While this may serve as a thorn in the side of older generations, there is no denying the widespread effect that millennials have had on the business world. One area where millennials have had a significant impact is Customer Experience. Having witnessed some of the most striking technological advancements in modern history, millennials have a unique perspective on the way that Customer Experience initiatives should be executed. Now it seems that wherever millennials spend their time and money, that product or service tends to become the next big trend. This technological advancement is key because it has completely altered the interactions between brand and customer. While some of the older millennials may remember a time before smartphones, Twitter, and online shopping, there is virtually no separating this technology from the daily lives of the average consumer. Millennials have become cultural trend setters, and as a result, they have changed the way that brands need to think about their Customer Experience initiatives. Brands now need to make a concerted effort to cater to the qualities desired by their millennial customers, in order to maintain or become industry leaders.
The first place to start when analyzing your millennial Customer Experience is obviously optimizing your digital or online experience. While a significant number of the population besides millennials use smartphones, this is a key touchpoint to reach your millennial customers. Specifically, your brand’s social media profiles are a great way to connect with this customer base, because millennials basically expect the brands they use to be active and available via Twitter or Facebook. Meeting this expectation can help separate your brand from its competitors because it is an initial step in forming the relationship between brand and customer. Depending on the industry you encompass, you can create this connection through humor, an approach used by brands like Chipotle and T-Mobile, or target a different section by posting content that is more professional. According to a J.D. Power study, the Millennials Insight Report: The Customer Experience Perspective, these millennial consumers are much less concerned with privacy compared to older generations, so making a connection with their online personas can be a very effective method of establishing a positive relationship between your brand and the millennial consumer.
Another way to improve the millennial Customer Experience within your brand is to give ample opportunities for self-service. While older generations are used to getting on the phone or going to a brick and mortar location as a first step to get their questions answered, the millennial population is used to figuring out this information themselves. Make sure that your website has all of the necessary information so that your customer can figure out the information without having to talk to an employee. Providing this customer agency will allow your brand to be more transparent, and more favorable to millennials. However, while it is important to have the information readily available for self-service, millennials also expect your employees to be well versed and able to answer any and all questions. In that same aforementioned J.D. Power study, it determined that compared to other generations studied, millennials have the lowest tolerance for poor customer service. The standard expectation is that everything should work properly and run smoothly, but when that does not happen, you can ensure loyalty from the millennial base of your customers by making sure that your employees are capable of solving issues quickly and correctly. Adding these aspects into your Customer Experience capabilities will attract more millennial customers, as well as creating more brand ambassadors within this population.
The topic of millennials can be quite decisive. Some consider this population as a prophetic sign of good times to come, while others consider the millennial attitude as the bane of progression. Regardless of your opinion on the way millennials will impact our society’s future as a whole, there is no denying the impact that appealing to millennials can have on your brand. The last of the millennials are now starting to enter the workforce, which will only reinforce the power that they hold within the market. Make sure to cater to this population in order to capitalize on its growing influence, and you can establish your brand so that it is ready for whatever changes the next generation brings.
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