You want customers. But what do your customers want?

by Michele Petry
BIO AND CONTACT INFO

Start now to bridge the gap to your future customers.

It's 2005, do you know who your customer is?

Your bank has thrived and survived through virtually every generation, helping customers manage their financial relationships over the years. From the World World II generation, through the Boomers and X'ers, banks have been building trust, securing financial dreams and servicing their customers money needs.

But will banks be ready to service the needs of the Millennial Generation? These are the kids of today who grew up, not only with computers, but with the Internet as a form of instant communication, personal shopper and built-in research tool. This generation became savvier consumers at a much younger age than earlier generations, having access for the first time to a host of new money tools, like Visa BUXX cards and stock market games. They are also the first generation who may come to expect to have all their bills delivered and paid electronically, to have access to financial markets all around the globe, and who expect to receive very personalized services from the companies they do business with. This is a generation who will likely deligently guard their privacy while still permitting companies to contact them with offers they wish to receive.

Will your bank be ready to service this customer? Here are a few tips to help you bridge the gap to serving the Millennial Generation:

Respect their uniqueness and independence. Extend your bank's brand with this generation by offering them products, like Visa Buxx, that will build electronic relationships with this future customer.

Help educate them on financial matters that will permit them to gain better control over their financial relationships. Electronic newsletters that educate and inform can be particularly helpful. Provide electronic tools on your website that they can use to help themselves.

Personalize your offers and tailor them to meet their life>
Anticipate their financial needs and suggest products that may interest them. This group will come to expect that companies can make good "guesses" about things they may want to receive based on data aggregation and analysis.

Provide more than transactional data. This group will expect data to be transformed into rich information to help them make better financial decisions.

Building electronic relationships with the Millenial generation will be as important as establishing personal relationships with every generation that has come before. With time, the Millenials will come to trust technology, provided it continues to serve them well, and they will expect that the majority of their business relationships will to some extent involve electronic relationships. So make sure your institution is prepared to serve the Millenial generation, your customer of the future -- this customer is here today.

First published on BankersOnline.com 4/30/01