One strategy to recapture lost fee income has already been reported: Bank of America will charge people for using tellers and receiving paper statements. 

Certainly higher balances will preclude those charges but how high is high.  Will there be potentially profitable BoA customers who will be looking to change banks because of their pricing and distribution strategies?

What will TD Bank, America’s most convenient bank, do now that they have invested heavily in establishing a large branch network?

Will Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa still be opening branch doors and talking about hours and service in 2011? 

Or will they be standing in front of ATMs touting that convenience and the ease of online banking?

Will community banks follow Bank of America’s lead to focus their customers on electronic banking?  Then there is the little issue of increasing fees for services.

Chances are consumers know a whole lot more about the Patriot’s upcoming season, QB Tom Brady and Gisele Bundchen, than Elizabeth Warren or the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.  Until faced with changes their financial institution introduces due to the regulations, doesn’t it seem most will not be aware of about bank regulations? 

But what will they do when they find out about changes their bank is making because of the regulations.

More importantly, what will it take to keep good customers and perhaps attract business from banks like Bank of America in the new regulatory era? 

Is it 24/7 mobile phone access?  No doubt a segment finds that service attractive and the segment may grow as the new regulatory environment unfolds.  However, studies conducted by Bannon & Co. reveal a large segment has serious security concerns about banking on their cell phones and another segment that is just plain computer adverse. 

Other studies have shown that people of all ages do more of their banking at a branch than any alternative banking approach.  So while online banking has increased, people still use their bank’s office.  This trend has more or less held over the years even as the use of online banking has grown although there have been differences among markets.

And let’s not forget about service.  As long as their banker can be trusted to provide service levels consumers expect, will pricing still cause some good customers to leave their bank? 

If various strategies are under consideration, it might be a good idea to get reliable information from consumers regarding their opinions about electronic banking alternatives compared with traditional forms of banking, pricing, and more generally what is expected from their bank.  There are various research approaches to address these issues.

• Focus panels and in-depth personal interviews can assess preferences for electronic banking and/or traditional methods as well as probe the importance of other elements when selecting/switching banks. 
• Satisfaction studies gauge service delivery excellence on the platform, teller line and lending areas, which help ensure quality service is maintained. 
• Consumer awareness and perception surveys gauge top of mind awareness and impressions of financial institutions.  That information can refine communications approaches to be most effective.  If awareness and perceptions are relatively low, the classic McGraw Hill campaign still rings true.   “If they don’t know you how are they going to do business with you?”

If your institution has questions as to how best compete in the new regulatory age, the viewpoint of customers and consumers can lead to the most viable answers.

Bill Bannon is President of Bannon & Co. a marketing research firm that has served the marketing information needs of the financial community for over twenty years.  He can be reached at 978-460-0811 or bill@bannonco.com.