RALEIGH, N.C.–Coastal Credit Union here is reporting it has uncovered a number of surprises in doing research on its Millennial members.
Partnering with the Young Adult Advisory Services offered by the Filene Research Institute, Coastal said it has been working to benchmark current operations, build a value proposition for new members and develop a unique strategy for attracting young adult members.
“Coastal leadership wanted to undertake this study to gain insight on how to provide the right products and services in order to show Millennials we want to be their financial partner to help them through all of their financial life stages,” Coastal CU said as part of a Q&A conducted by Filene. “This is our first time doing generational research and can be used for Millennials, generation Z and beyond.”
As part of its research Coastal CU said it discovered its target market’s average age is younger than the national average, likely due to the technology companies and employers that are based in our service area. It also found its target market has higher household incomes compared to their peers.
Filene reported that in doing the research Coastal offers products and services that are a good fit for Millennials, and that it needs to package those offerings in a more convenient and consumable way. “We learned that even small language adjustments can make a big difference,” Coastal told Filene.
Among the surprises along the way? According to Coastal, “We expected the recent Wells Fargo unethical banking practices to have made an impact. However, feedback from the target market showed they were unfazed.”
Coastal added it has also learned it’s important the credit union be “consistently transparent in what we do, how we operate, and communicate.”