Fin-Tech: How to reinvigorate your brand in a sea of sameness
10 Dec 2019

Robinhood is currently one of the fastest growing online trading platforms. It is popular among Millennials. The key reason – it is commission-free. The company administers fees in the backend. Robinhood set the standard in 2006 by following this market: reinvigorate the market.

However, the traditional DIY investing platforms – Charles Schwab, eTrade, and others have very recently moved to a commission-free method as well. As Robinhood’s unique selling proposition was “Free,” how will it distinguish itself from the competition? The slogan “Say goodbye to commission-free trading” no longer works.

Robinhood also promotes itself as easy to use, but so does the competition (see eTrade’s slogan “Choose E*TRADE for Easy Tools & Research”). For an online category, this sector needs reinvigoration. It might be time to take on research to refresh the DIY investing industry and attract new customers. Here are a few market research methods that could benefit Robinhood and the online investing industry generally.

Secondary Research

Secondary research on the market is vital to understanding what the next direction that your brand needs to differentiate from the rest. This type of research is information that is already out there- some are in the public space, but others exist in a database that you need to pay for. For example, you can use secondary to help evaluate current market trends, sales by different companies, and ad campaigns run by various companies.

When it comes to online investing, there is plenty of available research for Robinhood to separate themselves from the competition. Past advertising campaigns and website traffic of competitors might be one example.

Understand What Your Prospect and Customers are Looking For

DIY investing platforms need to move beyond the functional attributes of cost and ease of use. The key is to understand better who are their customers and what are their ultimate goals when it comes to investing. While older generations, such as Generation X and Baby Boomers, seek stability, many younger generations are more apt to want to save enough money to enjoy experiences. It is vital to understand millennials’ attitudes and how this will impact a fin-tech brand’s strategy. 

Primary research such as focus groups, in-depth interviews, and surveys help determine how to understand the market better. Conducting segmentation research, developing personas, and understanding current brand perceptions are important ways to position the brands better.  In other words, to reinvigorate the market, you have to understand brand perception.

What’s Next for Robinhood?

There is a slew of market research options to find out what the market needs if you want to reinvigorate your brand. When it comes to Robinhood, their success forced their competition to adapt and change their policy and product offerings. Well, now it’s their turn to adapt and to understand that it’s going to take an all-hands-on-deck research approach. What do you think Robinhood should do next? How should fin-tech companies promote themselves?

Want to read more from Provoke Insights, find some more blog posts linked below: 

  1. Research Norms: What are they and what they can tell you
  2. How Black Friday Can Hurt Your Brand
  3. Why Trends are so Important in Marketing
  4. Experiential Marketing & Retail

Read this excerpt for a blog from our series on Generation Alpha!

“Knowing your audience and prospects is a key way to improve your profitability! As a result, different generations have different behaviors, attitudes, and preferences. Thus, understanding the generation gaps will help you understand the needs of your customers. Generations give marketing strategists an easy way to target and focus their methods. 

Baby Boomers do not want to see texting acronyms; they are swayed by clear video, they care about their in-store experiences, and they like to compare prices. On the other hand, Millennials want to care about the product they’re buying, and want to have a positive impact on their community. In addition, Generation Z (those born after Millennials and before 2010) is most influenced by social media, as that’s where they receive most of their news.

There is a new generation on the block! Brands need to know how this audience differs from their current audiences. Provoke Insights will be releasing a three-part blog series to help marketers understand the newest generation, to reinvigorate interest. Generation Alpha, the children of Millennials, are making waves recently in the news. Coupled with their Millennial parents, a marketing buzz has started to precipitate around the arrival of these youngsters. But how do they differ from their parents? In other words, what differences will there be in marketing to Generation Alpha versus marketing to Millennials?”

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September 11th, 2019: 40% of U.S. Millennials prefer crypto investments in the event of a recession: eToro Survey

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