Target Millennials to drive sales and client retention by enhancing their user experience 

It wasn’t long ago that the thought of the Millennial generation (ages 18-36) ignited pictures of attention deficient adolescents who demanded the world on a platter. However, if one dives deeper into understanding this generation, they will find that Millennials are the most diverse and well educated generation in America. On top of that, they are currently the largest generation; approximately 80 million strong. Millennials have grown up with more technology, marketing and consumer choices than any other generation before them.  

Millennials will spend $200 billion annually by 2017 and over $10 trillion in their lifetimes. Their consumer power is growing and their purchasing influence continues to increase. Millennials have higher expectations of their web experience as a result of the abundant choices presented to them through social media and other marketing channels. Website functionality and the user experience (UX) are high on the priority list. A company’s website needs to engage the consumer and keep them interested in order to obtain and retain their business. In fact, a poor customer experience can go viral and has caused businesses to lose up to $41 billion annually.

Okay, so we get that Millennials are a big deal and cannot be ignored. How does a company’s website effectively capture and retain their attention? It comes down to making the buying process as easy and enjoyable as possible.

Enhance Visibility of Your Site

Creating a website without establishing an effective SEO (search engine optimization) plan is a bit like floating in space without being attached to your space station. Even the smallest of companies can benefit from following basic SEO foundations. According to our web search guru, there is a lot even small companies can do on their own to facilitate visibility. The key components rely on making sure your site is easy to search and is also connected to the authoritative sites like Google +, Facebook and Yelp. These authoritative sites establish credibility for your site and help pull you out of the web abyss and into search relevance. SEO also extends into establishing a comprehensive social media platform. The website blog is generally the backbone for this method, and can be used to create visibility of your site through shares and likes of your content on social media. Working from a solid foundation will provide the building blocks for driving site traffic.

Make the Buying Process Easy

Millennials are mobile driven and technology based, and have a high standard for the online buying experience. E-commerce is rapidly moving away from online and more toward mobile purchasing. A site must also include responsive web design to accommodate the rapid changes in technology and consumer preferences. It’s no longer enough to have a website. Companies must also have a mobile platform that is clean and easy to navigate on a small screen. In addition to this, one must take in to consideration current technology and possible future technology. For instance, most mobile sites are compatible with Android and Apple phones, but wearable technology like the Apple Watch is becoming increasingly popular. Your company’s site must be organic and able to grow as new technology arises.

Keep ’em Coming Back 

Consumers are inundated with a magnitude of options and will go in another direction if they cannot find what they are looking for easily. Your company’s site must be easy to find and navigate. More than this, your site needs to provide information that consumers want to see; not just what you want to tell them. So many times as a company we tell users what we want them to know when we want them to know it, which forces them through sequences of pages until we feel they have digested everything. Rather, you can refine the user experience process by giving them more of what they want to know with options to get there quickly. This method encourages consumers to linger on your site, eliminates frustration and retains client loyalty.

All in All

Now you have an understanding of  how to attract and maintain consumer loyalty by first giving them what they want like a clean mobile platform. Then, you give them what you want by showcasing your products and services with an easy to navigate website.