Omni-Channel Customer Engagement Article

Whether or not your business is comfortable with the millennial demographic, it’s imperative that you pay close attention to this group of savvy buyers. While this group of consumers has received some flack in the press, the fact of the matter is this is an important demographic for marketers to understand, and here’s why: they’re changing the way brands work.

According to Forbes, two specific car dealerships are on board with serving the millennial customer base. How so? First, let’s get the gist of what makes millennials tick.

Nielsen says that 85 percent of this demographic owns a smartphone. That opens up not only marketing opportunities, but selling and buying opportunities. Everything can be done on a smartphone these days, even a tablet. They’re also a social bunch. Pew Research Center says that 87 percent of 18 to 29 year olds use Facebook, with 53 percent on Instagram, 37 percent on Twitter (News - Alert) and 34 percent on Pinterest.

Forbes highlighted Avondale Toyota near Phoenix, Arizona and One Toyota of Oakland, California, both of which are using tablets to help sales professionals sell. Why is this a big deal? If you’ve ever purchased a car, then you know that the process can be a bit lengthy. There’s a lot of running back and forth, photocopying IDs for test drives, filling out paperwork, running to the branch manager, the finance manager and so on. The tablets act as a gateway for all of this paperwork and pretty much removes all of that red tape from the equation. Sales staff can easily scan driver IDs, check out cars from the lot, show pictures and brochures, all from one device. What does this have to do with millennials? See the point above; they’re a mobile, tech-savvy group that likes rapid transactions. This can help sales pros close a deal for the milliennial consumer.

This is an excellent example of the omni-channel experience. The omni-channel experience means businesses are using technology to better

obtain data and help customers in need. Consumers are now experiencing the power and the promise of converged and rich communication such as instant messaging, video sharing and buddy lists, which have introduced a new user experience. For car dealerships, having all of the info to sell a set of new wheels means millennials get served up a positive experience using the technology they know and love.

The omni-channel customer experience is shaped by all the contributors to an organization’s processes, policies and culture, in addition to the physical product or service associated with the customer’s need. Thus, it is impacted by the degree of alignment among departments and the use of proper technology to serve the millennial customer.