Kids today…are they really tech savvy? They’re always on their phones, using cool apps, making videos and coming up with things like Uber to make life easier.
As a function of their near-constant use of new technology (especially smart phones and tablets) it’s easy to think of those habits as being the result of tech-savviness, but that isn’t exactly the case. The youngest consumers, often referred to as Millennials (born 1977-1995 and separated further into other cohorts) have for their entire lives had access to technology we think of as new and remarkable. To them, it’s ubiquitous and common to talk to their friends over SMS, via social networks and not really have to think about going to a physical store to make purchases.
But that technology has come with a mandate that it just works the first time and in a way that the user experiences a much smaller learning curve. I’m not specifically talking about desktop applications like Photoshop or even Microsoft Word, but mobile apps that need to work right away because users are very quick to drop them and look for another option (which there usually is). Additionally, the app should be intuitive and integrating with its platform seamlessly, making use of the full set of functions that a smart phone or notebook deploys.
We may also be overstating specifically how tech-savvy prior generations were by using our own anecdotal experiences instead of what was taking place on a macro level. As someone who considers himself moderately tech-savvy, my programming experience prematurely ended with LOGO, but I was competent enough to take apart a VCR and reset tape heads. Most of the time, I was using Windows or Mac operating systems, configuring as was necessary for a specific use case and built some home PCs every now and then. But this was also the age in which “[XYZ] for Dummies” books became wildly popular and the number of products offered as consumer technology was increasingly ubiquitous. I know for most of us that are tech-savvy, the other side of that equation was being the free tech support to our non-savvy families.
For businesses, it is important to recognize that the youngest consumers are more tech-dependent than tech-savvy, but it’s smarter to think about their usage of technology in terms of what means and technologies they use to communicate. As providers of customer service strategies and solutions, it’s up to us to recognize this shift as an opportunity and understand how to best connect companies and with the youngest consumers who frequently have the highest customer service expectations.
To learn more about how to communicate with and build loyalty with Millennial consumers, join Jason Dorsey, the Gen Y Guy, along with Aspect’s Joe Gagnon at 1:00 ET on June 30 as they reveal five take-action strategies to engage Millennial customers.
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