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Even with a crystal ball, it would be difficult for anyone to tell exactly when the housing crisis will have hit the bottom. As consumers have lost confidence in the financial industry, it’s become more and more difficult to overcome their aversion and skepticism. In the past, consumers wanted lines of credit as if it were a birthright.
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It is unfortunate, but is has become fairly common for many financial institutions to have customers that are struggling to hang onto their homes. Financial institutions have acted by developing new programs in order to offer assistance to these consumers. Governmental officials have also put some new initiatives into place in order to improve the situation.
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What effects are we seeing in today’s credit card industry as a result of the current economic conditions? Another question in many minds is what trends might we expect to see in the future?
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Most Americans never dreamed that they would be in the situation that we, as a nation, are currently in. With debts and mortgages causing many sleepless nights, financial institutions’ customers are feeling overwhelmed with their current financial situation and would like to seek help and advice.
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Consumers wary of the economy and uncertain of the future of the nation are taking the safe road and deciding to save their money. In light of this recent trend, many banks are moving to provide incentives to bring in new customers that are interested in secure savings that will increase their funds.
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As Whitney Houston once sang, “I believe the children are our future. Teach them well and let them lead the way.” If children are the future of the financial industry, now is as good a time as any to teach them fiscal responsibility. After all they will be the future bankers, traders, and policy-makers.
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Founded in February 2004, Facebook is a social networking site that enables friends, family and groups from around the globe to connect with each other in a way that has changed the manner in which we communicate.
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Every sales person knows that referrals are prized opportunities. For a financial institution they rank especially high, and with good reason. There is perhaps no better indicator of a customer’s willingness to do business with your institution than when they inquire about a product or service. Referrals can emerge from a general customer inquiry, or better yet, a specific request.
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You’ve always heard that it costs 5 to 7 times more to get a new customer than it does to cross-sell your products to an existing customer. It seems like this is true, but have you ever run the numbers to prove it? Probably not!
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How can the banking and credit union industries help small businesses survive an economic down turn? Financial institutions need to stay cognizant of how much these businesses contribute to the economy. As larger companies suffer a decrease in sales and revenue, smaller businesses also find themselves with a decrease in customers in their stores.
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More and more financial institutions are adopting the practice of onboarding, and with good reason. Onboarding is a series of structured contacts directed toward new customers with the primary goal of keeping those customers well beyond their one year anniversary.
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With all the benefits that can be derived by preparing children on the importance of savvy money management, we can’t afford not to be on top of this. Children should be educated early on regarding healthy financial habits just as they need to be taught healthy eating habits.
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Consumer confidence can be the difference between a thriving economy and one that is struggling. With the economic recession becoming a reality and long-standing companies that were a household name becoming obsolete, consumer savings is at an all time high. According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, personal savings in January 2009 rose 1.1 percent over December 2008.
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The current economy has caused many consumers to scrutinize and rethink their financial arrangements, including where they bank. At first glance, the best strategy to deal with this challenge (and potential loss of customers) is to move retention efforts front and center.
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