A new study from Ricoh UK has highlighted generational differences in customer service expectations.
The study found that older age groups are revealed as being less forgiving to brands, while younger customers expect far more information at the consideration stage and deep post-sales interaction to build lasting relationships with brands.
The research found that 62 percent of over 55s would walk away from brands with laborious sales processes, compared to 43 percent of 16-24 year olds. Of all age groups, 55 percent of customers would abandon the opportunity to purchase if they found the process difficult.
However, younger age groups value far more developed brand interactions than their older peers. Added services, such as the inclusion of third-party reviews and recommendations, are vastly more important to younger consumers. 43 percent of 16-24 year olds rated this as the factor that impressed them most when choosing to buy from a brand, compared to only 20 percent of over 55s.
Older customers were also revealed as being less interested in loyalty programmes and incentives for frequent purchases. Only 19 percent felt this was an impressive factor, compared to 38 percent of 16-24 year olds.
Chas Moloney, director at Ricoh UK, said: “Our research highlights a core challenge facing brands today – how they can navigate a varied set of preferences from customers across generations. Brands must make sure their customer-facing processes, platforms and technology are on-point with regular reviews set to ensure ongoing suitability and optimal impact. For those that get it right the rewards are there for the taking, with 57 percent of customers spending more with brands that made them feel valued.”
Ricoh’s research also found that customers are increasingly going to great lengths to access information pre-purchase. Besides a desire for third-party reviews, 33 percent of 16-24 year olds and 37 percent of 25-34 year olds use Facebook to interact with a brand prior to purchase. Younger consumers are also more frustrated by not being able to interact with a brand via social media, with 50 percent of 16-24 year olds agreeing compared with 26 percent of over 55s.