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Fall 2009 Research Issues
New Research Highlights
Key
Financial Trends & Competitive Update
The Economy's Impact on Consumer Behavior
The
Evolving Financial Services Industry
Delivery
Channels & Online Banking
Deposit, Investment & Insurance Products
Lending &
Equity Products
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Are customers of the
Big Four financial institutions
more or less satisfied than non-customers? What does this
mean for other institutions?
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How quickly is the
mobile banking market
growing?
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How deeply has the recession
impacted long-term attitudes and
behaviors regarding spending, saving, borrowing and
investing?
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How should
social networking fit
into your overall communication strategy?
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Which
checking account pricing changes do
consumers find acceptable and which would cause them to
seek another checking provider?
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How do consumers’ financial
attitudes and behaviors differ between the various
generational segments?
Financial Trends &
Competitive Update:
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 questions in
the following areas will be explored.
The Economy's Impact on Consumer Behavior:
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How much longer do consumers feel the
economic downturn will last and how has it affected them personally?
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How can financial institutions best adapt to
these behavioral changes?
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How do deposit, loan and investment product
usage and balances differ among RFG’s six consumer segments? Based on
current product ownership, which additional products are consumers most
likely to purchase?
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How can we use behavioral differences based
on attitudes toward financial services to better target the needs of three
key lifestyle segments: loyalty conscious, price conscious and technology
conscious?
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What is the best possible media to use for
marketing specific accounts?
The Evolving Financial Services Industry:
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Have government actions taken to bolster
the largest banks (including infused funds and support of
mergers/acquisitions) affected consumer attitudes toward these
institutions?
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Over time, what type of improvements have
financial institutions made in cross-selling efforts at the time of
new account openings? What type of success level have these efforts
had?
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What changes have consumers made to avoid
non sufficient funds or overdraft fees? How prevalent are these
changes compared to the past and what are the implications for the
future?
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What alternatives to “free checking (no
requirements)” would consumers be most likely to accept (direct
deposit, minimum balance, required debit transactions, fees, etc.)?
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Would offering a debit card rewards
program or providing ATM surcharge refunds retain customers in the
event their free checking account (without requirements) was
discontinued?
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In a world of trade-offs, what
combination of checking offers would consumers choose (i.e., direct
deposit or ACH transfer required vs. not required, minimum balances
required (varied levels), branch networks (normal vs. extensive), ATM
surcharge refunds (automatically provided vs. none provided), etc.)?
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What is the best way to reach prospective
customers for checking accounts?
Delivery Channels & Online Banking:
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As the closing of branches is often the
case in mergers/acquisitions, how would consumers react if their
branch were to close? What increase in travel time would be acceptable
to them (if any) before they would switch banking providers?
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Where is the greatest growth occurring in
financial activities performed online, and what changes can financial
institutions make to support/promote them?
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What types of mobile banking delivery
methods do consumers prefer (e-mail, text, downloaded banking
applications, Internet browsers, etc.)? How do consumers most use
their Web-enabled cell phone? How do mobile bankers communicate with
their financial institution? What are the barriers to rapid expansion
of mobile banking? What’s the best use of this information for
financial institutions planning mobile banking offerings, and what
solution best deploys limited resources in support of this initiative?
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What social networking Websites and blog
Websites do consumers use most frequently? Have they ever read or
interacted with a financial institution’s social networking site? To
what extent have they given or received financial advice on either
social networking or blog Websites? Are they likely to do so in the
future? What level of confidence would they place in information
gained in this manner?
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Would consumers place a higher value on a
combined debit and credit card rewards program than on separate
programs?
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What type of alerts are consumers most
likely to sign up for in the next 12 months?
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How are consumer channel preference
patterns and usage frequency continuing to change?
Deposits, Investments & Insurance Services:
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For those with money sitting in a
liquid/readily available account earmarked for future movement, what will
the tipping factor be for them to invest in the stock market or move to
another deposit account or investment opportunity? Are they more likely to
seek deposit or investment accounts for these funds?
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What type of financial activities have
consumers engaged in since October of 2008?
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What type of penetration levels do Internet
only savings accounts have? How did consumers who opened an Internet only
savings account find out about the account? Would the presence of local
branches in the market have an affect on the likelihood of consumers to
open an Internet only savings account at that institution?
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For those so-inclined, how much higher would
the interest rate have to be to coax consumers to move their funds to an
Internet-only bank?
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What is the minimum rate increase required to
lure a depositor from one institution to another? Does this rate differ
for different types of accounts (CDs, MMAs, savings, checking)?
Lending & Equity Products:
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What type of credit actions have consumers
been experiencing? In the past 12 months, how many have been turned down
for a loan or credit card and what type of institutions and loans were
involved in their denial?
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Where will consumers turn for credit in the
future, will they look to the same provider for all their needs, or turn
to different providers based on the type of loan being sought.
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Based on what prompted their vehicle
purchases in the past, is there a pent-up need emerging for vehicle
purchases? How can financial institutions position themselves to
capitalize on future car loans?
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How many consumers have refinanced their most
recent mortgage, and how many have cashed out a portion of the equity when
they did so? How do continuing prospects for refinancing look?
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What is the best way to reach prospective
customers for specific loan accounts? To insure the best results, should
you use the same marketing media for equity products as you would for
refinancing?
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How do today’s credit card balances compare
with the balances one year ago?
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