Article

Engaging the millennial shopper: It's not easy but it can be done

Getting millennials on board as loyal customers isn't just about tweeting, posting and sharing the latest products on Instagram.

August 4, 2015 by Judy Mottl — Editor, RetailCustomerExperience.com & DigitalSignageToday.com

Retailers banking on social networks and tools, like Twitter or Instagram, to build interaction with the millennial consumer are probably not seeing the full picture when it comes to engaging the young shoppers.

First, it’s not easy to engage a millennial, said Robert Passikoff, Ph.D., founder and president of Brand Keys, which just published a listing of the 20 most engaging brands for the millennial shopper. Social network posts and tweeting is just about counting actions and not developing a relationship, said Passikoff.

The fact is this: It is hard to emotionally engage with millennials, said Passikoff, noting that increasing numbers of marketers believe more social networking and entertaining advertising will be a viable strategy. But, in the absence of real return-on-investment metrics, counting shares and tweets does not work in determing whether a brand is meeting a millennial's needs.

"Measuring engagement isn’t as easy as it was before consumers were born hot-wired to the Internet, but still It’s all about the expectations that 21st century consumers hold for the category in which your particular brands competes, and how well your brand meets those expectations" Passikoff stated in a release on the top 20 brands that are best meeting millennial consumer expectations.

The data is part of a 2015 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index. The index reveals the gap between what consumers expect and what brands deliver is bigger and driven almost entirely by emotional values, such as “is this brand for me?” or “does this brand understand me?” explained Passikoff. According to the index, consumer expectations have jumped nearly 23 percent over 2014 but brands have only managed to improve their ability to satisfy those expectations by 5 percent. Here are the top 20:

1.           Apple

2.           Nike

3.           Chipotle

4.           Target

5.           Amazon

6.           Samsung

7.           Sephora

8.           Levi’s

9.           PayPal

10.         Old Navy

11.         Under Armour

12.         Beats

13.         Google

14.         Asus

15.         Chevrolet

16.         Converse

17.         Verizon

18.         Victoria’s Secret

19.         Ford

20.         Ralph Lauren
 

One reason retailers and marketers may be having trouble with the millennial segment is that they could just be overthinking strategy.

"What millennials want from their brands are to have their expectations met," Passikoff told Retail Customer Experience in an email interview.

"The problem is those expectations are category-specific and change category-to-category, which is why brands that see something working in one category can’t automatically 'transfer' it into their category and expect to see the same level of engagement, positive behavior, and profitability."

That’s one reason why many brands have not yet identified "real engagement drivers" and find themselves floundering, noted Passikoff.

"Millennials are on to all the ration stuff brands try and throw at them, and are looking for more validation and comfort with brands that deliver on emotional values," he said.

The biggest mistake brands make in trying to connect with millennials is actually two-fold, said Passikoff.

"One is they are mistaking entertainment with real engagement. Brands that believe numbers of 'views' or 'shares' are telling them anything about actual engagement with the brand are sadly mistaken. And second they think that more social networking will be their brand silver-bullet panacea. It isn’t."

About Judy Mottl

---

Judy Mottl is editor of Retail Customer Experience and Digital Signage Today. She has decades of experience as a reporter, writer and editor covering technology and business for top media including AOL, InformationWeek, InternetNews and Food Truck Operator.

Connect with Judy: