Please paraphraze, meticulously, the following article : A. Background Information

Mobile bank applications are a crucial time saver, for all the students of the world. The fact that someone can operate their bank account from their phone is something that back in the days where not exactly planning to have. Someone can send, receive and manage money from their bank account, wherever they are. This is so important when a student lives away from his parents. Having to go every week to the bank, so students could check their balance or withdraw cash so they could manage it better, is certainly not the future and secondly is very time consuming, if a car is not available or there is no ATM in the area. Banks needed to find a way, so people didnt bother employees for their everyday needs. Banks needed to find an automated system where people could control their bank account from anywhere. This system helps everyone, either the customer or the employee. Having an app where customers have their valuable banking information and the ability to send money anytime anywhere, requires a heavy protection system. Having a well developed application that works the way it is supposed to, is a game changer for a business. A well developed application can attract people exponentially, your app will be recommended by more and more people every day. A bad application can lead you to a dead end because eventually fewer and fewer people will use your services, all the money and effort spent on this project is being wasted.

Having spoken with executive employees from Eurobank, we understood that a problem is occuring from their application because the people using it are far less than expected. In order to understand where the problem is coming from we have to conduct a marketing research, where

the goal is to find the solution of why this problem is occurring and how Eurobank can overcome that problem.

B. Research objectives

This research was conducted upon Eurobanks request, in order to discover the root of the issue described above. Eurobank managers clarified that their target audience regarding this research is college students using the banks mobile application. The company sought to understand what is causing college students to not use the mobile application as much as expected, in order to ultimately increase usage and enhance the user experience. Therefore, the main objectives of this research are:

• To understand consumer attitudes, perceptions and feelings regarding Eurobanks mobile application

• To examine the quality of the overall user experience among college students

• To understand which features of the app are viewed as flaws and which ones maximize

  the apps effectiveness and efficiency

• To discover new features that users would want the app to offer

• To understand which aspects of the problem need to be researched further

• To increase marketing efforts according to the target audiences needs.

  C. Data & Methodology

  Regarding the research method that was used to gather the necessary data, we decided that the most suitable method to reach our objectives was conducting a focus group. Focus groups can be a key tool in understanding consumer attitudes and perceptions. Through effective group

dynamics, we are able to gather insights on consumers hidden motives and emotions that would not be revealed through another research method. Therefore, conducting a focus group would produce the most valuable information regarding the specific problem. Considering that Eurobanks target was college students, specifically students of the American College of Thessaloniki, we approached people that are currently attending ACT, ensuring that we had a variety of ethnicities. The nine participants that were chosen were between 18 and 22 years old, four of whom were males and the other five females.

The focus group took place in a study room in Bissell Library, on Tuesday, March 10th. It started at 16:00 and lasted one and a half hours. The moderator of the focus group was provided with a list of questions, which is included in the appendix, in order to monitor and lead the discussion. The questions were divided into two categories: first participants were asked some general questions about which bank they use and why and, after being given some time to look through Eurobanks mobile application and try some of its features, they were asked some questions specifically about the application and its ease of use and perceived usefulness.

II. Analysis A. Presentation of collected data

Through the first set of questions that participants were asked during the focus group, we sought to gather some initial information about the competitors applications and the students perceptions regarding their offerings. This way we could create a map in order to determine Eurobanks position compared to its competitors. It appears that participants viewed mobile

applications as a significant part of their banks services and the majority of them agreed that they use their banks mobile application almost on a daily basis. In the last question of this set, which stated What are the features you find determinant in a banks mobile application? participants mentioned ease of use, usefulness of options provided and customization as the main features they value in a mobile application, while the majority of females also mentioned design.

After the first set of questions was completed, participants were provided with a mobile phone that had Eurobanks application installed, and were given some time to look through it and try out its features, without knowing which bank this application belongs to. After ten minutes, the moderator started addressing the second set of questions, which was focused solely on Eurobanks application and the participants comments. The participants were asked how they felt about the application they had just used, the majority of which said that the application was overall decent but had some flaws that interfered with the user experience. Regarding the features that participants found useful, several of them highlighted the ease of monitoring the specifics of their transactions and their remaining balance, as well as the ease of making transactions through the application. Six of them agreed that it was unnecessary to show all linked accounts in the main screen, without users being able to change this. Participants also noted that the application did not provide users with the option to save contact information nor to customize the application according to the users needs. These were perceived as major drawbacks, since participants felt that it would be much easier for them to save an IBAN in the application, or make any adjustments to its structure, according to their needs. Finally, all of the

participants agreed that the overall experience of using the application was positive, but it could be much better if those specific features were addressed.

B. Key insights

After a thorough evaluation of the data provided by the focus group, it is essential to point out the most significant insights that Eurobank should take under consideration when reconstructing its mobile application.

• Which Greek bank are you currently using? How long have you been using this bank?

  • 5/9 participants were already using Eurobank

  • Familiar with the application and its flaws

• Was your banks mobile application a reason why you chose it?

  A banks mobile application is highly significant for a college student, affects his/her decision

• What are some features you found useful?

  • Ease of monitoring the specifics of transactions and remaining balance

  • Ease of making transactions through the application

• Were there any features that the application did not have or you could not find them?

  • The app did not provide users with the option to save contact information

  • Inability to customize the application according to the users needs

• Are there any additional features that you would want this application to have?

Ability to customize the main screen Are there any additional comments you would like to make regarding the

application?

Participants who are users of the application also noted that it automatically changes your password every two-three months to increase security, but this creates an issue because then they cannot log into the app themselves.

Taking this data under consideration, we can come to a conclusion regarding the issues that prevent many college students from using Eurobank and its mobile application. The most significant features that need to be addressed are associated with the need for customization, the students desire to be able to save contacts within the application and the fact that some users seem to have an issue with Eurobanks security approach in changing the applications password every few months. However, it is important to keep in mind that the results of a focus group are very effective for brainstorming and gaining valuable insight on a specific problem and its aspects, but this data should not be viewed as a generalization that represents the whole target group. It is important for managers to understand that additional research should be conducted before taking any action with regards to the information gathered.

III. Conclusion A. Solution to the problem

As explained in the analysis of the data, the results of this focus group should provide management with key insights regarding some flaws that college students possibly notice in

Eurobanks mobile application. The main insights gathered by this study are the need for customization, the students desire to be able to save contacts within the application and the fact that some users seem to have an issue with Eurobanks security approach in changing the applications password every few months. In order for Eurobank to be able to effectively address these issues, we suggest that a more targeted research is conducted, specifically examining college students' perceptions and attitudes towards these features. It is important that the company has all the required information before making a decision, and this decision should not depend solely on the results provided by this focus group.

B. Managerial implications

After evaluating the data provided by this focus group, Eurobank management should decide what needs to be examined in order to get more specific information regarding the highlighted features. Provided that all the necessary information is gathered through additional research, the company should start making adjustments to the application, in order to meet consumer needs. It is crucial that the company redesigns the application, offering users the ability to customize their main screen in order to show the data they need and providing them with the option to save IBANs as contacts in the application in order to simplify the transaction process. Also, Eurobank needs to re-evaluate its security measures, since it appears that some users are dissatisfied with the automatic change of the applications password. The company should invest in Research & Development to ensure that all the adjustments that will be made in the mobile application are aligned with the target audiences needs and wants. Moreover, the company should increase marketing efforts in order to communicate these changes with the desired target audience. This

way, college students will be informed about how Eurobank addressed their needs, and will be motivated to use the mobile application or, if they do not have an account already, start using Eurobank as their bank. Finally, it is important that Eurobank regularly distributes user satisfaction surveys, to constantly monitor consumer attitudes and make any necessary adjustments and maintain the applications success.