New Market Perspectives

In her presentation, “How to Build Business With Members and Prospects not Like You,” Kelly McDonald began by showing her primarily North American CEO/Executive Team Network™ audience how truly diverse the marketplace is, how much it’s changed and how fast it’s continuing to evolve. The U.S. Census Diversity Index, for example, measures the probability that two people chosen at random will be of a different race and ethnicity on a scale of 0 to 100. In 1980, the likelihood was 32; by 1990, it was 40; by 2000, 47; and by 2010, 52.

Pointing out that diversity takes many forms (age, rural vs. metro, gender, physical abilities to name a few), she said “understanding someone different from you means understanding their life, their priorities, their values, the experiences that define them, their perspective.”

To see what she meant, try this simple exercise: Ask a variety of people who Ron Howard is. “Matures” might say Opie from The Andy Griffith Show, while Boomers might answer Richie from Happy Days, and Gen X and Gen Y might identify him as the director of movies like Apollo 13 and The Da Vinci Code. All correct answers, just different perspectives.

When targeting Gen Y, McDonald, author of Crafting the Customer Experience for People not Like You, recommended appealing to these key values:

• They want to buy from companies they perceive as improving society.
• 92 percent of female Millennials want to buy from an organization that supports a cause.
• Local business is king.

Four Things to do Right Now

Targeting a new demographic is a big job. Here are a few simple steps to help broaden your credit union’s appeal:

1. Solicit testimonials from happy, satisfied women members and post them on your website, because women trust what other women say.
2. Hold candid conversations with member-facing staff about what they're hearing—what are members’ points of pain? $232 million Education Credit Union, Amarillo, Texas, targets one pain point for its teacher members through the CU’s Pocket Change Grant Fund, which awards up to $500 to teachers for field trips, behavior and academic rewards, supplies and other uses. The Education CU Board matches what employees contribute to the fund for the privilege of wearing jeans to work.  
3. Identify at least two “pilot fish” in your market, people who are influential and opinion leaders. Begin an ongoing dialog with them, asking for their help and input directly, and nurturing the relationship.
4. Promote your community consciousness and the causes you support. McDonald was surprised how many credit unions don’t have a community involvement button on their websites. Get one, she said!

Mary Auestad Arnold is CUES’ VP/publications and digital media.