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Growing up, I watched all the television I could on the four stations we received with the help of a tall antenna that stood next to our two-story brick farm house. Through all the sitcoms, old movies and soap operas, it seemed there was always a young woman falling for a guy who, she would lament, “doesn’t even know I’m alive.”
This was at the beginning of the show, of course. By the end, her once-invisible charms were revealed. And nine times out of 10, it turned out they were a perfect match. Roll the credits on a happy ending!
This same theme is playing out right now between credit unions and millennial consumers. CUs very much want to get Gen Y’s attention, but these young adults don’t even know credit unions exist, let alone that they match so well with what millennials seek from companies they do business with.
Whether credit unions achieve the happy ending they’re hoping for depends on how they play the next few scenes, according to Jim Kasch, founder of Canidae Consulting and Member Intelligence Group.
In “Millennials Usher in Opportunity,” he writes, “This is a seminal moment and CUs are poised to thrive. All we need to do as an industry is change everything we’ve always done.”
While that may sound like a tall order, it doesn’t seem insurmountable if you take a look at the tactics he suggests, including: “Stress our cooperative nature. Simplify your products and pricing. Use non-traditional business development to raise awareness,” with excellent examples from $145 million St. Paul Federal Credit Union, St. Paul, Minn., and $687 million Listerhill Credit Union, Muscle Shoals, Ala.
Another idea from 2015 CEO/Executive Team Network speaker Kelly McDonald, author of Crafting the Customer Experience for People not Like You: Employ people who represent your target market, even if it means allowing staff to have visible tattoos, she said, noting that 40 percent of people ages 18-35 have four or more.
Just as simple: Get your millennial staff involved in your millennial strategy.
And speaking of Gen Y employees, I bet you have a rising star or two in the ranks. Be sure to recognize them and help them reach for more by nominating them for CUES Next Top Credit Union Exec by May 9. Applicants will compete for a $20,000 educational prize that includes attendance at two segments of CUES’ CEO Institute.
