During our most recent Raddon Research Insights study, The Deposit Mindset: How Consumers are Thinking about Savings and Investments, we found that while consumers anticipated new account openings, they also delivered. Not only is this a great opportunity to market your deposit accounts, but it is also a great time to showcase your overall abilities.

Figure 1: Location of online account opening by age segment 

Half of those who opened an account did so at a major bank

Source: Deposits and Investments, Raddon Research Insights, 2024

Before you can showcase your products and services properly, it may be in your best interest to internally review your processes, such as account opening. You can see in Figure 1 that major national banks are drawing in the majority of consumers when it comes to online account opening. What are they doing that is so special? By taking the time to do some market research, you may find ways to improve your search engine optimization, how easy it is to find deposit account products on your website, the length of time it takes to open an account from start to finish, wording, how many clicks it takes to get to certain areas of your website and so much more. By seeing what your competitors are doing, especially major banks, you can see how you differ as well as areas to edit for the best user experience and your institution’s visibility.

Figure 2: Top three challenges while opening an account by generational segment

Consumers continue to look for a streamlined and quick account opening process

Source: Deposits and Investments, Raddon Research Insights, 2024

Market research and internal reviews don’t have to stop with online processes, either. Regardless of whether they are opening an account online or in person, consumers want a quick and efficient experience. Among most of the generational segments, the top issue consumers faced when opening an account was how long the process took, as well as the website being difficult to navigate. This goes back to the point of seeing how your process compares to others and finding ways to reduce time and effort to avoid fatigue when opening an account with your institution. By finding ways to reduce time in this area, you can also market that to draw the attention of new accountholders.

Figure 3: Percentage of those who are willing to speak with a financial advisor at their PFI by generational segment

More than half of Gen Z, Millennials, and even Gen X are ready and willing to speak with an advisor at their PFI​

Source: Deposits and Investments, Raddon Research Insights, 2024

Aside from showcasing your account opening abilities, consumers not only need a variety of products and services, they are also waiting for the opportunity to use them. Often, when we think of offering advisory services, the goal is to have these conversations with consumers who have a higher income or are reaching certain life stages, such as retirement. While those demographics can benefit from meeting with an advisor at your institution, we can see that they are not the only folks who desire this opportunity. In fact, the youngest generation in our study, Gen Z, has the highest number of consumers who would be willing to speak to an advisor at their PFI. 

Figure 4: Percentage of those who are willing to speak with a financial advisor at their PFI by PFI segment

Nearly 6 in ten of major bank consumers are willing to consult an advisor at the PFI  

Source: “Deposits and Investments,” Raddon Research Insights, 2024

The Good News/Bad News Outlook

Looking at that same question from a different perspective, 59% of consumers who are willing to consult an advisor at their PFI claim a major bank as their primary institution. While that number is noticeable, it does not discredit the 43% who would be willing to consult an advisor at a credit union or the 35% at a community bank. Is this due to perception and current knowledge of products and services offered at community-based institutions? Are your accountholders and potential future accountholders aware that your institution offers advisory services? This is when education and conversations really come into play. We know that many are willing and ready to speak with an advisor at their PFI, so let’s make sure we are educating our consumers about our capabilities in this area. Regardless of the consumer’s generation, there is something to be gained from consulting with an advisor at their current primary institution.

Where to go from here:

• People are delivering on their promise to open new deposit accounts; it is time to market to current and future accountholders to help them reach their savings goals
• Be sure you are looking internally at processes to ensure they are as quick and efficient for consumers as possible
• Education is power: Without knowledge of your capabilities as a community-based institution, consumers may not know the number of products and services available to them 

Consumers are willing and ready to have conversations about products and services; it is our job as the trusted institution to initiate them.