Jeff Judy
Jeff's Thoughts - April 16, 2008
Do You Have the Youth Vote?
It is campaign season, if you haven't noticed, and all the candidates are courting the youth vote, young adults of college age and just above.
But in your business, you should always be courting the "youth vote," encouraging these young people to vote for you with their dollars, instead of voting for your competition.
Unfortunately, many financial services institutions let these customers slip away, for a variety of reasons. Here are some of the misconceptions I hear:
- "We prefer to wait for them to have something to work with." True, this group often doesn't have much in assets, so ignoring them doesn't cost you much in the short term. But it can cost you big time over the long haul, when these customers have grown their assets while remaining loyal to your competitor, who paid them a little more attention.
- "They don't want to talk to a person, they do everything online." It may be true that young people are savvy about handling information online, by cell phone, and so on. But that doesn't mean that's all they want. Financial services, sensible credit use, building assets can all be quite mysterious to young people. At the same time, it can be embarrassing for them to admit what they don't know. The personal touch, the opportunity to ask questions, and to give explanations that fit their specific circumstances, will go a long way to build relationships with these future customers.
- "The only service needed by young people starting out is credit, and they get most of that from their credit cards." They sure do! What young people need more than credit is an understanding of credit, so they don't get in over their heads. If you can help your young customers avoid a mountain of debt, 1) they will appreciate the fact that you put their own interests ahead of a short-term profit, and 2) later they will have assets that offer you opportunities when most of their peers are in credit counseling.
- "There is so much financial literacy information available on the Internet, they don't need us to educate them." Most of these young people don't even know what they don't know (that's how they get all the credit card debt). You can save yourself and these customers a lot of time (and embarrassment) by pointing them to online resources, but they really need help to learn what the issues are, what they should be looking for. And they'll be grateful to you for pointing them in the right direction.
Yes, profit opportunities from under-25 customers may be limited. Put your effort into making contact, and especially, into helping them learn how to manage their money. Before you know it, you'll have 35-year-old customers who depend on you for all their financials services.