Do These Things to Connect with Millennial Business Customers

Bob Wendover Common Sense Enterprises, Inc.

 

What would you do if an entire generation ignored your phone calls and e-mails?  The consumer habits of Millennials have been the topic of endless speculation. The bottom lines? They have integrated mobile devices with their everyday life. They rely on social proof for purchasing decisions. They expect seamless support and service. They are loyal to products and services they trust, but that trust remains ever-fragile.

What about Millennials as business customers? According to a recent report by the B-to-B marketing agency, Sacunas, up to 73% of this generation says they are involved with product or service purchasing. About one third say they are the sole decision maker. In a 2016 IBM study, Millennials listed vendor representatives as the number one source they turn to during B2B research. However, they prefer electronic communication. As many as 69% are engaged in face-to-face meetings with vendors during the sales process now. Only 24%, however, say they would like to continue to do so moving forward.

Building business relationships with this emerging generation is an involved process. But here are three essentials for upping your game right now:

Flex Your Thumbs – For Millennials, texting the primary form of daily communication, even for business. Parents laughed when we found ourselves texting our kids to come to dinner from the next room. Now we’re texting them to do business. Do they use e-mail? Yes, when required or to send large documents. Want their attention? Text them.

The upside is that texting results in more intimate communication. A Millennial customer of mine uses what he calls “the cell phone test.” If he can get his peer-age prospects to share their cell number, he knows they are open to a quick message or question provided it’s brief, meaningful and relevant. While many in older generations are reluctant to share their cell phone numbers, Millennials do it freely. The difference? Older individuals fear dealing with unnecessary calls. Millennials expect you to text. If you call, you’ll upend the relationship before it gets started.

Connect Through Content – The days of “checking in” with customers and prospects is long over. The solution? Content. Seventy-three percent of Millennials may be participating in business purchasing. But, that does not mean they can see the larger picture. When you’re 22 and on your first job, you’re searching for more than just features and benefits on a website. Hardworking Millennials know that the bigger picture will help them produce a better outcome. Offering articles, tip-sheets, recorded interviews and other resources on your website will help them do so and draw them in to a relationship with your firm.

This article is a good example. What would you think if I called out of the blue to ask if you needed training? Perhaps a nuisance during a busy day. But if you find this article helpful, you might be inclined to invite me to your next corporate event or training session. Short articles like this promote the goodwill Millennials look for in the sharing economy. Push marketing is out. Pull marketing is in.

Provide some rich content on your site besides product descriptions and specs. Rather than just taking a cursory look at your offerings, they may stay a while to absorb some insights. This grows their knowledge base. After all, it’s one thing to return to the boss with just the vendor information. It’s another to return to the boss with information and informed recommendations. The win for you, of course, is the connection you’ll make when they come to rely on the insights you provide.

Demonstrate Your Social Proof  -- What is “social proof?” Simply, it’s all those evaluations and recommendations you see with virtually every on-line offering. Ever check the recommendations on Amazon? That’s social proof. Ever watch a video testimonial? That’s social proof.

Millennials know to look past the five-star ratings. Those can be manipulated by anyone. They read the details. They watch the videos. They check independent sites for corroborating evidence. Offer these kind of evaluations on your website and monitor the comments and reviews about your offerings on others. Check the websites of the lines you represent. Ask those providing endorsements to be specific in their comments and how they use the product. A frank and fair evaluation is always better than a glowing one containing no substance.

Finally, monitor social media. Google your product names, brand names and company name regularly. The last thing you need is an unhappy customer, prospect or even devious competitor torpedoing your efforts. Respond immediately. Remember, most large firms maintain a staff who spend their days connecting with those complaining on-line. Although unfair, Millennial business customers expect nothing less from you.

What can you do in the coming weeks to implement these essentials? Need assistance? Text me at 303-807-3096. I’d be happy to help.

For the past 22 years, Bob Wendover has taught firms how to interact with the emerging generations. He is the author of Business-to-Business Selling and the Emerging Generations along with numerous works on managing today’s age-diverse workplace. He has served on the faculty of the University of Innovative Distribution and spoken for a number of distributor associations. Contact him at bobw@commonsenseenterprises.net.

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