Consumer expectations are increasing, and you want to offer the best all-around retail customer experience. But it’s important that you also do everything possible to appeal to two distinct target audiences — millennials (born between early- to mid-1980s and early 2000s) and baby boomers (born between 1945 and 1964).
When dealing with these two large segments of the population — and your customer base — your approach should differ in three key areas:
Communication.
Unless you offer multiple avenues of communication, it will be impossible to get your message across to both millennials and baby boomers. In general, millennials favor electronic means of communication, while baby boomers embrace the personal touch.
If millennials want to connect with retailers, they’ll use social media, like Facebook or Twitter, or leverage the live chat function on your website. Millennials also respond best to offers of personalized deals and coupons when these options are delivered to their smartphone through email or text messaging.
However, for baby boomers, the opportunity for live connections with store employees is essential to a top-notch retail customer experience. If they have a question about a product while shopping, they don’t want to go to a self-serve kiosk for the answer — they want to speak with a knowledgeable staff member. If they’re communicating with a store from outside its four walls, they may be more comfortable doing so by telephone rather than social media or email.
Brand Reputation.
To provide high-caliber retail customer experiences, you’ll need to build a brand reputation both generations can trust. With millennials, such a reputation is built in part by cultivating and appropriately responding to online reviews. Moreover, millennials have no problem purchasing the items they want through online channels if they spot a better price compared to what is offered in-store. This makes it important for you to ensure that any coupons and deals available in-store match those that can be found online.
Conversely, baby boomers base their opinions on face-to-face retail customer experiences. They’re very brand loyal and are often willing to pay higher prices if merchants provide excellent customer service. When locating the items they want, paying for them with quick and easy transactions, and, if necessary, painlessly returning merchandise are handled by friendly, courteous employees, your brand reputation among members of this generation will be sterling.
Ethical Business Practices.
Many millennials like their commercial and social interests to merge — and some demand it. They are motivated to patronize retailers whose convictions are similar to their own. To let your millennial customers know what your business’ values are and the causes you support, make sure they are clearly represented in your brand messaging and identity. For example, if you support fair trade and sell fair trade products, say so in your store signage and advertising vehicles, as well as on your social media platform.
On the flip side, melding personal ideology with purchasing habits isn’t always a priority among baby boomers. They may be impressed to know that you support certain causes, but it won’t change what they think about the retail customer experience they have in your store.
Admittedly, keeping all your customers happy all of the time is an impossible feat. But following the above guidelines will bolster your potential to effectively cater to the diverse priorities of two very important customer demographics — and treat them to a retail customer experience that sparks success.
Of course, having the right POS system to help support your staff is a key component as well. For assistance in selecting the right POS system for your business, download our POS Systems Buyer’s Guide.
