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Companies Are Struggling to Attract and Serve the Millennial Generation
(Marketwire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) SAN FRANCISCO, CA, October 2 / MARKET WIRE/ --
A new global survey by the Economist
Intelligence Unit and Genesys, an Alcatel-Lucent company (Euronext Paris:
ALU) (NYSE: ALU), shows that most companies are struggling with how to
adapt their businesses to serve a new wave of consumers from the Millennial
Generation. The global survey looked at how consumers born between 1982 and
2001 will impact the customer experience, asking C-level and senior
executives from around the world how they are creating a customer
experience to attract and retain Millennials.
Three key findings emerged:
-- Investment strategies are shifting to favor Millenials: Companies are
debating heavily whether to invest more in catering to aging baby boomers
versus next-generation consumers, with 42% saying they should tilt toward
younger customers, while 39% would shift toward baby boomers and generation
X.
-- The time to act is now: Most companies (54%) have not yet set their
strategies or marketing for Millennials even though they overwhelmingly
agree that such steps are needed, with 75% saying Millennials will impact
their organization as consumers in the next three years.
-- It's an Enterprise 2.0 world: Most companies have a sophisticated
understanding of what it would take to adapt, but are not ready to change
their customer engagement model by leveraging social networking, peer
marketing, better online support, text messaging, and blogging.
The report highlights the urgent need for businesses to invest in new modes
of customer communication and to tailor their approaches to match customer
preferences. The research is part of an ongoing set of thought leadership
initiatives by Genesys designed to help leading enterprises respond to key
challenges they face and enable them to improve the overall customer
experience. Genesys helps solve these issues by providing the software and
expertise to manage customer interactions, resources, and processes from
end-to-end, across all channels of communication.
Who participated?
Of the 164 executives who took part in the survey, 29% came from North
America, 31% from Europe, 30% from Asia-Pacific and 10% from the rest of
the world. Participants represented 19 different industries. One-third of
respondents' organizations had annual revenue greater than one billion U.S.
dollars and just over one-half (51%) had less than 500 million U.S. dollars
in revenue. Board members and CEOs comprised 30% of respondents. CFOs, CTOs
and other C-level executives made up an additional 19%. The remainder was
split among other senior and middle management functions.
Who are the Millennials and why do they matter?
The Economist Intelligence Unit found that, unlike the baby-boomer
generation, a group studied closely for decades, the millennial generation,
and its influence on consumer spending and corporate attitudes, is just
beginning to be understood. The Millennials, or generation Y, include
approximately 80 million individuals born between 1982 and 2001 in the U.S.
alone. The millennial generation outnumbers baby boomers today, and its
ranks will continue to grow in influence as the majority of Millennials
reach adulthood in the next decade, the report said.
How will companies balance between Millennials and older consumers?
Largely as a result of the Baby Boomers, executives overwhelmingly agree
(81%) that each generation has specific work and marketplace needs, but
they are split on which demographic group should receive the greater share
of market investment. A surprising 42% believe that a bigger share of
investment in marketing and service should go toward catering to
Millennials, while 39% favor older consumers. As a result of this split,
the research found few companies have cemented their approach or yet
implemented a strategy.
Have companies set their strategies to court them?
The survey found that 75% of companies believe that in the next three years
they will need to have a millennial strategy in place, with 30% expecting a
major impact that will lead to change across the organization, and 45%
expecting a more modest impact. Despite this, 54% of respondents say they
have yet not set their strategy for targeting, attracting, or retaining
Millennials, while 32% say they have done so. For example, most companies
have not kept pace with the Millennials' preference for interacting through
newer, community-based technologies, as most firms continue to rely on
telephone, e-mail and store/office-front points of contact.
How will companies try to attract more Millennials?
The Economist Intelligence Unit found the proliferation of blogs, podcasts,
videos, chat rooms, social networking sites and other online interactive
communication has changed the corporate-customer relationship. In the past,
customers tended to go directly to the company to enquire about a product,
make a purchase or raise a complaint; today they increasingly go online. On
the web, they learn, shop and share their experiences, both positive and
negative.
The survey identified key features and motivating factors that companies
expect to resonate with Millennials, which revolve around issues such as
convenience, customization, and community. For example, when it comes to
purchasing products and services, corporate reputation and brand are less
important with the Millennials than peer recommendation and viral marketing
(such as online promotional communications passed from one customer to
another). Moreover, respondents say it is convenience, more than price,
that drives millennial purchasing decisions. Others include "fast, reliable
service," "frictionless interaction," a "tailored approach," "honesty and
trust" and a "personal touch."
A complete copy of the research is available upon request by visiting
http://genesyslabs-registration.com/?p=ECGG to register and download it, or
email press@genesyslab.com.
About Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc.
Genesys, an Alcatel-Lucent company, is the only company that focuses 100
percent on software to manage customer interactions over the phone, Web and
in e-mail. The Genesys software suite dynamically connects customers with
the right resources -- self-service or assisted-service -- to fulfill
customer requests, optimize customer care goals and efficiently use
resources. Genesys software directs more than 100 million customer
interactions every day for 4,000 companies and government agencies in 80
countries. These companies and agencies can leverage their entire
organization, from the contact center to the back office, to improve the
overall customer experience. As a result, Genesys helps stop customer
frustration, drive efficiency and accelerate business innovation. For more
information, go to www.genesyslab.com or visit the industry blog at
www.betterinteractions.com.
About Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris: ALU) and (NYSE: ALU) provides solutions
that enable service providers, enterprises and governments worldwide, to
deliver voice, data and video communication services to end-users. As a
leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband networking, IP
technologies, applications and services, Alcatel-Lucent offers the
end-to-end solutions that enable compelling communications services for
people at home, at work and on the move. With operations in more than 130
countries, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with global reach. The company
has the most experienced global services team in the industry, and one of
the largest research, technology and innovation organizations in the
telecommunications industry. Alcatel-Lucent achieved revenues of Euro 17.8
billion in 2007 and is incorporated in France, with executive offices
located in Paris. For more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on the
Internet: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com
Media Contact:
David Radoff
Genesys
650.466.1078dradoff@genesyslab.com
Copyright ? 2008 Marketwire
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