Mike Sells: Report Explores Banking Habits of Professional Millennials

Millennials and their political preferences and consumer behaviors have been researched, dissected and discussed a great deal over the last few years. But, more so than perhaps any other generation, there is significant socio-economic divide within this generation.

A 2012 report from the AP says that roughly half of recent college graduates are unemployed or underemployed. Because of this stark economic divide between the millennial “haves” and “have-nots”, it’s dangerous to look at this group as one homogenous entity when discussing their financial preferences.

For this reason, our financial services marketing division recently conducted nationwide research on the banking habits and behaviors of the most desirable members of this group – what we call the “Professional Millennials.”

In order to drive profitable growth now and in the near-term, banks must understand what this subset is like and how they differ from the Baby Boomers and GenX groups that preceded them. So we studied the Millennials with at least two years of college, employed and with an annual income of $25,000 or more.

The results of this nationwide study of more than 300 young consumers tell us that the majority of professional millennials have robust banking relationships with multiple accounts.

The majority understand the importance of saving, a trait their parents’ generation never fully embraced. It also shows that they are loyal, with more than two-thirds of those surveyed still banking where they did in college and over one-third still banking at their parents’ primary bank.

While almost three-fourths of the group bank primarily through digital channels, convenient branch locations is the second most important influencer, after free checking, of those who have switched banks.

We were surprised to see that while the vast majority of professional millennials rarely set foot in a bank branch, the availability and convenience of branches is extremely important to them in deciding where to bank.

This dichotomy will create challenges for local and regional banks as they try to compete with large, national brands that can more easily afford to offer both the technology this group relies upon in their day-to-day activities in addition to the network of branches they don’t use very often but find important.

Learning how to present financial service offerings to this group in a compelling and persuasive way will be crucial for the future growth of local and regional banks.

The report on this research can be downloaded for free at www.bankmarketingclarity.com/research-reports.

Editor’s note: Mike Sells is the CEO of The Sells Agency, a full service marketing, advertising and public relations agency with offices in Little Rock and Fayetteville. The research for this report was conducted through their Bank Clarity division, which focuses on helping financial institutions grow market share and profits by understanding consumers deeply and then helping clients present themselves in a way that drives brand awareness, understanding and preference.