Credit Union Millennial Membership Survey – Credit Unions Joining Forces To Better Provide For Our Millennials
We’re back!
In our last piece, we assured you that we would elaborate on pertinent aspects within the credit union movement which must be refashioned or let alone created in order to attract the millennial market. Enough emphasis cannot be placed on the fact that this is a ‘millennial world’ where 46% have over 200 Facebook friends, 56% state that they are early adapters of new technology and not only are they avid content users and creator of videos which they create and post; but 80% wish that companies & organisations would entertain them.
So the question begs? What do millennials desire? How can the cooperative world entertain millennials needs & wants? How do credit unions reach this growing group of young people to create relationships and loyalty? Here are a few suggestions:
- Media engagement [social media]: Millennials are a mobile group with 97% owning a smart phone and trust online transactions more than any other buying group. Any credit union marketing initiative must include a mobile component in order to reach them.
- Value consciousness: In the midst of all the technology in their world, millennials appreciate personal online relationships. The need to know that they can trust a credit union and that this organization will add value to their lives. Therefore, it is important to develop one-on-one marketing tactics with this group. By doing so, they will be more inclined to pay attention to what a credit union is offering, assume that they have their best intention and will assist them in meeting their goals.
- The requirement for immediacy: It has been said that millennials have a ‘one click mentality” – that’s the way they shop in store and they expect digital to be the same.” Brands need to innovate to make this a reality. These ‘digital natives’ have a heightened expectation of immediacy in their desire to gain information and be able to react to it now. A key element in gaining and keeping the attention of this generation is for credit unions to regularly modify and update their products and messages. Don’t be stagnant. The message must be kept simple and to the point. Accustomed to the rapid evolution of the tools that they use, digital natives want something fresh from companies trying to market to them.
- The desire for entrepreneurship/innovation: Millennials love things which they have never seen before. They appreciate innovation and creativity, especially in content and execution. As a result, it would be necessary to step out of traditional marketing comfort zones and brainstorm unusual ideas. (Side note: Ask us at CFF about our upcoming Strategic and Entrepreneurial Management Workshop. This can lend some tremendous assistance in this aspect).
- A demand for authenticity: We must ensure that our credit union marketing strategies and processes deliver on its promises. A credit union has to be transparent as millennials are not afraid to share their negative experiences online.
Millennials are an extremely important audience. We should thus treat them that way not simply for their benefit but even ours as a cooperative movement.