Customer Experience Strategies and Millennials

Market research giant J.D. Power and Associates released a new report this week that offers up surprising new data regarding Millennial shopping habits. The study takes a unique look at the hot button demographic, dispelling misconceptions that have stood as generally accepted facts for years.

A prime example of these misconceptions is Millennials are not as fickle or anti-establishment as previously thought, especially in industries like utilities, healthcare, and telecommunications. In fact, Millennials were found to be more satisfied customers than the Baby Boomers before them.

Not all customer experience strategies should be thrown out the window, however; some were further solidified by the report. Customer service is, indeed, an even more crucial factor for Millennials than any other generation. Not only do Millennials have lower tolerance for customer service errors and delays, but they also have shown to be more likely to reuse a product or service after an issue is fully resolved, further underlining the need for effective and seamless customer services processes.

Personalization is being looked at as the next frontier in marketing, and the J.D. Power report demonstrates that Millennials are the perfect target for such efforts. With a lower concern for privacy than older generations, Millennials are willing to trade their personal shopper data for the benefits of a personalized customer experience.

Interestingly, the report notes that while Millennials typically have less wealth, lower income, and higher debt, they also tend to be more optimistic about the economy and their own finances.

“Our studies indicate that Millennials are different from previous generations; however, it’s really the nuances of the customer experience that set them apart from the rest,” said Keith Webster, senior vice president and general manager, service industries Americas at J.D. Power. “And it’s those nuances that are so critical for business leaders to know right now as they wrestle with the challenge of anticipating customer demand in an incredibly fast-moving marketplace where getting it wrong can have catastrophic effects. We believe this research helps to demystify the Millennial generation by offering concrete data on their real-world consumer interactions.”

The report includes more than 600,000 consumer responses, 126,315 of which came from Millennials (those born between 1982 and 1994). 

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