Will that be cash or credit?

We all know there are fundamental differences in the way various generations use cash, credit and debit purchasing options. But how much are you really aware of what these differences are, and why the different generations use the products they do?

As I was reading the Monday January 15th edition of the Creditunions.com newsletter, there was an article called: “Gen Y vs. Gen X: Is There a Wallet Difference?” The article explained that the employees at Creditunions.com took a quick poll around their office of employees under the age of 30 and over the age of 30. This poll asked a few key questions about how these employees spend money. One of these questions was “how much cash is in your wallet right now?” and the other was “how do you pay for everyday expenses?”. They then asked why.

These are two pretty basic questions but it makes you think, how often do financial institutions (or any other service companies for that matter) actually check in with customers and ask meaningful questions like these? I am not just talking about running customer satisfaction surveys, I am talking about asking actual, meaningful questions about customers’ banking habits, want, needs and spending behavior.

It is often overlooked, but actually being in touch with customers and asking questions will provide a wealth of information about what types of products and services they use. What is the point of offering 10 types of checking accounts if you find out, after asking the customers, that 90% of them use only two different types?

Communicating with customers is a great way to help tailor product and service offerings to what they are actually using. You may begin to see trends emerge with the types of customers that bank with you and the types of products they are using. These trends might tell you some valuable things about who you are as an organization, and how you are different from your competitors.

The alternative might be monitoring competitors to make sure you are matching their product offerings. But, wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of differentiation?

Find out what customers are using, find out what they want, talk to them; after all, you do provide the best personal and friendly service right? Well, it seems to me that the best way to offer personal service is to find out what your customers want by talking to them…personally.