupporting
Make the product easier to imagine by naming the situations in which it becomes relevant.
Sample execution
Three short use cases on the category page: improving the home, supporting family, creating flexibility in retirement.
Evidence required: Use cases must reflect real Bee Mortgage customer purposes, not invented scenarios.
Social normsSupporting
Show that responsible homeowners consider home equity as one of several retirement funding options.
Sample execution
Thousands of Australian homeowners explore whether their home equity could give them more flexibility in retirement.
Evidence required: A stronger version — “More than 160,000 Australians have used a reverse mortgage or home equity product” — requires a verified, citable source before use.

Best channels

WebsiteEmailPaid acquisitionEligibility tools

Expected behavioural effect

Increase the proportion of suitable homeowners who move from passive category exposure to active self-assessment, such as checking eligibility, using a calculator or requesting more information.

Because relevance is judged early, start with the communications where customers first encounter the category: paid media, landing pages and introductory education.

Continue to Prioritisation