Mixed-methods | User acquisition | 0 --> 1 launch
Company: IG Group | Markets: Australia & UAE
01
Business Problem
From ambiguity to direction
IG was expanding from a niche leveraged trading platform into consumer investment products, with crypto as one of its first major bets in Australia and UAE.
The team was starting from almost zero. The company needed to go from genuine ambiguity to a clear target segment, a prioritised feature set, and a credible go-to-market strategy.
WHICH MEANT ANSWERING THESE THREE QUESTIONS
01
Who are we building for?
02
What do they value?
03
Where does the opportunity lie?
Open questions
01
Who are we building for?
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What are the different types of crypto investors?
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Which segment of crypto investors was IG best placed to win?
02
What do they value?
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What did each segment values in a crypto investment platform — and where were they underserved?
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Was breadth of coin coverage and feature breath a real driver of choice, or a proxy for credibility?
03
Where does the opportunity lie?
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What would differentiate IG from competitor exchanges and brokers?
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What features genuine MVP requirements, or can be scoped as phase-two?
02
Research Approach
Breadth, then depth, then scale
Three phases run back to back - qualitative breadth, then depth
PHASE 1 - QUALITATIVE
Discovery Research
Goal:
First real map of crypto investors landscape and segments.
Method:
Broad interviews across crypto investors varying by frequency, experience and behaviour.
PHASE 2 - QUALITATIVE
Opportunity Mapping
Goal: Dig deeper into the opportunities and gaps surfaced in Phase 1.
Method: Structured Phase 1 findings into an opportunity solution tree, then interviewed priority user segments on the top-ranked opportunities: feature needs, competitor pain points and underserved moments.
PHASE 3 - QUANTITATIVE
Quantitative survey
Goal: Increase confidence in product direction, prioritise MVP features and quantitatively validate the user segments.
Method: Quantitative survey across Australia and UAE.
03
Outcomes and Impact
Insights that shaped the product
WHO ARE WE BUILDING FOR?
Build for the long-term holder first, with a clear path for the active trader.
Research identified two archetypes IG was well placed to serve. Each round fleshed them out further - how each segment trades (scheduled, long-term buying versus regular, active trading) to what each needs from a platform (simplicity & reassurance versus advanced tools).
WHAT DO THEY VALUE?
Regulated credibility rather than feature parity.
Trust was driven by local regulatory presence, banking relationships and the credibility of an established multi-product business — not by crypto-native feature depth.
If users can't see the fee, they assume the worst.
Most beta users couldn't tell what they were being charged, and that uncertainty alone made the platform feel pricier than competitors.
WHERE DOES THE OPPORTUNITY LIE?
WHAT WENT IN THE MVP?
Automated investing and alerting ahead of advanced trading tools.
Traders ranked simple automation and price alerting above more complex tooling. Portfolio performance reporting surfaced as a unmet need. Research also surfaced an unprompted need for better tax support.
WHAT STAYED OUT?
Two proposed engagement features dropped from MVP.
Research helped de-prioritise features the team assumed as critical for the MVP launch. Across the different segments, they were identified as lower priority.
Impact
The team went from genuinely not knowing where to begin to a clear target segment, a prioritised MVP feature set and a roadmap for phase two features.
IN MARKET
One of IG's first 0→1 mass consumer product launches — live in Australia and met its active-user target.
ACROSS THE LIFECYCLE
Insights informed strategy from initial concept through beta iteration to go-to-market.
SET THE PRECEDENT
Raised the role of research across APAC teams, with stakeholders now requesting similar approach for future launches.