To secure Nexters’ business, get in line now

They are a very smart group of technologically savvy young people. They are fast learners, and they tend…

They are a very smart group of technologically savvy young people. They are fast learners, and they tend to be impatient.
They are Generation Next, born between 1980 and 2000. They are 72 million strong and will continue to enter the work force in large numbers, as baby boomers did, and they will effect significant changes in the work and investment environment.
These Nexters are the future clients of financial planners and advisers, and it’s up to the financial services industry to make sure it knows how to communicate with this demograph- ic in order to obtain their business.
The smart, savvy financial services professional will find a way to enlist Nexters now. It’s a huge opportunity that cannot be taken lightly.
Technology has changed the lifestyle of this generation — the first in American history to grow up in an environment vastly different from any previous generation.
Instant communication is a necessity in their world, and these people are basically connected wirelessly 24/7. They use technology and the Internet to connect with people in new and distinctive ways. Text messaging, instant messaging and e-mail keep them in constant contact with friends and on top of current events.
Generation Nexters use the Internet for all aspects of their life. Whether it’s looking for a college, buying a used car, downloading music for their iPod or buying concert tickets, they are connected to the Internet and use it in ways no other generation could have imagined.
The key for financial services firms in reaching Nexters is to find ways to leverage the technologies they already use to deliver important financial information to them. Communication strategies and expertise need to be updated to keep pace with the times and to keep up with the future clients.
The financial services industry needs to find ways to educate Nexters about the need to save and to show them the effect of their own retirement.
When asked specifically about their generation in a recent national poll, most of this demographic believed that becoming rich and being famous were important goals for their age group. In fact, 64% of those surveyed said that getting rich was the most important goal in life for their generation.
Evidently, being rich is much more important to today’s young people than it was in past generations. Admittedly, looking to become rich and actually making it happen are very different. In any case, all those wealth managers out there should be paying close attention to this generation.
The same poll, conducted by The Pew Research Center in Washington, found that 72% of Nexters felt very confident that they would land a high-paying job after graduating from college. Additionally, 82% of those polled believed that planning ahead for life was essential. Those Nexters polled felt that it was important for them to have a good, solid plan in terms of career, marriage and having children.
Nexters, who believe hard work and goal setting are the tickets to achieving their financial dreams, should be on the radar screen of every financial adviser and planner.