ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Between the sheer size of Generation Y and the array of electronic channels members of this generation use, credit unions will have to reinvent how they market products to this segment in order to remain relevant.
After all, as PSCU Financial Services’ ProjectNewAge Project Manager Sue Follick observed, TV and newspapers are out. Blogs, podcasts and text messaging are in, leaving CUs to toss out everything they used to know about mass marketing. But there is good news: credit unions have an advantage over the larger financials in that credit unions were founded on the premise of people helping people–a premise of which credit unions should take advantage.
“They will need to be better at building relationships before trying to sell them anything. Gen Y will have to know why it’s better to use a credit union than a bank to conduct financial transactions,” Follick said.
“By the year 2015, the average income of Gen Y will surpass that of Gen X. It’s going to be a marathon not a sprint,” she added. “So [credit unions] don’t need a facelift, but they will need to be relevant.”
Credit unions will need to use new tactics including blogging, MySpace and Facebook. It’s about being where they (Gen Y) are and connecting through their media. Increasingly they will have to use social media marketing tactics to reach Gen Y, Follick said.
Ent CU’s Selfridge agreed that Gen Y is a lot more brand-savvy, and things that credit unions maybe really haven’t concerned themselves with in the past–how modern they look, how relevant they are to the audience–really do resonate with Gen Y.
“They have been more aggressively marketed to than any other generation and so they are really discerning,” Selfridge said. “So things like maybe having old-fashioned looking service centers could turn this generation off as they’re looking for an institution that’s going to project itself as modern and relevant.”
But Selfridge advises credit unions not to stray too far from their core competencies which are financial products and services and financial education.
“When we get outside those boundaries into what’s hip and trendy, unfortunately there is a big chance to make big mistakes,” Selfridge said. “Because what’s hot today may not be hot tomorrow.”
Chippindale said the 183,000-member Ent CU makes judicious use of its own employees to both spread the credit union message and to take occasional pulse readings of what Gen Y finds interesting.
“We try to use frontline staff to get the word out to their friends and these various social networking groups that they associate with and get the word out and build that relevance,” Chippindale said. “I think we have a great internal source of folks that can really carry that message forward.”
Whether Or Not To Use Viral Video
Most credit union marketers seem to understand that in order to sell credit union products, or any products for that matter, they will have to incorporate increasing amounts of video into their sales pitches whether the outlet is cell phone, web-based or televised.
But the production of a slick video piece comes with its own set of challenges especially for the smaller credit union. How do you pick the right production company? How much will it cost? Where will the video be aired? All of these questions can be daunting if the credit union doesn’t have a well-oiled marketing machine and a dedicated budget to produce at least a 30-second ad.
Some CUs are finding ways to overcome production obstacles by sponsoring contests whereby the Gen Y contestant creates the video in exchange for prize money.
Still, video remains a potentially rewarding but dicey proposition for the CUs with limited marketing resources.
“Video is more challenging than other tactics because it inherently will have to be special and in some cases humorous for them (Gen Y) to want to send to their friends,” Follick said. “I think credit unions may want to start with a good MySpace or Facebook page to start and develop widgets about credit card rates or car loans. Its still largely unexplored territory.”
Ent CU’s Victoria Selfridge said that print advertising is not as interesting to Gen Y because of the way they consume media. She added that television, DVRs and commercials are not as well consumed by Gen Y as they used to be.
“I do think that exploring alternative delivery channels for marketing is something that’s hot on our minds,” she said. “But also making sure that we are giving them the access channels to their information. Do they want to be accessing their balance information via their cell phone?”
Selfridge said that because Gen Y uses media differently, credit unions will need to adjust how the CU message gets out into the market.
“Nobody has the right recipe yet. They’re still experimenting. The goal is to go viral in spreading the video,” Follick said. “Some of the best YouTube videos are made by Gen Y. They love to communicate and they love to create.”
MORE
To read more about this topic use member feedback at cujournal.com and search the following bolded terms in the archive:
Web-Based Social Networking Sites: It’s Not Just For Teenagers Anymore
Baby Boomer, Gen X, Gen Y Customers Love ATMs
Keypoint Strategy Recognizes Facebook Not Just For Gen X & Y
For info on this story:
* www.pscufs.com
* www.projectnewage.com
* www.entfederal.com
* www.msufcu.org
* http://filene.org/i3
* www.cuna.org/initiatives/youth/ index.html
* http://www.cunacouncils.org/
* www.secondlife.com/
* www.vacu.org
* www.calcoastcu.org
* www.cuna.org
* www.cunamutual.com
