Key
Financial Trends & Competitive Update Market Segmentation Delivery Channels Online Banking Checking
Accounts Deposit
and Investment Services Loan and Mortgage Products
Consumer Lending Small
Business Financial Trends & Competitive Update
Prior to examining consumer research results, SPSG sets the stage by reviewing
key economic statistics affecting the marketing of financial services.
Competitive information from a variety of sources concerning the most recent
marketing strategies and tactics being employed nationally will be examined.
Following this introduction, consumer responses to the following questions
will be explored. Market Segmentation
How do deposit, loan and investment usage and balances differ among RFG’s six
consumer segments? Who are your best targets for which products? What does
anticipated product purchase for the next 12 months look like? In what ways
can an 11-segment consumer model improve marketing efficiency? Delivery Channels
How are consumer channel preference patterns and usage frequency changing?
Trends will be examined for all transaction channels. What is the profile of
each of the channel users? For what purposes do consumers use their ATM/Check
cards as opposed to alternative payment methods? What methods do consumers use
to pay their monthly bills (including all variations of electronic payments
available)? What value do consumers place on prepaid gift cards? Online Banking
What does the profile of the online banker look like? How important to
consumers is online banking when selecting a PFI? Has online banking changed
users’ channel usage, if so, how? What is the average consumer’s comfort level
in performing online financial activities (from simply gathering information
to making online financial product/service purchases)? For what purposes do
online bankers use personal financial management software? What impact has the
E-sign Act had on consumers? What features would consumers find most
attractive as part of an e-banking package design? What online banking
features are valued most? Checking
When choosing a PFI, what are the most important factors affecting consumer
choice? How do primary and secondary checking accounts differ in usage,
features, and selection criteria? What factors influenced consumers when they
closed or moved their last checking account? How will the new truncated check
Act (Check 21) going into affect later this year influence consumer check
writing in light of the quick payment turnaround (decreased float)? What
alternatives will consumers prefer to use, if any? How prevalent are checking
account fee reversals, and how are they generally initiated? Deposit and Investment Services
Who will open and who will add to deposit/investment accounts in the next 12
months? What rate increase would cause consumers to move a deposit account?
For what rate increase did consumers move their most recent account? What CD
features do they value most? Over the next several years, what do consumers
consider their most important financial goals?
How have market conditions over the past 2 years affected consumers’ investing
behavior? How do they perceive the changes that have occurred in the stock
market? What are the reasons consumers don’t use the investment services of
their PFI as opposed to other providers? What attributes do consumers value in
an investment product provider? Across investment attributes, how do consumers
rate different providers? What features do consumers want their financial plan
to include, and what is their delivery preference? What does the retirement
rollover audience look like in the next 12 months, and where will they put
their money? Has recent publicity affected consumer perception regarding
mutual fund companies? Loan and Mortgage Products
What type of loans do consumers plan on applying for in the next 12 months? Do
consumers feel they can negotiate an interest rate on a loan account?
Historically, how long have consumers kept their HELOC, and what are their
future intentions? Why did consumers close out their last HELOC? What type of
equity products do consumers prefer and what factors influence their lender
decision? Among interest rate, introductory offer rate and annual fee, what
level of importance do consumers place on each? Consumer Lending
What were the most important reasons consumers gave for opening their most
recent charge card? How do consumers describe their general practices in
handling monthly credit card balances? On a monthly basis, what does the
typical consumer charge on their credit card? What percent of these charges
are related to business vs. personal? Small Business
How do small business banking customers choose their financial service
providers and how do they evaluate them? How do business customers differ by
size in terms of product usage and preferences? What does this profile look
like?
