Baby boomers vs. millennials: If both of these generations are part of your customer base, might it be helpful to offer them a different customer experience?
These two segments of your customer base have grown up in vastly different worlds. Millennials and baby boomers differ in their ideologies and vision of the world around them.
Below we share some key information taken from the report “Client Connected Status” For determine whether different generations have opposing views on the ideal customer experience.
Differentiated customer support
It is very difficult for companies to tailor their marketing and customer service initiatives individually to each consumer. However, it is possible to capitalize on customers’ specific interests or what they have in common, for example the generation they belong to.
We interviewed more than 15,000 B2B and B2C consumers for the report “Client Connected Status”. Among our goals was the desire to discover typical needs and expectations for each generation included in the survey.
Before we move on to analyzing the results, we want to quickly present the demographics and age range of each generation under consideration:
- Baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1965)……………… 31%
- Generation (born between 1965 and 1980)………………………….. 28%
- Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996)…………………….. 32%
- Generation Z (born after 1996)………………………….. 9%
Millennials vs. baby boomers: here are the results
Never before has digital innovation played such a fundamental role, in a world where various crises have fueled the need for digital services. Companies are going through an intense period of digital transformationmotivated by the expectations of their customers and the practical problems caused by events such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
The very fact of not detecting specific generational differences in expectations regarding digital innovation further underscores the importance of this phenomenon.
Here’s what customers expect from businesses in response to COVID-19:
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Offering new ways to access current products/services (eg digital versions of experiences that traditionally take place in person)
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Baby boomers: 64%
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Generation X: 70%
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Millennials: 71%
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Generation Z: 77%
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Expand customer engagement methods
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Baby boomers: 45%
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Generation X: 55%
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Millennials: 61%
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Generation Z: 61%
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Offering new types of products and services
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Baby boomers: 55%
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Generation X: 57%
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Millennials: 53%
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Generation Z: 46%
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The importance of trust according to the two generations compared
We asked the consumers we interviewed questions about trustcollecting very interesting answers.
The “skepticism” award goes to baby boomers, followed by Generation X and millennials. However, in two of the questions (Do companies tell the truth and act in the best interest of society?), it was the youngest generation, Generation Z, who showed the most doubts.
Our research reveals that younger generations are more likely to question the trustworthiness of companies.
Consumers agree to the following statements:
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I don’t think the companies are telling the truth
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Baby boomers: 44%
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Generation X: 41%
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Millennials: 39%
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Generation Z: 50%
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I don’t believe that corporations act in the best interest of society
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Baby boomers: 45%
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Generation X: 40%
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Millennials: 37%
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Generation Z: 44%
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I don’t believe that companies act in the best interest of customers.
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Baby boomers: 42%
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Generation X: 36%
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Millennials: 31%
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Generation Z: 35%
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What do baby boomers and millennials think about artificial intelligence?
Artificial intelligence (AI) is a tool that most people now have direct experience with, in one form or another. Our results show just that 52% of baby boomers are open to using AI, compared to 66% of millennials.
Younger generations do not perceive the use of artificial intelligence in everyday life as something irrational. Therefore, they are by nature more open and inclined towards companies that use it. The same cannot be said for older generations. That’s why it’s like that It is important to encourage baby boomers to become more confident with new technologies.
On the ethical use of technology, less than half of customers (48%) say they trust companies and 54% say they are concerned about the potential conflict of interest that arises.
Corporate values and responsibility
There is a clear difference between the baby boomers and other generations when you look what influences their purchase decision.
Customers who say they are influenced by the following factors in their decision to buy from a company:
The report goes on to list three additional influencing factors for each of these Baby boomers are proving to be the least influenced generation when deciding whether to buy from a company. Younger generations are the ones who believe most strongly that companies should take responsibility.
Learn more about what influences and motivates your customers by downloading the State of the Connected Customer report.