LAS VEGAS — The challenge in recruiting young people in the coveted Generation X and Y were on full display during a live focus group here yesterday.
The panel of four people, three women and one man all in their twenties and at the front end of their respective careers, expressed generally positive feelings about their current bank relationships and little knowledge about credit unions beyond that which they have learned while preparing for the focus group. The live focus group was held during the California and Nevada leagues’ annual meeting and hosted by research consultant Neil Goldman.
The focus group participants said they became bank customers for reasons ranging from the bank being the place where parents had accounts to being paid up to $125 to move their business.
Only one of the four has joined a credit union, and that person has maintained his bank relationship. Getting the others to move won’t be easy. “I haven’t fully looked into moving,” said one person. “I would like to if I needed to switch, but I don’t really have a real reason to do it.”
One person who works in a building with a CU branch, has seen the CU’s signage, has had coworkers recommend that she join the CU and who knows the name of employees in the branch, said she still doesn’t plan to, as opening another savings account seems like a “hassle.”
One of the focus group members said she found the words “join” and “member” to be a negative, implying a “monthly fee like a gym membership.” The other three said the terms are not a hurdle, with one saying “it implies that you get benefits.”
One other note out of the focus group: When asked what effect Bank Transfer Day had had on them, all four said they were unfamiliar with it.
