RFG - Small Business National Research

Effect of the Economy On Small Business:

What toll has the economic downturn taken on the average small business? Learn from the economic indicators presented on:

small business’ interest rate expectations going forward,
which business actions or cutbacks made by firms to weather the downturn are on the rise and which are declining,
what sales level trends and future sales projections for small businesses look like, and
how small businesses differ regarding their rate of recovery during the downturn.

Which small businesses are weathering the downturn best?

How do firms feel about their financial institution’s economic support of their community, and the support and assistance available for businesses during the downturn?

Business Development (Growth & Retention):

What factors make firms likely to stay with their current provider? What factors make them likely to change providers?
How difficult do small businesses say it is to switch primary providers?
What does the business loan pipeline look like? What type of loans are firms anticipating in the next year?
What attitude do firms currently have regarding lending opportunities for small businesses?
What sources of information do firms use to gather information on a business loan or line of credit? Is your financial institution using the best sources to reach them?
What forms of business funding are on the rise and which are declining?
In addition to their primary financial institution, with what other types of financial institutions do small businesses have accounts? What reasons do they give for using multiple financial institutions?
What is the prevalence of “mixed” relationships (business and personal accounts at the same institution) among small businesses? What do business owners tell us it would take to acquire their mixed relationship?

The Evolution of Checking:

With interest-earning checking now open to all firms, what rate will entice/encourage defection from competitors? What about cannibalization of current accounts?
What requirements are firms willing to meet to maintain free checking?
What requirements do they find acceptable to receive interest on their checking account?

Debit Card Strategies:

How will small businesses alter their debit card use if debit card fees/requirements are imposed (i.e., per usage fees, monthly/yearly fees, minimum balance requirements, etc.)?
When given different options to choose from, which debit card fees/requirements do small businesses find most and least objectionable?
Do firms believe that legislation lowering debit card interchange fees for processing customer payments will result in lower operating expenses for them?
What is the current penetration of debit card rewards programs? Do firms feel these programs have had an influence on their card usage/preference to use?
What value do firms place on debit card coverage for insufficient funds?

Competing with the Major Small Business Bank Providers:

How can your institution use the major banks’ customer profiles (comprehensive information provided by their customers) to successfully compete with these banking providers (BofA, Chase, Citi, Wells and PNC)?
How do satisfaction ratings among all financial institutions compare with each other?
Are the major banking providers more or less susceptible to customer defection? Why? Do defection factors differ among major bank and other types of providers?

Electronic Strategy Development:

Base your mobile banking and social networking resource allocation on market intelligence.
How do mobile business bankers differ from their counterparts? At what rate is mobile banking growing among small businesses?
How deeply are small businesses involved with social networking, and what implications can we draw about social networking?

Segmentation - The Competitive Advantage: