What if all of us were Millennials?
Satisfying millennials has become an obsession. Young people have always been a major target for businesses, which see them as the employees and clients of tomorrow. But millennials are much more than that. Their consumer behavior and their expectations are inspiring every generation and their influence is much greater than it used to be. This paradigm shift poses a major challenge for industries.
Millennials are in favor of a return to normal, where the customer is king.
Always on the go and super-connected, the new generation’s behavior is disruptive compared to their elders when it comes to their relationship to time and the company. They express themselves openly on social networks and gather with their peers in communities, shifting the power relationship between consumer and supplier. They expect quick responses, which undoubtedly disrupts business organization and pace. They demand availability anytime, anywhere: in the agency, on the Internet, on the phone, in the chat room. They expect high quality service with an immediate response and personalized care.
So there is disruption but is it a revolution? Are these demands really so special? Advice, assistance, speed, value for money: in my view, their expectations correspond at the end of the day to services that every company should naturally extend to its customers.
What if generation was simply advocating for a return to normal, i.e., a situation where the customer really is the heart of the model? In this sense, I would say that we are all millennials!
Simple and legitimate in appearance, this radical change is not easy and requires a major transformation! At AXA, we focus our efforts on customer service and the integration of their preferred technologies. This is what we have called multi-access. For example today, at AXA France, customers who want to can use WhatsApp or Facebook messenger to ask about a policy or a claim, in addition to the usual channels.
The use of digital is not a guarantee of success with millennials.
Considering millennials merely as a marketing target would be overly simplistic. While they are described as addicted to new ways of communication, their behaviors and ideas go well beyond the use of new technology. Perhaps in order to deal with the current economic situation, perhaps in order to find meaning, millennials are challenging established industries looking for more attractive prices (sometimes eliminating intermediaries) or better services. And their ideas have been adopted by all age groups, a real groundswell for the economy. Look at Uber passengers: what they have in common is that they own a smartphone, whether they are 17 or 77 years old.
At AXA, we started at square one to provide useful and modern services. Soon AXA France is a good example. This free banking application that offers a free credit card has been very successful because it offers the possibility of opening an account with your mobile with 3 photos in less than 10 minutes. The application allows young people to manage their money better and anticipate their expenses.
But the use of digital is not a guarantee of success with millennials. Developing an application is not the answer to all the demands of customers. Sometimes applications are seldom used. This is one reason we innovate, for example in recruitment (by organizing hackathons, going to meet young people at festivals), by working with millennials on offers and services of tomorrow, by creating Labs, which are a beachhead of innovation in San Francisco and Shanghai, by investing in the start-ups of InsurTech (AXA Strategic Ventures), by creating a start-up incubator (Kamet), by training our engineers and actuaries in data science (Data Innovation Lab in Paris and Singapore), by building on their expertise to instill a culture of innovation inside the Group, through partnerships with the sharing economy actors invented by millennials and adopted by every generation (we insure the 20 million users of BlaBlaCar in Europe).
In a short period of time, millennials have managed to create a new economic paradigm and have imposed "on demand" service as the new normal. We are innovating in this light. We adapt our business every day. Our services should allow us to be the partner for millennials so that they become and remain our customers tomorrow.
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Co-founder/CEO at Allawee - The only card with a built-in back office.
8 年Very True. Brands & companies better start adapting, in order to stay afloat.
presso
8 年The flessibility it's very important in this period
Gerente de Marketing
8 年I understood the core idea of the message is to challenge the "millennials stereotypes". As the author Veronique Weill suggests very wisely, in my opinion: Is it really a new revolution we are living, when for the 1st time, customers want to be heard? Customers appreciate companies that are "conversational", (as they always did) Nowadays, we (Marketers) must provide responsiviness to clients/customers at point of sales, at their homes, anywhere, 24 hours, online and offline, at fasters speeds. We keep on being (same old) humans that gives preferences to brands with better approaches to our needs. Distribution channels have evolved to provide friendly experiences and global reach, competition is broader, customers communication with brands, communities and influencers can be instantaneous. Therefore, voice tone and bargain power of customer have increased. The levels of demand are now greater than ever, but at core, human needs remain the same, brands must stay in line with them. Millenials are all of us, humans, global consumers.
?? Event-Tech, ??? UGC, ?? SaaS ?? CEO at Walls.io, Founder at Swat.io
8 年I really enjoyed going through the article Veronique. It’s an inspirational piece :) The changes that millennials have triggered in terms of customer service, marketing and not only have put customers in charge of the content they want to consume, the medium they want to use for solving their problems, the products that best suit their needs, etc. Of course, this is challenging for companies out there but it somehow feels like it’s the right thing :)
Driving Organizational Growth | Talent Management & Development | People Experience | Strategy & Design
8 年This is an interesting perspective Veronique Weill. However, I personally do not believe Millennials (me being one myself) are any more special than the rest of the generations. Each generation has come with their share of strengths & weaknesses; more importantly we are probably the luckier of recent past generations since we continue experiencing the paradigm shift in everything around us- from life, to culture; from technology to traditions, the list is endless. If anything, we have seen our parents & ancestors struggle in difficult economies world over and hence we carry some very valuable lessons! If there is one thing we possibly look for as a generation- it is the ability to take over the reigns (when the time is right)! I say this with the recent most debacle in mind within the TATA group which is the biggest conglomerates in India- BUT It is a testament to what seems to have become a global phenomena- How the old simply cannot make way for the new. This by no way means that the Gen Z or Y is redundant, it is far from it! But while physically it is possible to last longer & healthier; mentally it is not the case. We cannot possibly all be 'Millennials' (if one must be tagged to a generation); we all have to admit & accept when the time comes to hand over the reigns of responsibilities to the next league of successors! The thought that one generation competes with another or wants to be known as another is scary & impossible to live up to as a reality. Being an ex-AXA employee, this is one thing which has so far been unique to the organization. The ability to recognize that talent & sustainability go beyond the realms of age where both the employees & customers are concerned. Hope the same culture can continue within AXA and also extend to other organizations!