Time and time again throughout the last few days, YES Summit attendees heard the importance of parents on young adults’ financial decisions – whether it be in areas such as student loans, establishing a banking relationship, savings habits, and sharing advice.
Susan Follick, Segment Marketing Director at PSCU Financial Services, says you have allies in your attempts to get through to young adults—their parents. “This generation looks to their parents for advice. Leverage the relationship your credit union has with its members who are parents of Gen Y.”
Who cares? We should – Recent high school seniors’ test scores on finances are falling from previous years. With school system’s budgets strained, credit unions have a great opportunity to step up to the plate (banks already are – see Wells Fargo’s popular Stagecoach Island as one example).
How?
Provide financial education material to engage parents – some examples:
- Giveme20.com – website to educate 12-22 year olds
- “Parents” section on website
Financial products positioned as teaching/learning tools to teach financial life lessons, such as:
- Savings programs
- Reloadable prepaid cards
- Checking accounts w/debit cards
- Online banking
- Credit cards – age appropriate
Susan shared a few related best practices in product packages from credit unions across the country (click links for details of each):
- Apple FCU – Fairfax, VA: eXtras Student Checking
- Oregon Community CU – Eugene, OR: Remarkable Checking
- Pacific Service CU – Walnut Creek, CA: FirstStep Checking
- City-County FCU - Minneapolis, MN: boom! (Budgeting Our Own Money)
- CFE Federal Credit Union – Orlando, FL: Innovators Account for ages 15 – 17 & Horizons Account 18 - 22
Susan also said via email before the summit that one of the greatest challenges credit unions face in serving 18-to-30 year olds centers on new media. Sure, you need to be familiar with what’s hot online, but you have to be there yourself. Susan wants to change the thinking within credit unions on the importance of using new media tactics to reach Gen Y. She says, you have to get “over the fear of jumping in and trying it.”
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1 comments:
Couldn't agree with you more. We worked with Pacific Service CU in marketing the First Step Checking and it was extremely successful. The key was a parent focus group that provided insight and helped shape the message. What we heard was that parents wanted the tools to help their children, they just didn't know where to go for those tools. The credit union saw this as a great opportunity.
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