Driving Experiences in a Digital World
Business today faces an unprecedented challenge: meeting the digital needs of millennials.
Known as the “experience generation,” millennials have entirely different expectations for how they live and work than previous generations do. Often, millennials place more value on experiences than on material products – in a recent poll, Eventbrite found that more than 75 percent of millennials choose to spend money on an experience or event over a product. When it comes to interactions with businesses, this translates to millennials placing a great deal of importance on experiences, whether they are customers or employees.
To provide positive experiences to both customers and employees alike, businesses must build excellent digital experiences by ensuring high-speed, reliable connectivity. This can be achieved through a Gigabit Society – one in which we benefit from widespread connectivity of one gigabit per second, low latency, reliable performance. By enabling gigabit speed, businesses will be better equipped to keep pace with the experience-driven expectations of the millennial generation.
In an ever-changing digital world, how can we leverage IT infrastructure to create experiences for millennial customers and employees?
Prioritize the Customer Experience
Customer experience is more important than ever. Businesses are constantly setting new standards for excellence in customer service, leaving others in the market with no choice but to meet those benchmarks.
Studies show that millennials value customer experience interactions and solutions highly. Customers who experience latency or poor user interfaces are likely turn elsewhere – a Google study found that 53 percent of site visits are abandoned if a mobile website takes more than three seconds to load. With technology consistently enabling faster, simpler experiences, customers will no longer accept second best. Building technology with powerful, gigabit network speed enables companies to meet these new standards.
Additionally, millennial customers expect businesses to offer multi-channel experiences, and they demand consistency across platforms. Customers want to be able to reach brands for customer service through any channel, at any time. When businesses cannot meet that expectation, it’s generally because their digital capabilities are not up to par. Cloud-based solutions often resolve these digital challenges, streamlining options by centralizing call, text, video and email and creating consistency across channels.
Attract Top Talent with Experiences
Digital technology has blurred the boundaries between work and personal time. Because many have access to digital tools at all times, millennials expect to be able to work anytime, anywhere. Businesses need to make accessibility a priority – Vodafone’s Flexible: Friend or Foe study found that 83 percent of companies with flexible working policies have seen improvements in productivity.
Enabling remote working goes far beyond the HR department – it requires IT infrastructure powered by secure, high-capacity connection, and top-of-the-line data security to ensure key assets are protected wherever employees access company information.
Businesses must flex to meet the changing needs of the millennial or “experience” generation. Companies that cannot prioritize digital experiences are likely to lose both customers and the next generation of workers. As business look to build true digital experiences, they must start at the fundamental level – their network structures – and work toward creating a Gigabit Society. Business that prioritize experiences will be most likely to succeed in the competitive marketplace.