NAFCU Services Blog

By Larry Pruss, Senior Vice President, Strategic Resource Management

With millennials making up nearly 25% of the US population, it’s vital to know how you can engage this generation with your message and attract them to your credit union.

If you know how to connect with them, millennials represent a huge opportunity for your membership, educational content, and sales teams.

So how do you do this? I’ve compiled my top five tips on how to leverage a millennial engagement strategy.

1. Be Authentic

Don’t get stuck in the ideas of traditional advertising; Millennials don’t trust it. Millennials are more interested in “authentic” leadership, education, and expertise. Think about using content platforms that come from peers, like blogs and social media.  They prefer words that could have come from the mouths of their peers, as these messages warrant comfort and trust.

Millennials’ attitudes and behavior are largely inspired by people they know in person or online--or even strangers who share their interests on social networks.

2. Create Visual Content

Millennials are constantly on their phones being flooded by visual content.  So why not communicate in the same way that they communicate with the people in their lives?

They are also social, and much more willing to share their struggles and successes. If you want to reach them you need to be part of the conversation. Communication cannot be one way.

3. Personalize Content

Millennials want to feel like your content was created with their interest (not their wallet) in mind. When this is the case, they are more organically introduced to purchasing your products or services. Without ever being “pushy,” your educational content helps build strong brand-consumer relationships. People appreciate honesty, and brands with transparent campaigns win.

4. Be Interactive

Millennials need to feel as though they are being heard. In order to keep them involved, ask for their feedback.  You can do this by letting them rank your products and customer service.  This approach makes them feel like they have helped to develop their product so that they are more invested.

Some credit unions are doing this with credit cards; allowing the person to select their pricing, rewards, fees, and personalizing the card stock.

For more ideas on revenue enhancement strategies, listen to a recent podcast here.

5. Highlight the Experience

Millennials are attracted to “experiences” rather than things. Have you noticed how car advertisements have moved away from the car to more about the journey? This is millennial advertising.

They are also more “cause” focused than other cohorts and (all things considered equal) will pick a service provider that does something good for the world. Thus, leverage your focus on community service in your communications with them.

Be aware, that many millennials watched their parents struggle during the Great Recession and are very weary of getting over-extended. So they need to feel that you have their back, and are not just interested in making a buck off them.

Here is where the credit unions have a big advantage over the banks which are more clearly profit focused. Make sure you are educating these millennials about the difference between banks and credit unions.

For an in-depth explanation of other missed revenue enhancement strategies that credit unions should be leveraging now, listen to Larry’s full podcast here.

You can also see Larry at NAFCU’s Strategic Growth Conference on Wednesday, March 9 where he will moderate an informative panel discussion: “Earn it Without Burning It: How to Make and Save Money.”

Strategic Resource Management is the NAFCU Services Preferred Partner for Vendor Cost Benchmarking and Negotiation Services.