Millennials vs Gen Z: How Their Customer Care Preferences Compare

When it comes to customer service, you can’t use a one-size-fits-all approach. Your market is composed of people from various age groups and consequentially, they have different cultures.

As such, you need to come up with a tailor-made customer care plan for each category. For businesses, it’s essential to study these differences and nuances so you can provide the best customer service for each generation.

This is especially true nowadays, because the line distinguishing characteristics of each generation is becoming fuzzier. You have millennials in your market, but you also have Gen Zers in the mix. How, now, do you provide exceptional customer service to each of them?

Here are five tips to help you get a good grasp of how these generations differ and act similarly, and what you can do to give them the excellent care and service they need.

For your viewing pleasure, we’ve condensed all the points into one neat infographic, which first appeared on the Guthrie-Jensen blog. Happy reading!

Be everywhere

Since these generations can be found on most social media networks, be it Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Instagram, it only makes sense for you to be where they are. You want these young customers to be able to reach out to you across all channels possible.

One ignored channel where you market your business can result in angry customers bombarding your comments with negative testimonials. If you advertise on Instagram, make sure you can cover customer care on that network.

Answer quickly

Young customers want almost instantaneous answers. A study revealed that 42% of customers expect online brands to get back to them within an hour. If a majority of your market is composed of millennials and Gen Zers who were born and raised in the digital age, they will likely expect you to attend to them promptly.

Assist your customer service team to keep up to this high standard. Give them the appropriate customer service training so they can efficiently handle the demand and keep the communication channels flowing freely. You can also use software that can rapidly categorize and automate replies to basic inquiries and complaints.

Help customers help themselves

Millennials are known to be the DIY generation that googles information or reads FAQ pages to sort out their problems. They won’t ask for assistance unless they absolutely need it, aka when they fail to find solutions on their own.

With this, it’s vital for businesses to maintain a user-friendly and seamless design and experience across digital channels — mobile app, website, email, and social media networks. Something like a click-to-call option on the site or a live chat platform can be a game-changer.

Automate, but still keep service reps

Though these young customers appreciate the efficiency, speed, and reliability of technology, they still yearn for human interaction (don’t we all?).

Yes, chatbots are smart and efficient when it comes to resolving small issues. But you have to find the balance between providing human connection with customer service agents and using chatbots or automation platforms. Both millennials and Gen Zers appreciate brands that go above and beyond when it comes to providing customer care services.

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Millennials and Gen Z may be different. But they share one similarity: Both generations grew up in the presence and influence of technology, with the tech industry continually shaping their behavior and preferences.

Jomel Alos is a Consultant at Guthrie-Jensen Consultants, a management training and consultancy firm in the Philippines. He enjoys sharing his knowledge on human resource solutions, as well as helping businesses achieve greater growth, competitiveness, and profitability.

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