Community Bankers of Iowa Monthly Banker Update November 2013 | Page 6

Fine Points

Written By: Camden Fine, President and CEO of ICBA

Human, After All
So where are we all heading? Or to a more important point,
what are we becoming? The answer lies in the upcoming generations.
Perhaps no group of people has been polled, probed and analyzed more by marketers and social researchers than today’s
young adults. A lot has been said, overanalyzed and oversimplified about their values, attitudes, habits and aspirations.
Much of this spotlight has shined on the so-called Generation
Y, the second-largest cohort and potentially the group with the
greatest purchasing power since the all-pervading baby boomers. Those in the Gen Y tribe, now 19 to 36 years old, have or
soon will come of age personally, professionally and financially.
Today, they account for over $1 trillion of purchasing power annually, a figure that will grow exponentially.
Certainly, Gen Y’s technology-tethered upbringing has strongly
shaped their expectations and mindsets. Having little to no
recollection of life without the Internet or smartphones, this
first mobile generation has adapted almost nonchalantly to
warp-speed revolutionary advances. Without questioning,
these young people expect, in addition to vast digital troves
of free information, anytime access to entertainment, customer service and commerce.
Of course, all community bankers today understand that effectively adapting to and managing continually evolving technology—whether in deposit taking, lending or payments—is
integral to their institution’s ongoing success. This is true for
all customers, old and young, as it will be for those soon to
follow.
Far from being a drag or a disadvantage, community bank
technology is second to none. Community banks invest
substantial effort, money and strategic thinking on technology and the future it’s creating. Our institutions have and will
continue to access all the innovations necessary to win the
business and loyalty of the next generations. However, what
isn’t recognized enough is how the powerful combination of
technology and the community bank relationship-based business model will best provide what the youngest consumers
say they want.
For all their technological dependence, today’s young adults
still place tremendous value on and crave strong individual relationships. Bombarded with slick media messages
throughout their lives, corporate brands, logos and sloganeering don’t impress them much. They’ve been disillusioned
plenty enough by the marketing wizards flailing behind the
curtain.
Instead, particularly in their biggest personal and professional
matters, today’s young people, who hold some of the strongest aspirations of any generation to become entrepreneurs
and small-business owners, express a deep desire to con-

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November 2013

nect with real people whom they can trust to help them sort out
the ever-increasing complexities of their lives.
That means, once again, that a whole new generation of
consumers is primed to be loyal community bank customers.
But primed does not necessarily mean enlisted. As they must
for every generation, community banks still have to reach out
concertedly, prominently and persistently to tell their story. That
story, one that involves both amazing technology and relationship banking, may need to be told in new forms and forums, but
it has never been more relevant or resonant.
For today’s newest and youngest consumers, far from the glib
characterizations sometimes projected upon them, are not
merely slavish drones of technology. Like our forefathers, like
our sons and daughters, like us—they’re only human, after all.
And that’s of course the best news of all for our increasingly
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high-tech future.