Open the Vault: Financial Marketing for Millennials

The millennial generation is well known for being highly tech-savvy, passionate, worldly, and open to taking risks. Millennials are known as “the Connected Generation” and are continually consuming content and sharing it with others through a variety of platforms; which sets them apart from past generations. As millennials shift to adulthood, it’s time to cater to their financial needs. The approach for reaching a millennial is drastically different from what you would use to reach a prospect from an older generation. “How?” you might ask. Keep reading to learn what millennials want to hear, how they want to hear it, and whom they want to hear it from. What Do Millennials Want to Hear? ANSWER: Millennials want to hear advice: they want to know how to budget, how to save for big life events, and (one day) retirement. Financial planning and investing can be a daunting task, especially to millennials who are drowning in student debt or whose future careers are unclear due to the Great Recession. Millennials want financial advice and want to learn how to budget. As millennials transition into adulthood, financial services firms should act as mentors, sharing education and information on managing student loans, saving for upcoming life events like marriage or having a baby, and setting up a 401k. 47% of millennials said they would like their bank to provide tools and services to help them create and monitor their budget. How Do They Want to Hear It? ANSWER: Millennials prefer a multimedia approach. Financial advisors should communicate with millennials via video. Compared to generations prior, millennials are more likely to connect with their banks digitally than in person. They respond well to informational videos and infographics, which are easily digestible. In fact, 4 in 5 millennials find video helpful during initial research for a purchasing decision. With 80 million millennials in the United States alone, online video is the ideal communication channel to reach such a large audience, especially at the early stages of their investing lives. Video is an effective way for financial firms to share financial advice and show step-by-step how to set up retirement plans, manage debt, and educate first-time homebuyers. Not only will video be easier to follow than text, but video is also a great way to share your brand story and personality. 48% of millennials said they would like their banks to offer video chat on their website or mobile/tablet application. From Whom Do They Want to Hear It? ANSWER: Millennials look to their parents for financial advice. Interestingly, 61% of consumers still do not fully trust the financial firms they conduct business with. Millennials define their banking relationship as strictly transactional. Connecting with millennials requires more than a flashy ad with young celebrity endorsements. Dig deep into the personas of your younger audience and understand fundamentally what their buyer’s journey looks like, as well as the touchpoints across the journey. You may find new, unique methods to tap into the generation, such as by partnering with parents looking for content to share with their millennial children. 52% of millennials are more than twice as likely to turn to their parents for financial advice than their bank. I hope these answers gave you a long overdue wake up call. Whether it’s by channel choice, dynamic messaging, or budgeting advice, the bottom line is you must know your Millennial customers. Knowing them is half the battle. Now that you know they are seeking advice, prefer video and multimedia assets, and turn to their parents in times of need…it’s time to make some changes! hbspt.cta.load(461099, 'a31d9e7f-4f23-45be-953d-d7a629d5dde5', {});