How Do Millennials Want to Talk to You

How Do Millennials Want to Talk to You

• Apr 23, 2015
• Dan Hoff
• 0

by Sean Hoff

If you are wondering how to reach Millennials in your market, the first thing you need to know is just exactly How Do Millennial Want to Talk to You. Much of what you read today in regards to customer interaction is about the rise of social media and how Millennials are driving this.

Stories and headlines trumpet the death of older and “antiquated methods” of communication. But be aware that if you scale back too far on email communications though, you could be missing a huge part of how your customers would like to talk to you.

According to data from Principal Financial Group, a financial investment management company, 25 – 35 year old Internet users still overwhelmingly prefer to contact companies by email. This was their preference over 40% of the time, as compared to under 10% of the time for Chat, Text or even the much hyped Social Media platforms.

In fact, those numbers have increased over previous years, but are still not anywhere near the primary contact method for even tech savvy Millennials. So what does this mean for your business?

First, this is a great time to remember how it is that your customers want to talk to you, and make sure you are staffed and equipped to meet them there in a way that meets their needs. Don’t start shifting too many resources to places where they will be wasted, all while short changing your most valuable avenues of contact.

Secondly, the number of people using social media to reach out to companies is slowly on the rise, so create a presence and system to handle this now. But don’t expect it to be huge right off the bat. It is growing and provides another convenient way for your customers to interact with you, but not the only way. Remember, adding one more line of commination to the mix is good especially if it serves to drop the barriers to an open line of communication with your customers.

Third, the fast paced response many people get from chat, twitter or Facebook is now a reality of how we function and live. It has become an expectation. Just think about how impatient you get in traffic, or having to wait to get something that isn’t eligible for shipping via Prime. We want things now, so keep this in mind for customer service.

Simply because people still prefer email as a means of talking to you, doesn’t mean they will put up with long response times. Make sure to know how long it takes your customers to get answers and be taken care of and work to keep that number down.

Finally, make sure your emails are what your customers need and want, so do it well:

Be quick to respond to customers

Be professional, but be sure to use their wording in parts of the email to assure them you are a real person who cares. (Also, CARE about them and their issue!)

Don’t overlook the design of your email just because it is “only email.” Have it match your branding and messaging, but keep it a professional seamless transition to the rest of your marketing.

Finally, test how your email looks when received on the most popular email clients such as Gmail, outlook, and mobile devices.

By knowing how your customers want to talk to you, you can keep your focus on them, not on broad trends according to others. If you are just starting out, or need another set of expert eyes to help you identify and address issues like this, please contact us .

At Dan Hoff Marketing we have over 25 years of experience in helping businesses go to the next level, find more business, or communicate better with the customers they already have. Please fee free to give us a call if you’re just not getting the results you not only want, but need.

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