Credit unions know they must get younger. Decreasing the averageage of your membership is a strategic goal for many credit unions.There are several initiatives, such as Currency Marketing's Youngand Free, that are having a great deal of success. The FileneInstitute also has given many ideas for penetrating this key targetmarket. And of course, there are a few credit unions successfullyreaching Gen Y through various social media, mobile marketing andevent marketing efforts.

While directly marketing to Gen Y should be a major strategicinitiative, one tactical approach credit unions can implement is toreach young people through Mom and Dad. As a parent of two teenagedaughters, I can attest that many kids begin their “banking”experience with the First National Bank of Mom and Dad (or FirstABC Credit Union if you bleed credit union blood).

Jeffery Arnet, a psychologist from the University of Maryland,said, “We are seeing a closer relationship between generations thanwe have seen since World War II. These young people genuinely likeand respect their parents.”

According to research from CUNA, there are 19.1 millionnonmembers under the age of 18 who live in a credit union memberhousehold. In other words, there are over 19 million kids under theage of 18 whose parents are credit union members but the kidsaren't. Can you say opportunity?

You can actually accomplish two strategicgoals–membership growth and getting younger not by focusing on thekids (which is still good), not by focusing on Grandma and Grandpa,but by focusing on Mom and Dad.

Credit unions should reach teens before they go to college. Ifyou wait until they are in college, then it's probably too late.With that being the case, the best entry point to the teen isthrough the parents. Many of these kids are “adultolescents”: theywant to be treated like adults but they still act like teens.

Multiple dates are used when it comes to the variousgenerations. According to Strauss & Howe, the leadingdemographers of our country, Gen Y are those born between 1982 and2003, so they are currently between the ages of eight and 29. Thereare approximately 78 million Gen Yers in the country. The vastmajority of Gen Y parents are either older Xers (those born between1961 and 1981; between the ages of 30 and 50) or younger boomers(those born between 1943 and 1960; between the ages 51 and 68).

So how can credit unions actively use Mom and Dad as the doorinto Gen Y? Here are several ideas.

Relationship pricing. Offer relationship pricing by householdand not individual (design the program around the entire family'saccounts). Many MCIF programs look at a household strategy; is yourpricing structured at the household or individual level?

Parent scholarship contest. Offer scholarship programs andtarget the parents with the contest. Every parent is worried abouthow to finance their kids education. If the kid isn't interested inscholarships, you know Mom and Dad are. You might even want to do avideo contest that features the parent and the child.

Parent loan discounts. Offer loan discounts on the parents' loanif they get an auto loan for the teenager at the credit union. Youcould even consider giving a savings or CD bonus bump for theparents if the kid finances the car loan; these arecross-generational promotions.

Account linkage. Promote linking all the accounts together,where Mom and Dad can transfer funds from their account to theteens' account. Remember, parents are often human ATM machines.When the young adult is in college, parents will need access tosending them funds other than Western Union. Use the newtechnologies available today to make this as easy as possible.

Educational materials. Provide educational materials on financesfor parents to share with their kids; try and make as much of thisonline as possible. You could possibly even offer some type oftoolkit or workbook.

Membership promotion. Develop a membership marketing programencouraging mom and dad to open a credit union account for theirteenagers. This step should focus on the checking account (not justa $25 membership account).

First time auto buying. Life event marketing (reaching peopleduring key stages of their life) is certainly a marketing trendthese days. Since the first time auto buying experience is usuallya family decision get the credit union involved in thatprocess.

Generational training. Conduct generational training with yourstaff. The more your sales staff understands the differentgenerations, the better they will reach them. 

Credit unions can use baby boomer and Gen X parents to reach GenY kids. Don't forget about Mom and Dad when reaching GenerationY. 

Mark Arnold is president of On the Mark Strategies.
Contact 214-538-4147 [email protected]