Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Banks vs. Credit Unions: X and Y less loyal to banks
A recent poll reverals that banks' most loyal customers are their oldest customers. While Generations X and Y are the retail banking customers of the future, the poll indicates they are also the least loyal and hardest to please.
Why is this happening? For a few reasons:
CONVENIENCE
The current customer experience model at banks caters to older generations, who more frequently bank in-person at branches. But, younger generation customers are much more mobile and rely more heavily on online interactions.
Locational convenience has always been the primary tool for attracting new banking customers. That's no different with Gen X and Y, but the definition of locational convenience is changing. Now it includes online and mobile and they expect anytime-anywhere banking.
Banks need a strategy to attract and retain prospective customers who rarely step into a banking office. It is no longer uncommon practice for businesses to reach out via social media in an attempt to attract these younger customers. Even companies like Bank of America are using social media networks like Facebook to try to connect with them.
PRODUCTS
Banks have remained focused on building long-term relationships with their customers, but the needs of Gen X and Y are considerably different. Banks need to identify and offer products and services that give young people roots at the bank.
For example, be the source for their first primary debit card - Gen X and Y comprise the debit card generation. Highly incent them to migrate to online banking with a significant reward for paying bills online. Stay in tune with how younger customers want to connect -- online banking, bill pay and mobile banking are three customer touchpoints that must be state-of-the-art and part of every bank's overall customer experience.
SERVICE
Also, ensure that the customer experience is appropriate for Gen X and Y (fast, convenient, service-oriented, technology-based) and consistent at all major bank touch points.
In general, the survey results show that younger people can be more impatient, less tolerant and just plain harder to please than their Baby Boomer and Traditional cohorts: 37 percent believe they would get better customer service at a different bank; 22 percent reported being upset in the past year about high fees; 18 percent reported being upset about a lack of ATM locations.
Make sure front-line employees are treating Gen X and Y the way they want to be treated and can solve problems on the spot -- a key to securing lifelong patrons.
Washington Mutual is one institution that successfully caters to the needs of younger customers, no longer requiring a signature to open a checking account. The bank simply uses the first signed check as the authorization signature -- incenting new customers to do business with the bank by simplifying the process and eliminating a trip to the bank.
BANKS VS. CREDIT UNIONS
Undoubtedly, banks will need to do a better job servicing younger customers to win their loyalty and favor. And banks are now facing intense competition from credit unions, which seem to be doing a better job of targeting X and Y. (As a banker's daughter, it's not easy for me to admit that.)
For example, a 19-year-old who is the "spokester" for Young and Free in Alberta, Canada is collaborating with Common Wealth Credit Union to create awareness for their under 25 age group.
Her video blog explains the difference between credit unions and banks in very simple terms. It was created in an effort to attract and educate generation Y members. The video was posted January 2008, and by the following Monday afternoon, the video blog had been viewed nearly 4,000 times! To date, it has been viewed 29,317 times. Check it out below:
Why is this happening? For a few reasons:
CONVENIENCE
The current customer experience model at banks caters to older generations, who more frequently bank in-person at branches. But, younger generation customers are much more mobile and rely more heavily on online interactions.
Locational convenience has always been the primary tool for attracting new banking customers. That's no different with Gen X and Y, but the definition of locational convenience is changing. Now it includes online and mobile and they expect anytime-anywhere banking.
Banks need a strategy to attract and retain prospective customers who rarely step into a banking office. It is no longer uncommon practice for businesses to reach out via social media in an attempt to attract these younger customers. Even companies like Bank of America are using social media networks like Facebook to try to connect with them.
PRODUCTS
Banks have remained focused on building long-term relationships with their customers, but the needs of Gen X and Y are considerably different. Banks need to identify and offer products and services that give young people roots at the bank.
For example, be the source for their first primary debit card - Gen X and Y comprise the debit card generation. Highly incent them to migrate to online banking with a significant reward for paying bills online. Stay in tune with how younger customers want to connect -- online banking, bill pay and mobile banking are three customer touchpoints that must be state-of-the-art and part of every bank's overall customer experience.
SERVICE
Also, ensure that the customer experience is appropriate for Gen X and Y (fast, convenient, service-oriented, technology-based) and consistent at all major bank touch points.
In general, the survey results show that younger people can be more impatient, less tolerant and just plain harder to please than their Baby Boomer and Traditional cohorts: 37 percent believe they would get better customer service at a different bank; 22 percent reported being upset in the past year about high fees; 18 percent reported being upset about a lack of ATM locations.
Make sure front-line employees are treating Gen X and Y the way they want to be treated and can solve problems on the spot -- a key to securing lifelong patrons.
Washington Mutual is one institution that successfully caters to the needs of younger customers, no longer requiring a signature to open a checking account. The bank simply uses the first signed check as the authorization signature -- incenting new customers to do business with the bank by simplifying the process and eliminating a trip to the bank.
BANKS VS. CREDIT UNIONS
Undoubtedly, banks will need to do a better job servicing younger customers to win their loyalty and favor. And banks are now facing intense competition from credit unions, which seem to be doing a better job of targeting X and Y. (As a banker's daughter, it's not easy for me to admit that.)
For example, a 19-year-old who is the "spokester" for Young and Free in Alberta, Canada is collaborating with Common Wealth Credit Union to create awareness for their under 25 age group.
Her video blog explains the difference between credit unions and banks in very simple terms. It was created in an effort to attract and educate generation Y members. The video was posted January 2008, and by the following Monday afternoon, the video blog had been viewed nearly 4,000 times! To date, it has been viewed 29,317 times. Check it out below:
And then there's bankerspank.com, which is a Web site of video snipets promoting credit unions and an on-line store where you can buy t-shirts and other kotchies to visually express your disinterest in banks. The site features links to the Credit Union National Association and World Council of Credit Unions. Check out one of the bankspank videos here:
Banks, all I can say is that you have some work to do! The future is here. The future is now. What - and who - will you become?
Labels: Bank of America, bankerspank.com, banks vs. credit unions, Credit Union National Association, Generation X, Generation Y, Washington Mutual, World Council of Credit Unions, Young and Free
Speak like a Y: The latest, youngest lingo
Each generation has its own language.
The Baby Boomers introduced the concept of cool and numerous variations of the word including fab, far out, groovy, hangin', hip, keen-o, nifty, and neat. The Boomers also introduced several lifestyle terms as the first generation to wear shades and flip flops, get flat tops, scarf food, go cruising, ride shotgun, refer to their parents as the Old Lady and Old Man, and hang out at the passion pit (drive-in).
Generation X became enthralled with their own linguistic creativity, introducing phrases like eat my shorts, gag me with a spoon, party hardy, whatever, and don't have a cow, and popularizing the terms airhead, rad, spazz, cheezy, couch potato, dink (double income no kids), and yuppie.
Baby Boomer or Generation X mangers often complain that they just don't understand the 20-something workers these days with their constant need for praise and their fascination with posting snippets of their lives on YouTube.
Perhaps they simply aren't speaking the same language.
Advertising agency Cramer-Krasselt has compiled a 2008 Cultural Dictionary of new words and phrases culled from magazines, Web sites, blogs and conversations. The next time you encounter a member of Generation Y, try incorporating these:
Bacn: impersonal e-mails (as annoying as spam) that you have chosen to receive, such as alerts and newsletters.
Bershon: that angry/bored/too-cool-to-care look that 12- to 18-year-olds sport in every family photo.
Compunicate: to chat with a co-worker when you are in the same room using Instant Messenger instead of speaking to them in person.
Cougar: Term that a younger man might use to describe an older female companion or attractive older woman.
Defriend: to remove somebody from your established list of contacts, considered the ultimate snub on a social network.
Googleganger: A person who shares your name. You find your googleganger by self-googling.
Lifestreaming: posting an online record of a person's daily activities, such as blogs.
Meatspace: referring to real life or the physical world and conceived as the opposite of cyberspace or virtual reality.
Moofer: derived from the acronym for "mobile out of office." Someone who abandons their workplace between meetings, taking laptop and Blackberry to the local Starbucks or anyplace else where they can escape the interruption of talkative co-workers.
Mouse potato: Someone who spends all their time on the computer surfing the net or playing games. Similar to couch potato.
Passion bucket: a metaphor for a job or endeavor that can fulfill one's sense of mission and ambition.
Peachfuzz billionaires: when someone launches their first startup in middle school and ends up a budding teeny mogul on the cover of a magazine.
Porntastic: something great, but slightly edgy and racy.
Palm Beach niece: Term that an older man might use to introduce or describe a much younger female companion.
The Baby Boomers introduced the concept of cool and numerous variations of the word including fab, far out, groovy, hangin', hip, keen-o, nifty, and neat. The Boomers also introduced several lifestyle terms as the first generation to wear shades and flip flops, get flat tops, scarf food, go cruising, ride shotgun, refer to their parents as the Old Lady and Old Man, and hang out at the passion pit (drive-in).
Generation X became enthralled with their own linguistic creativity, introducing phrases like eat my shorts, gag me with a spoon, party hardy, whatever, and don't have a cow, and popularizing the terms airhead, rad, spazz, cheezy, couch potato, dink (double income no kids), and yuppie.
Baby Boomer or Generation X mangers often complain that they just don't understand the 20-something workers these days with their constant need for praise and their fascination with posting snippets of their lives on YouTube.
Perhaps they simply aren't speaking the same language.
Advertising agency Cramer-Krasselt has compiled a 2008 Cultural Dictionary of new words and phrases culled from magazines, Web sites, blogs and conversations. The next time you encounter a member of Generation Y, try incorporating these:
Bacn: impersonal e-mails (as annoying as spam) that you have chosen to receive, such as alerts and newsletters.
Bershon: that angry/bored/too-cool-to-care look that 12- to 18-year-olds sport in every family photo.
Compunicate: to chat with a co-worker when you are in the same room using Instant Messenger instead of speaking to them in person.
Cougar: Term that a younger man might use to describe an older female companion or attractive older woman.
Defriend: to remove somebody from your established list of contacts, considered the ultimate snub on a social network.
Googleganger: A person who shares your name. You find your googleganger by self-googling.
Lifestreaming: posting an online record of a person's daily activities, such as blogs.
Meatspace: referring to real life or the physical world and conceived as the opposite of cyberspace or virtual reality.
Moofer: derived from the acronym for "mobile out of office." Someone who abandons their workplace between meetings, taking laptop and Blackberry to the local Starbucks or anyplace else where they can escape the interruption of talkative co-workers.
Mouse potato: Someone who spends all their time on the computer surfing the net or playing games. Similar to couch potato.
Passion bucket: a metaphor for a job or endeavor that can fulfill one's sense of mission and ambition.
Peachfuzz billionaires: when someone launches their first startup in middle school and ends up a budding teeny mogul on the cover of a magazine.
Porntastic: something great, but slightly edgy and racy.
Palm Beach niece: Term that an older man might use to introduce or describe a much younger female companion.
Labels: 2008 Cultural Dictionary, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y, generational slang, lingo
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Age doesn't matter
It never fails. Wherever I go, whomever I’m speaking to, someone thinks Generations X and Y are a hopeless bunch of saps.
Just recently I had a client tell me “those kids and their stupid iPods have no appreciation for anything great or meaningful in this world.”
Ouch!
And last week I was beaming after 1200 people at a conference in Chicago gave me a standing ovation, and one person had to voice her complaint about that “young girl who is trying to push the older generation out.”
Seriously? Is that what people think? That Generations X and Y have no purpose or place in this world? That we have nothing to contribute and we should just sit down and shut up?
I’ve been accused of age discrimination before, but I’m beginning to think I’m the one being discriminated against. Even though we are now the majority of the population, Generations X and Y are still getting the short end of the stick. We’re still getting referred to as “kids” who need to “pay our dues”.
But businesses and associations alike will soon realize that dismissing our generations was a huge mistake. Nearly every industry worldwide is already struggling to capture the devotion of Generations X and Y and by 2010 the talent gap will be painfully obvious.
Finding and nurturing future leadership talent should be a primary concern as we brace for the pending retirement of the Boomers and the loss of valuable knowledge, experience—not to mention workers.
Like it or not, if businesses and association leaders fail to focus on the next generations now, our businesses, economy, and country will also fail.
Undoubtedly, the Baby Boomers play a key role in our country’s ability to bridge the talent gap. They have wisdom to share, a workforce to recruit and retain, and a legacy to leave. They shouldn’t consider succession planning a threat, but rather an opportunity.
Some of us are young. Some of us are not. So what? We’re all in this boat together, and whether it sinks or floats is ultimately up to us and our ability to work together.
Just recently I had a client tell me “those kids and their stupid iPods have no appreciation for anything great or meaningful in this world.”
Ouch!
And last week I was beaming after 1200 people at a conference in Chicago gave me a standing ovation, and one person had to voice her complaint about that “young girl who is trying to push the older generation out.”
Seriously? Is that what people think? That Generations X and Y have no purpose or place in this world? That we have nothing to contribute and we should just sit down and shut up?
I’ve been accused of age discrimination before, but I’m beginning to think I’m the one being discriminated against. Even though we are now the majority of the population, Generations X and Y are still getting the short end of the stick. We’re still getting referred to as “kids” who need to “pay our dues”.
But businesses and associations alike will soon realize that dismissing our generations was a huge mistake. Nearly every industry worldwide is already struggling to capture the devotion of Generations X and Y and by 2010 the talent gap will be painfully obvious.
Finding and nurturing future leadership talent should be a primary concern as we brace for the pending retirement of the Boomers and the loss of valuable knowledge, experience—not to mention workers.
Like it or not, if businesses and association leaders fail to focus on the next generations now, our businesses, economy, and country will also fail.
Undoubtedly, the Baby Boomers play a key role in our country’s ability to bridge the talent gap. They have wisdom to share, a workforce to recruit and retain, and a legacy to leave. They shouldn’t consider succession planning a threat, but rather an opportunity.
Some of us are young. Some of us are not. So what? We’re all in this boat together, and whether it sinks or floats is ultimately up to us and our ability to work together.
Labels: age discrimination, Baby Boomers, Generations X and Y, succession planning
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