Independent Banker - December 2024 - 49

Gen Z financial goal #5:
A common challenge for community banks is
how to create relationships with this new digital
generation. According to Adrenaline, 99% of the
Gen Z individuals surveyed had used a mobile
banking app in the past month compared with 16%
who said they visit a bank branch once a month.
The traditional or " analog " banking relationship
Gen Zers are thinking about their fi nancial futures
earlier than prior generations. According to a
2024 Planning and Progress study conducted by
Northwestern Mutual, the average adult Gen Zer
starts saving for retirement at age 22.
Yet, bankers agree that getting in front of the
Gen Z audience is challenging. This is a group that
might have 10,000 unopened emails. Because
of this, notes Crabill, you can't send them an
email. You have to fi nd other ways to get in front
of them-on their mobile devices, on the social
media platforms they use and in person. Social
media posts have to be snappy and eye-catching.
Posts should direct them to information about,
for example, how employer 401(k) contribution
matching programs work or why compound
interest is so powerful.
that relies on meeting in person is changing to a
more digital version. Mobile apps are now table
stakes for community banks. Gen Z is looking for
convenience and wants to know what they need
to know when they need to know it, says Jordan
Mackler, CEO and cofounder of subscription
control service ScribeUp.
" They have a very dynamic lifestyle, " he says.
" They're constantly on the run. They're not taking
the time to go into the branch. "
Personalization and data are also important.
Instead of generic screens, banks will need to
personalize information with exactly what that
individual needs to know about their financial life.
" We believe that this type of personalization of the
financial experience is really where community
banks need to carry that relationship banking into
the future, " says Mackler.
Gen Z customers want seamless technology
that is easy, eff icient and convenient. " We're
constantly updating our app and our platform
and looking for ways to improve, " adds Leslie D.
Crabill, executive vice president and director of
wealth and investments at Bank of Charles Town
in Charles Town, W.Va. " You have to invest in the
technology, and you have to have a marketing
platform that goes where they're going to be. "
One way BCT is working to reach Gen Z clients
is by starting with its own employees. The wealth
management department took on the job of
educating new employees through its
Wealth Wednesday, which is a " lunch
and learn " program where they
discuss things like how a 401(k) plan
works. The hope, says Crabill, is
that employees will take that
knowledge and share it with
their friends and others in
their peer group.
Beth Mattson-Teig is a writer
in Minnesota.
-Scott Auen, Cornerstone Bank
independentbanker.org // 49
http://www.independentbanker.org
Independent Banker - December 2024

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