Not only are millennials the largest generation in the world, but it is the most racially diverse and educated generation with a high buying power. For credit unions, attracting millennials is not only a desire, but it is a necessity.
Millennials however are also a generation that uses social media most heavily. Their attention span is short as they get bombarded with information every minute of the day. Hence, attracting and maintaining their attention is not an easy task to do. However, many credit unions are determined to attract millennials through their reformed and strategic marketing campaigns.
Credit unions generally refer to word-of-mouth and brand reputation but attracting and maintaining a Millennial customer base requires more than that – building personal connections through social media.
There are 5 marketing tips for credit unions to win over millennials:
Don’t just educate and inform your audience, engage with them
Purely outreaching campaigns won’t bring results if your target audience is millennials. They want to be heard, engaged in conversations, and make themselves feel valuable. If your marketing approach is rather old-school and it involves a lot of hard-selling it will just repel millennials. They want to be given the choice to make well-formed decisions. Hence, engage in two-way communication instead of just pushing out. Incorporate customer-generated content as information gathered through it is 40% more trusted and 30% more memorable than other sources.
Show social responsibility, transparency and participate in sharing technologies
Millennials are the generation more likely to take a stand in things they believe in. Being transparent about your social responsibility and the so-called “community activism” is a way to build trust and connect to your audience. By organizing social initiatives (virtually or not) that will spark interest in your target audience, increasing the word-of-mouth and being “trending” on social media, you’ll differentiate yourself from your competitors that still stay in their “own lane” holding onto traditional marketing strategies. On top of that, working and participating in sharing technologies would also give you a head start when compared to your competitors. Marketing your credit union through partnerships such as electric vehicles, co-working spaces, environmentally friendly brands, etc. will undeniably attract millennials.
Offer seamless experience
Simply incorporating mobile banking in your offer won’t produce a seamless experience. Millennials today have choices and the second they get acquainted with even the smallest inconveniences they will switch and leave. For that reason, it is important for credit unions to embrace technologies that will offer first and foremost, convenience to their customers.
Make it personal
Marketing and any and every other interaction with a millennial needs to be personal. There is already plenty of data on your customer base, so use it. Connecting with your target audience on a more relaxed, one-on-one basis will humanize your company which is much needed considering that credit unions are not sexy industries, but rather formal, traditional, and technical. Therefore, communicating with your audience (e.g one-on-one consultations, giving free tutorials on using certain services, etc.) having algorithms that will offer, explain and recommend products and services in a tailored way (e.g having different recommendations to different customers depending on their purchase or browsing history of their interest; auto- approving individual customers for loans and mortgages to help them see if they qualify for them before checking with a competitor) may have higher ROI in the long run.
Stay on top of technological advancements
Nowadays marketing is more technologically advanced than ever and millennials are always on the lookout for the next advancement. Staying on top of tech innovations is not only empowering for credit unions but is also a way to target millennials and increase their share by getting ahead of their competitors. Having online banking and mobile banking won’t keep your millennial audience as they can find the same services elsewhere. Developing fintech partnerships, introducing digital loan closing, e-notary services, etc. are some of the technological advancements to be on the lookout for in 2021.
To sum up, credit unions need to be on the lookout for new and innovative ways to attract different categories of potential customers. Therefore when you need to examine or improve your website marketing strategy don’t hesitate to contact our team at Banksite Services to guide you through the process.
