Andrew Vahrenkamp is responsible for Raddon Research Insights, Raddon’s national consumer research program. A former finance and marketing executive in the credit union industry, he uses his 20 years of experience to find trends and patterns in consumer behavior and to develop solutions for institutions, particularly in their strategic planning, product development, and marketing strategy.
It is difficult, if not impossible, to serve customers in any industry without understanding how they view your company, products and service. The customer experience (or member experience for the credit union industry) is paramount for ensuring repeat business, and as we know from our Performance Analytics program, institutions that get repeat business are most likely to be high performers.
Marketers and product managers at financial institutions know that a product’s features and benefits can make or break that product. As a result, institutions spend significant time and energy measuring their products’ fit in the competitive landscape.
Recently, Kroger made big news by refusing to accept Visa credit cards at some of their stores in western states. “Visa has been misusing its position and charging retailers excessive fees for a long time,” said Mike Schlotman, Kroger’s executive vice president and CFO. “Visa’s credit card fees are higher than any other credit card brand that we accept. Visa’s excessive fees and unfairness cannot continue to go unchecked.”
Every year, Raddon conducts nationwide research of consumers and small businesses to understand their motivations, preferences and behaviors in banking. We include our discoveries in four comprehensive reports: Deposit Insights, Lending Insights, Payments and Channels Insights and Small Business Insights. Subscribers to the Raddon Research Insights program receive these four studies as well as an invitation to a webinar giving highlights and strategic recommendations.
Many banks and credit unions rely on indirect vehicle lending as a sizeable component of their earning asset mix. However, pressure from a variety of sources should make institutions reconsider its role in that mix.
In our recent study for Raddon Research Insights, “Self-Drive My Car: Buying and Financing in an Uber World,” we look at ways technology is influencing consumers’ behavior in buying and financing vehicles. The trends are not positive for lenders.
A significant factor in building an institution’s brand is the culture generated by its employees. Managing employees was a key element in several popular breakout sessions at this year’s Raddon Conference. Here are six key takeaways on the topic.
It’s not a Raddon Conference unless data is on the agenda, and the keynote sessions of this conference highlighted the opportunity effective data management can provide. Here are seven key takeaways for financial institutions about big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning.
Another Raddon conference is in the books, and what an event it was! So many factors came together to make it exceptional – insightful keynote speakers, engaging breakout sessions, Raddon Rocket cocktails, reasonably good Chicago weather – that everyone involved had a blast.
If you didn’t make it this year, be sure to plan for next year’s event. In the meantime, here are seven key takeaways from the 2018 conference about the industry and the economy.
Millennials should be the best borrowers for banks and credit unions, yet student loans are crippling their ability to borrow. Andrew Vahrenkamp from Raddon walks through what financial institutions can do to help boost this crucial borrowing segment.
Community banks and credit unions have done poorly in attracting Hispanic customers. Andrew Vahrenkamp from Raddon, explains why and offers some possible ways to build relationships with this strong and growing market segment.
We are approaching strategic planning season again, and the competitive environment has not simplified for most financial institutions. This business never seems to get easier, does it? As institutions try to balance growth and profitability, here are five big questions to consider. To get our full insights in each of these areas and much more, consider attending our second annual Raddon Conference this November 5-7 in Chicago!
Market economics suggest that the price of a good or service is linked to where supply meets demand. When demand for a good goes up, the price can go up; the reverse is true as well. That’s why customer loyalty is so important to your long-term success. When your loyalty falls, you must either lower your loan rates or raise your deposit rates to compensate for that reduced demand.
Eighteen months ago, we launched our new Raddon Research Insights program with a study entitled “Has the American Dream for Millennials Been Shattered?”
Free checking is dying. Banks are reducing their branch networks, with 93% of the closures occurring in zip codes with below-average incomes. Transitioning to digital channels is leaving those Americans without access to technology behind. As we noted last year,
Interchange makes up nearly half of all non-interest income for institutions in Raddon analyses, but P2P and other payments disruptors threaten that revenue stream. Andrew Vahrenkamp, Senior Research Analyst at Raddon, asks why most banks do not have a strategy to meet this threat.
The financial press has been fairly outspoken about rising rates. Given the Fed’s persistence in raising the Fed Funds rate, we should expect this level of reporting, but has that concept filtered down to the American public?
The Federal Reserve has raised the Fed Funds rates multiple times over the past two years. Banks and credit unions have so far resisted raising their deposit rates to match, but are consumers eagerly paying attention, waiting for those rates to shoot up?
Recent years have seen an explosion in new digital payment methods and delivery channels. But are these new mechanisms replacing or merely supporting existing consumer behavior and preferences?
In Raddon’s recent study, Payments Insights: Rise of the Digital Pioneers, we find that consumers are increasingly engaged in payments technology, and more importantly, technology is driving some consumers to look away from traditional banking players.
Declining overdraft income makes lower income households challenging to serve profitably. Andrew Vahrenkamp, Senior Research Analyst at Raddon, gives some ideas on how to serve these consumers effectively and efficiently.
At Raddon, we often state that age and income are the best predictors for how a household will consume financial services. Where someone is in their life determines whether they are a young borrower or an older saver, better than their generation does. After all, Baby Boomers might be depositors looking for retirement now, but forty years ago, they were the ne’er-do-well young borrowers discoing on Saturday Night Fever.
