BOSTON—The degree to which credit unions—regardless of country or even continent—are seeking to attract younger members was apparent during a session during the World Credit Union Conference here.
The session, “Engaging Younger Members for Growth,” drew a strong turnout, with presenters by Juli Lewis, VP-engagement at USF Federal Credit Union, and Jim Lake, VP and managing partner of Michael Walters Advertising sharing some daunting statistics, according to WOCCU.
“Only 4% of Gen Z are credit union members. We think we’re doing better with Millennials, but only 5% of millennials are credit union members,” said Lake. “We all know that we do great things, but we’re not good at telling the story.”
A Silver Lining
According to Lewis the silver lining is that if credit unions do a better job of talking about why they are different from banks or fintechs, they have the right message to attract younger consumers.
“Young people want to belong in the community, they want to be part of something good. They want sustainability, to be part of environmental causes. They love DEI initiatives,” said Lake. “So, consumers now, they’re not only value driven, they not only want a good deal, but they’re values driven.”
According to WOCCU, Lake told the meeting focusing on emotional stories about members that hit on social themes that highlight those values are key, as is successfully promoting them.
‘Opportunities Abound’
“Opportunities abound when we talk about financial wellness, community wellness, etc., outperform product ads by 2.5 times, 2.5 times the return on interest,” said Lake. “And there is a massive difference between a testimonial—‘oh I went to the branch and got my paperwork done in three minutes,’—those are important, but then there’s storytelling.”