What are Millennials REALLY Looking for from a Financial Institution?

This year I took part in two of the online sessions organized and presented by the team at #Banksocial. I also attended a great panel discussion on how Financial Institutions can better appeal to Gen-Y. The panel included Karrie Drobnick, CMO at Verve Credit Union and a very insightful marketer, JD Scroggin, Social Media Officer at CoastHills Credit Union.

Some of the key take-a-ways from this session give a very clear picture of how to better position content for clients and truly give Millennials what they are looking for from their financial institutions online. Here’s some of the main points from the #Banksocial webinar:

1. Millennials want to talk as little as possible! Now I truly get this. Nothing is more irritating to me than having to call customer service for an issue that could be resolved via email or web form. And I’m over 40! Imagine how a 20-something looks at this. They want to text or email or snap or instant message. Anything to avoid forced face to face interaction or a long drawn out phone call. Credit Unions need to take note!

2. Immediacy and Convenient Access to EVERYTHING! Mobile banking to the max is what they are looking for. Every single application needs to be online. And don’t think sneaking a PDF up on your website that requires printing counts! 24/7/365. That’s the goal on this one.

3. Price, Price, Price. And we are not kidding here. Gen Y is in debt from college, likely not fully employed or still looking for their dream job, and then aren’t messing around about prices. If they can get a better deal down the road they will, so match or beat your competitors on fees and prices. And get those costs as low as you can.

4. Less is More. And when I say less, I mean less from THEM! Often Millennials are looking to make the least effort possible for the most return. They are technologically efficient in ways that previous generations never even considered possible. So any way your institution can help them set it and forget it with banking features will draw them in. Minimal effort and automation is what they are looking for in their banking.

NEED Some Help Reaching Millennials? - Use Our Free SMART Goals Worksheet Today!

5. Keep it Short and Sweet. This is the YouTube generation. They watch videos that are 5 minutes or less… and don’t think anything from a credit union or bank should be even close to that long. Send their information in short, digestible chunks that can be skimmed and easily understood. Keep the contacts and information in small amounts and you'll have a much better chance they will read it and get the main points.

6. Meet Them Where They are Most Comfortable. Verve has actually rolled out a YouTube pre-roll campaign with 10-15 second videos that are getting amazing engagement and click throughs. Young people are on this network more than just about anywhere else online, so Credit Unions need to be there too! But make sure your key message is BEFORE the ‘skip ad’ button appears!

7. And Finally, Don’t Forget Local Listing Sites. Yelp was actually listed by one of the panelists as one of the most important social assets to remember for your Credit Union. Which may sound surprising, but if people are putting up reviews on Yelp that your staff doesn’t know about this could be a serious problem. These local listings are opportunities to showcase stellar member service, so don’t forget about them, and make sure to respond to all reviews!