Millennials and Today’s “Experience Economy”
September 03, 2009Featured Commentator: Ryan Pellet, Vice President, Global Consulting Services
Good news for every company grappling with today’s economy: A $1 trillion market can be yours for the taking. Millennials – the 80 million Americans who exercise this economic clout – want to do business with you. Just one hitch: You must deliver a superior service experience when, where, and how they like it.
Recent research from Convergys provides a revealing picture of this powerful, fast-growing customer group and the unique traits that set them apart. As would be expected, people who have been reared on the Internet, mobility, and real-time everything have very high service demands. What’s surprising is how quickly they’re using social media and other technologies to drive their needs and hold companies to a new standard of performance. As fast as you can say, “Twitter,” Millennials are pushing companies beyond a classic service economy toward an “experience economy,” where relationship management is a key factor in determining the relevancy and quality of the service experience for consumers like the Millennials.
Here’s how that new world is shaping up, from Generation Y’s point of view;
- Millennials care deeply about the service experience. They value a company/brand they can trust to deliver a superior experience.
- Intelligent Self Service is the New Personalization. For a Millennial, the benchmark of the superior service experience is intelligent self service. Immersed in today’s inter-networked communities, Millenials like multi-channel automated options that “know” them and can initiate “ambient conversations” on their issues and needs.
- Woe be to the Company that Delivers a Bad Experience. Don’t be fooled by high customer satisfaction scores: Satisfied does not equal loyal. Some 73% of Millennials will leave after one bad experience, and 85% tell others. Why that matters: Think 1.5 million blogs and 3.0 million tweets posted daily. Run afoul of a Millennial, and your company could find itself on the receiving end.
How do you serve such a smart, tough crowd of customers and compete in the new experience economy? The simple answer is to think like they do, adopting an “outside in” approach to service that begins and ends with the customer perspective.
By reverse-engineering a strategy based on what Millennials want, here are several pointers that may help:
- Understand the Millennial Impact. Be prepared to meet their unique service expectations, and have the technical competency to use broadly networked digital communications applications.
- Get the “Ambient Conversation” Right. Be efficient in providing Millennials with multi-channel solutions in sync with their proclivity for shifting attention rapidly from one task to another.
- Leverage Business Intelligence for Proactive Care. Merely answering a Millennial’s question is no longer sufficient. You must take service a step further by using intelligent technologies that reach out to notify customers and solve problems proactively, or to provide tailored offers based on their interests.
Noted authors Chris Brogan and Julien Smith draw a similar conclusion in their new book, “Trust Agents: Using the Web to Build Influence, Improve Reputation and Earn Trust.” In today’s marketplace, the authors contend, companies must strive to be “trust agents. . .digital natives using the Web to be genuine and humanize their business.”
To some, the idea of humanizing care via technology might seem alien, even contradictory. If that describes your company, open your eyes. The old service economy is finished. The tech-based experience economy is here. Millennials don’t think in terms of your service – they care about their experience, enriched by constant contact and feedback via automated systems. For this unique group of customers, intelligent self service is very “high touch and uniquely personal. It is what they like and what they trust.
What are your thoughts with regards to the impact of Millennials on customer service?
Note: You may be interested in a new Webinar about customer service and the Millennials. To register for this September 16 webinar, click here.
