Is your business next-generation proof?

Put Yourself in Your Customers Shoes

The last few weeks have been a little emotional; my daughter went off to University to start her first year as a fine art student.

We drove her down to London and decided to have a farewell meal before leaving her to begin the next chapter of her life. We started to look for a restaurant. With no recommendations to go on, we wandered, browsing menus posted outside each restaurant. As you can imagine, there was the whole spectrum to choose from glitzy and expensive to cheap and cheerful. 

While my husband and I wandered, my daughter was on her phone doing research. She was fast. She jumped on sites to check out reviews which then led her to individual websites to read their menus, and something struck me: 

Wow, this generation has a very different way of choosing where to spend their money. 

Her process was intuitive and entirely tailored to her immediate need.

She eliminated restaurants based on:

1.     If the reviews were poor

2.     The website didn’t load quickly 

3.     The website wasn’t adapted for use on a mobile phone

4.     It was a cheap DIY site

5.     The spelling and grammar were poor

6. They didn't mention how they were managing Covid-19 restrictions

The list went on, and her thought process was fascinating: 

If the restaurant hasn’t invested their time and money on first impressions such as a good working website, comprehensive information to help you make a decision or even a menu on their site, then where else have they cut corners?

Hygiene and cleanliness? Cheap produce? Where and how they source their meat and fish? Are their staff trained and treated well? Does the owner even care about their customers? 

It’s no secret that Millenials and Generation Z manage their social lives predominantly online and are, therefore are much more likely to rank your products and services online too. With news travelling faster than ever before the chances are that your prospects will hear the good and the bad about your business sooner rather than later. 

This got me thinking.

What are businesses doing to capture this new audience?

According to Gallup, 

Only 25% of millennial consumers are fully engaged with the brands and services they purchase, and in fact, they have the lowest overall customer engagement score of any generation.

I find this statistic staggering, but it’s also an incredible opportunity for businesses to embrace this untapped resource of consumer spending to develop long-term brand loyalty. 

So what does this new generation want? 

·       Tech dependent consumers want fast and easy access to buying but also interacting with brands online. 

·       Never underestimate the power of in-person. While digital interactions are high on the list of priorities, the younger generation also values the personal touch when it comes to service, follow-up and certainly if issues should arise. 

·       Convenience is key. They want to meet with brands on their terms, so find the platforms and forums that your prospects hang out and embrace them.

·       A seamless customer journey with little or no frustrations. 

·       They want a tribe. If you can lead, they will follow. Brands need to evolve, so they engage, speak and deliver a vision which their consumers want to become a part of. 

This rising generation will soon become the largest consumer group overtaking babyboomers exponentially. Their spending habits are different, and their priorities are a carousel of tech-led innovations which should not be overlooked. 

Now is the time to understand and embrace the next generation; Their value to your business should not be underestimated. 

Starting conversations is a great place to begin, and I’ll be talking about this more in my upcoming posts. 

Rebecca Jenkins is a business growth specialist, helping companies to find, win and grow the best clients. Find out more at RJEN or call +44 (0)1275600166.