Youth market demands credibility, says blogger

SAN DIEGO (12/8/06)--Ramit Sethi, keynote speaker for the YES (Your Essential Strategies) Summit, can identify with credit unions for two reasons.

First, he wants to change young adults' money management behaviors. Second, he's not in the business to make money.

"Change peoples' attitudes and you'll change their behaviors," said Sethi, whose popular weblog, iwillteachyoutoberich.com, averages 100,000 readers a month. He said 85 percent of his friends hate their banks because they gouge them with fees.

Unfortunately for credit unions, Sethi said, young people don't know or care about how credit unions differ from banks, he told the audience at the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) program in San Diego Wednesday.

What they do care about is service, convenience, advice and products that meet their needs.

He advised credit unions to spend the time to build credibility with the 18-to-30 market. Give good advice, even if it means recommending a competitor, he said. And ask for opinions--don't assume you know what's best.

The best growth comes from word-of-mouth endorsements from satisfied young adult members, Sethi noted.

Meanwhile, Kate Vergara of Burbank City FCU, Burbank, Calif., stressed that the most important thing credit unions can teach young people is responsibility and then trusting them to meet their obligations.

"We have an opportunity to grow our own members," she said. "We have to remember that they are not motivated by the same things that motivate us." The drive for independence is a powerful motivator that can lead youth to use adult services properly, Vergara said.

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CUNA Youth Initiatives