Expert advice from a Millennial founder herself.
By Luvleen Sidhu (Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer, BankMobile)
Millennials are now viewed as the future leaders of tomorrow. This generation grew up with technology and is heavily dependent on it when it comes to managing their busy lives.
As a Millennial myself, I combined my own personal experience with detailed research to find out what exactly Millennials want in a product. With BankMobile, our mission is to make banking fee-free, effortless and financially empowering. With Millenials as our target, we prioritized several features that would appeal to this specific audience.
If you’re also thinking about creating a product for Millennials, consider these five tips to help you succeed: Â
1. Do Your Research
Focus not only on what Millennials want within your market, but also what they are unhappy about. Then you can develop a product that truly solves a problem.
Our research revealed that the top banks were Millennials’ least loved brands; they were waiting for innovation to come from outside the industry. This negative sentiment is what caught our attention. Once you find out what the true consumer pain points are, you can work to eliminate those undesirable aspects to make room for what your audience actually wants.
2. Incorporate Technology
Our generation seems to be moving towards a completely mobile lifestyle. From our research, we found that 74 percent of Millennials agree that mobile banking is essential and helps make their lives a lot easier. Four out of five Millennials say it’s important for retailers to have a high quality mobile app.
So we set out to create a mobile banking app that would do more than any banking app on the market. Creating a downloadable app makes retrieving information quick and easy, and allows you to reach Millennials where they are – on their phones.
3. Offer Incentives
Millennials are enticed by saving money. Our generation saw the effects of how the great recession shook our economy.
Now, 80 percent of Millennials would rather save their money to avoid any financial problems that may arise in the future. Try and make your product stand out by offering deals and partnerships that your competitors do not have. Being unique and giving back can also help draw Millennials to new and exciting offers.
4. Allow for Instant Gratification
Your product should be easy and intuitive. Make your product accessible anytime, anywhere and for anyone. Millennials expect immediate accessibility for the things they want.
Remember that Millennials have grown accustomed to effortless technology and will judge your product or service accordingly. Your competition is not only your direct competitors in your industry, but against their experiences with other companies like Google. Interaction can help increase instant gratification and create a constant flow of communication.
Use social media to create an open forum for consumers to express their opinions and ask questions. The more they feel their voices are heard and problems addressed, the better your chances are of developing a steady and loyal following.
5. Focus on Relationships
Last but not least, listen to what your users have to say and use their feedback to improve your product. Many Millennials use social media as a tool to explore a company’s credibility and are not afraid to voice their opinions.
Get to know your audience by creating a social media community and ask for their opinion. You can also build relationships offline through your sales staff, surveys, focus groups and events. Communicating directly with your customers can help you gain their respect and loyalty, which may make them more likely to choose your services over any other competitors. Plus, this can allow you to draw in new consumers!
Building a new company is all about trial and error; do not become frustrated when one thing does not work. Take the time to listen and engage in conversation in order to build relationships. If you are not Internet-savvy, now is the time to educate yourself. Once you develop a product that aims to address millennial wants and needs they will reciprocate by sharing your product with others and helping your company grow quickly.
About the guest blogger: Luvleen Sidhu is the co-founder and Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer at BankMobile, America’s first absolutely fee-free bank aimed at helping the underbanked, millennials and middle income Americans have affordable access to traditional financial services. Her mission for BankMobile is to make banking effortless, fee-free and financially empowering.
