Chief marketing officer at Liberty Thabang Ramogase says that the need for Liberty to reinvent itself as a more customer-focused brand has been a long time coming.

"Liberty used to be famous for its innovation, its market-firsts," says Ramogase. "But clients are constantly evolving and so is the world. We should constantly be evolving too. People need more than just new products, advice and expertise."

"If they're trusting a financial services provider with their money, they need to know that the people in charge of such important investments care about them," adds Ramogase.

The provider says that, while the flame logo still represents its desire to give clients the freedom to grow their wealth and leave a proud legacy for their families, there has been work in the background to shift towards more transparency, more time for clients and more giving back to communities.

"[We will] 'be really in it' with the people of South Africa and clients holistically," says Ramogase. "While times might have changed, our purpose remains steadfast and that is to improve people's lives by making their financial freedom possible."

Liberty founder Donald Gordon says that he came to this narrative on the back of three behavioural principles. These include:
  1. I will remember that I am here to help people leave a legacy for their families
  2. I will remember that Liberty is not just our name, but what we do, and
  3. I will remember to bring humanity to what I do every day.
"We've, therefore, had to go back to go forward. Ours is a business founded on humanity and it is in the truth of our humanity that our business finds its purpose, its north star," says Ramogase.

A bank of audio-visual content, including a television advert to signal this intent to the market, was launched on Saturday, 5 September. It will run across various media platforms for a few weeks. According to the provider, it is a 'humanifesto' to focus more on connecting with its clients and their communities.

"Being 'in it with you' means leaning into human conversation and expressing interest. We want clients to know there's a holistic interest, not just about your finances. The Liberty Financial Adviser is the centre of this conversation, being the human manifestation of Liberty, to learn what you're like as a human being and all of your idiosyncrasies; and this is evident in the execution of the advert," says the provider. 

According to Liberty, the evolution of the Liberty call centre into a contact centre is one of the first major changes that the organisation made, training its staff to ensure that being 'in it with you' is not just a mantra, but a way of showing up.

As the first point of entry for existing clients and customers, the contact centre aims to efficiently connect with each caller with the required service without delay, considering the personal circumstances of each person.

"This will allow us to be better aligned with our clients' planning for the future and help them set their goals. That way, we can let them know if there are any products or services we can provide to help them. We can co-author their financial freedom together and hold their hopes and dreams in our hands as if they were our own," says Ramogase.

Liberty has indicated that it is also planning to re-examine its policies and 'demystify the language that it uses' in its agreements to be more accessible to people across the market.

"Trading on the inequality of information shouldn't be the norm for the insurance industry. We want to cross that chasm, help people get the knowledge they need to make informed decisions without the difficult language," Ramogase concludes. 

Liberty is working with Salesforce, an American software company that specialises in customer relationship management, and will be using a new programme suite in future to help streamline digital processes to help its employees focus more on the human side of dealing with clients.

Further partnerships with other tech giants have already been established to help the company make its data more cloud-based, meaning higher security and better data analysis in general, says Liberty.

A new initiative will also see the FSP use information from its client's social media (with their permission) to determine if any major life events mentioned would warrant a change in investment or policies for each individual client.

For more information, visit www.liberty.co.za. You can also follow Liberty on Facebook, Twitter or on Instagram.