Third of Emea banks have no Gen Y strategy - survey

29 September 2010 | 6176 views | 1 biometric face pointer

Despite the growing economic importance of Generation Y customers, nearly a third of banks in Europe the Middle East and Africa have yet to establish an active, dedicated strategy for marketing to and serving them, according to research from Oracle Financial Services and Efma.

The survey of more than 100 banks in the Emea region shows 31% have no dedicated strategy for Gen Y, 31% do and 38% are working on one now, says Efma (European Financial Marketing Association).

Oracle identifies three critical parameters for successful engagement with this demographic: the use of social media as a marketing and communications channel, responsive and flexible customer service, and speed in launching new products.

Just 31% of all respondents have a social media strategy in place, a key channel for interacting with Gen-Y - whose members spend a significant amount of time online. In contrast, more than 40% of banks with an established Gen Y focus use social media to communicate and market, and another 26% plan to start doing this in the next six months.

Surprisingly, only eight per cent of respondents think they deliver "exceptional" service, with another 54% ranking themselves as "good". Banks with Gen Y are more positive, with 15% claiming excellence and nearly 60% saying their service level is good.

Oracle claims that personalised and configurable products resonate with Gen Y but only four per cent of overall respondents say they can launch an offering in one week. This compares with 11% of Gen Y focused banks. This group is also more likely to offer products tailored to Gen Y, including pre-paid debit cards, and partnerships with retail chains.

Compared to their peers, banks with Gen Y strategies are also more likely to invest in modernising their retail platform, a fundamental requirement for providing more agile service and product offerings. Banks without a Gen Y strategy were more likely to be focused on maintaining and upgrading current applications and platforms.

NRK Raman, MD and CEO, Oracle Financial Services, says: "Personalised and flexible products and services and communication will be the bellwethers for success with Gen-Y. To support this heightened need for agility - whether in service delivery, product development or communication - financial services organisations must adapt, and in some cases transform, their go-to-market strategies. IT is an essential element for success, with a modern and open infrastructure providing a foundation that enables the flexibility and agility required to compete profitably in the Gen-Y era."

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Ketharaman Swaminathan - GTM360 Marketing Solutions - Pune | 30 September, 2010, 16:28

While advising vendors to promote Web 2.0 technologies that form the foundation of social media and other GenY favorites, we've often found greater traction from sales, marketing and other business functions in banks and financial institutions. They see the value easily, often have budgets, and are not too worried about introducing a few point solutions that deliver high ROI but don't necessarily find favor with their central IT governance frameworks.

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