The term “Millennials” is used to identify people born from the early 1980s to the early 2000s. Although not everyone shares the same traits simply because they were born during the same time period, they are some general characteristics that loosely define this group. One area where Millennials differ from earlier generations is the way they communicate, which has a clear impact on customer support. Best practices will set you apart from other companies as you acknowledge some shared traits held by many Millennials and adjust your customer support accordingly.
Self-reliant
With the internet only a click away, Millennials are used to finding solutions on their own. So when they visit your website looking for an answer, it needs to be there and in different formats – chat, videos, FAQs, forums, etc. They will not spend much time clicking around, looking for an answer and they want a format that speaks to them.
Multi-channel focused
In addition to offering clear support on your website in different formats, you also need to offer support in places other than your website. For some Millennials, going to your website isn’t even a consideration. They’ll head right to a social media channel, such as Twitter to contact your support that way. Or they may head to Twitter to complain about you instead. This is why you need to monitor mentions of your brand name on channels, such as Twitter so you can be proactive with your support. Even though they may be complaining about you, it is an opportunity to publicly make it right.
Now or never
Because of what is accessible to them at the click of a button today, if they do not find what they need right this moment, they will look elsewhere for a solution. If they do like what you offer on your site but have a few questions, make it very obvious how they can reach a real person to help them out. They will not patiently wait while being routed through different customer support departments over the phone.
Using chat
Since text messaging is the only way some of the younger generation chooses to communicate, live chat makes sense for your customer support. It’s a similar format to chat where the conversation gets to the point very quickly.
Acknowledge them on social media
Yes, they may go to social media to trash your brand. But there are others that love your brand and talk about it without any prompting. In the book Marketing to Millennials, Jeff Fromm and Christie Garton note that this audience wants to engage with brands who offer personalized conversations. So have a little fun on social media and acknowledge their appreciation of you.
This is a unique group of consumers. The way you deliver customer service must connect with Millennials in a way that feels right to them. When you deliver great products and services and use some of these best practices in customer support, you can develop your Millennials into long term customers.
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