Millennial Expectations for Customer Service

~5 min read~

 

I recently read an article at INC. titled '5 ways millennials are reshaping customer service everywhere.' In it, the author asked a number of customer service leaders in a variety of different fields and companies (Chick-Fil-A, Hireology, Anytime Fitness, etc.) a couple of questions and recorded their responses. 

 

In some ways, we don't really associate customer service with millennials. When I ask people to give me their impressions of millennials, I hear about fluency with technology, higher levels of relational capacity and expectations, and the impact of their education. Rarely do I hear 'they have different expectations for customer service.' But they do.

 

One reason for this lack of attention to this topic is many still think of millennials as too young to make an impact economically. But this justification continues to fade as each day passes. Consider: millennials economic influence is expected to grow to $200 billion annually by 2017.

 

Here's something else to consider: 68% of millennial customers have higher expectations for customer service than they did one year ago, and that same number (68%) have stopped doing business with a brand based on one poor experience. 

 

So what? Customer service is going to be a huge issue for your company more and more, and it doesn't matter what industry (I sit on a county board and we are talking about this very issue...in county government!). Here are some factors to consider as you think about how to better engage and capture your millennial audience through excellent customer service:

 

This is more important than ever before, and will drive some of the other changes we look at below. Millennials are used to a very fast paced world with much of their consumption and communication is instantaneous. Gone are the days of hours on the phone waiting for someone to pick up. 

 

If the customer needs to talk with 6 different people along the chain-o'-command to get an issue resolved, you will hemorrhage millennials. The front line CSR, who used to be just a data-gatherer, will need to be more invested in solving problems. AND, they will need to be empowered by their supervisors, executives, and company culture to do so.

 

'As customers and employees they (millennials) expect frequent personalized contact,' says Tina Hodges, CEO/CXO of Advance Financial. To meet this requirement, it will take more than just the 'customer service department.' This is a holistic approach to customer service that starts from the bottom up. In marketing, millennials are often said to be 'tribal'; that is, loyal to a particular brand and the community for a whole variety of different reasons. Customer service is not fractured and sitting off by itself, but is found throughout the entire company. 

 

I recently took a look at a process called JourneyMapping, which is a tool that companies can use to map out the entire guest experience with their company - from start to finish, and follow-up. A huge change in customer service that will be necessary to capture millennial customers will be elevating the customer experience to the executive and strategic level. The 'guest' should have a voice at the executive table so the experience and overall feel is taken into consideration. 

 

I've been working on another piece about millennials that is a little more background and broad strokes which will be out soon. We help companies with their customer service on a regular basis - connect with us for more!