Omni-Channel Customer Engagement Article

Millennial customers are challenging when it comes to customer care. They want a lot. Raised in an era of free-flowing information, massive choice and everyone selling to them 24/7, most Millennials demand more from those companies they frequent.

In particular, they want engagement. They don’t want generic marketing messages pushed at them, and they don’t want reactive customer service. Millennial generation experts report this segment of the buying population is looking for businesses that engage with them on an individual level. Those are the businesses they buy from.

Let’s use the travel industry as an example. Other generations, such as the Baby Boomers, are content with flight information alerts when it comes to travel—but not Millennials. In the ideal flight scenario for Millennials, an airline or travel Web site will not only tell them a flight is delayed, it will work with them on alternate options in case the delayed flight is more than just a few minutes late. It might suggest alternate flights, or offer up hotel options, or give a bit of relief such as a discount for drinks when the Millennial has been kept waiting for hours.

Delivering this level of customer service is not easy.

A recent article in Forbes by Millennials expert, Jeff Fromm, lays out a few ways that businesses can transition to this more proactive level of customer service.

First, create a roadmap for delivering customized and personalized interactions, and match social data to individual customers. Make sure that your customer engagement strategy is focused on one-on-one customer service.

Second, ask a few questions every time the customer interacts with your contact center. The key, stressed Fromm, is not asking the same questions twice or else these consumers will get frustrated and bored. Once these questions have been collected over time, aggregate the answers to see how your business can improve.

Finally, connect behavioral data to the individual customer, and integrate your data systems into online, contact center and in-person systems. Without this last step, data collection and personalization amount to nothing.

Millennials are a tough demographic. But they also help a business grow. Delivering on Millennials needs is not impossible. It just requires a shift in mindset and methodology.