The oldest millennials are now in their late 30s, but many financial institutions still struggle to market to them effectively. Pew Research defines millennials as those born between 1981 and 1996, making up 22% of the population, or over 80 million people, with a spending power exceeding $200 billion. This makes them a significant market force.
What Do Millennials Want from Banks?
Despite this, marketing financial services to millennials remains a contentious issue, with many banks still focusing on baby boomers or skipping to Generation Z. Meanwhile, millennials often face financial challenges, with debt, a desire to save post-2008 financial crisis, good jobs, and the potential to invest in housing, savings, and travel. Marketing to millennials involves creating an emotional appeal, building trust, and offering the right services in the right way. Understanding their banking habits and preferences is crucial for shaping effective marketing strategies.
1. Embrace Digital Services
While not the first digital generation, millennials are frequently online and demand digital services, from apps to chatbots. Establishing a robust digital presence is essential. Millennials increasingly seek digital banking services, debt and portfolio management, and comprehensive apps to avoid in-person bank visits. A study by Gernalto found that only 27% of millennials have never visited a bank branch, while 18% are smartphone-only internet users. They account for about 43% of mobile banking and finance users, preferring online chat and chatbots over human assistants. Providing self-service solutions and online sign-up options can help millennials interact with your brand on their terms.
2. Build Relationships, Not Just Sales
Relationship marketing focuses on building trust through valuable services and consistent customer contact. This can be achieved through innovative connections via social media, apps, community outreach programs, and excellent customer service. Marketing should begin with providing value rather than a hard sales pitch. For instance, community outreach programs can educate millennials about savings or debt management, leading to deeper connections. Once a relationship is established, a sales pitch for a product or service becomes easier. Using channels like Facebook Live Video, email, chat, and social media can facilitate these connections. Consistently providing value, even recommending more affordable options, helps build lasting relationships.
3. Address Debt Control and Payoff
Many millennials are burdened with debt, particularly student loans, and struggle to invest in homes. Marketing campaigns focusing on debt management, payoff solutions, savings, and wealth management resonate with their concerns. A study showed that 46% of millennials believe they have too much debt and are interested in solutions to manage and reduce it.
4. Appeal to Emotions
Millennials are the most brand-loyal generation, and you can leverage this by connecting to their emotions and life events. They are less interested in personal wealth accumulation and more in doing good and investing in others. Financial marketing strategies should highlight the importance of saving for children, family, and charity rather than just accumulating wealth. Understanding their interests, such as student debt, mortgages, budgeting, and money management, helps in crafting relevant and appealing content.
5. Use Social Media Storytelling
Social media is a crucial channel for financial marketing, especially for millennials. Platforms like LinkedIn see significant financial discussions among millennials. TD Bank found that 59% of millennials seek personal advice on savings, budgeting, and credit cards via social media or chat. Offering personalized advice, directing individuals to workshops, and sharing success stories can build relationships and attract customers. Creating and sharing content that addresses their goals, such as buying a home, starting a family, paying off debt, or traveling, makes your social media a valuable tool for customer acquisition and retention.
6. Establish a Trustworthy Brand
Millennials seek brands they can trust with their data and money. They are loyal once trust is built, typically through personalized service. Offering honest and personalized services, such as unbundled services where users pay for what they need, helps build trust. Being transparent about fees, waiving service fees, and using automation or service representatives for custom services, pre-approval for loans, and mortgages can strengthen these relationships. Retaining millennial customers is as important as attracting them, as they are the most likely generation to switch banks. They prefer self-service and digital options but still value personalized experiences and authentic services.
Deliver Personalized Financial Education
Provide tailored financial education programs with a mobile-first platform like EVERFI. This platform offers engaging content and interactive exercises, giving insights into consumer interests and offering relevant financial education for their life stages and goals.
