Demographic groups known as Generation Y (or millennials) and Generation Z drive today very much the digital revolution. It is to meet their needs that companies in various industries develop digital initiatives and strategies. It is their way of thinking and preferences that determine the improvement of user experience, the development of new products and services, marketing and sales methods.
When it comes to user experience, the younger generation usually very well understands their need to make any transactions easily and conveniently, and does not forgive if it does not receive such an opportunity. Consider the main points how to meet the requirements of this most important group of customers.
Convenient customer service
Millennials are extremely attached to their devices, and the whole process of choosing and buying should be easily accessible from a smartphone. The digital strategy of retailers is strongly related to the ability to go through this process from the phone quickly. Convenient and accessible should be all stages - product selection, viewing text and video reviews, checking for availability, delivery options, payment, interacting with a courier, installment purchase. This approach will allow your customers to feel that you value their time. Moreover, of course, such a digital retail platform gives the retailer an excellent opportunity for cross selling and helps to establish long-term relationships with the customer.
However, millennials can go into traditional stores. In this case, any employee with a device in his hand can provide quick and efficient service, while having the means for resale and cross selling based on customer preferences and situational information.
Another scenario in a traditional store is when the smartphone directs the buyer to the location of the goods in the store, helps to compare the pre-selected goods with reality, and tells you special offers that can be used today, tomorrow or a week later.
In any case, the use of smart devices that will help with product selection, check availability and complete the sale and payment on the spot is the type of digital innovation that is needed to service millennials and Generation Z.
Example: Digital Bank for Brazilian Millennials
Digital banking can be a great example of transformation in the interests of millennials. As simple and convenient as possible, as focused on mobility and digital communications online, such banks actually attract a young audience.
For example, Brazil's Next Digital Bank was founded by the parent Bradesco Bank with a clear target audience: the millennials. Having created a new value proposition for this particular audience in accordance with what they consume, the bank achieved great success. In the first year alone, the brand reached 300,000 active accounts, and today the bank has 1.1 million customers and about 8,000 new ones appear every day. More than 80% of digital bank customers did not deal with Bradesco, the company actually entered a new market. Outflow is less than 2 percent. General banking metrics at Next are better than at the parent bank.
Relying on Bradesco's core financial services, Next exploited the trends of digital transformation in banking and became a completely separate digital bank and deliberately focused on a hyper-connected, young demographic group (this group includes 58 million Brazilians, of which 45 million are economically active). Studies have shown that this demographic group is the most financially knowledgeable over the past three generations and owns a third of savings in Brazil.
In addition to convenience, the point of attraction was the possibility of integrating external partners offering discounts on services that attract its target audience, such as Uber, the local iFood food delivery application and movie theater chains. In the initial version of the application, there were only 10 external partners offering services through the application, and after a year, this ecosystem expanded to 67 companies.
Next strategies also included hiring people with new types of experience. For example, the company employs anthropologists, sociologists who help to understand what the target audience expects from the bank and which services they need to develop.
We talked about the experience of working with a young audience in retail and finance, but this experience can be extended to many industries: entertainment, media, catering, services, transportation and much more. Digital tools will help you meet the different needs, settings, and preferences of this demographic group.
The digital transformation here is not so much in the introduction of technology, but in the precise focus on the path and needs of customers. Innovation and creativity will be the source of fuel that will support your business in the digital revolution.
Generation Z and millennials together are the largest consumer group in history and their role in the future will even grow. So it makes very much sense today to focus on their needs by converting your business to digital.
