Amitha Pulijala, VP, Product – Platform & Video at Vonage discusses why age-inclusive digital customer engagement makes business sense.
While brands have recognised the importance of digital customer engagement, many have failed to adapt their strategies to tailor to the variety of demographics who are now online. Despite the fact more than half of over 65s now shop online, many older customers feel ignored by online retailers.
To achieve age-inclusive online communications, brands must evaluate their digital customer engagement strategies and consider how their operations offer support to all demographics.
The Business Impact
Developing an age-inclusive digital communications strategy makes business sense. With younger consumers being overwhelmingly hit by the cost of living crisis, brands are battling it out over a shrinking pool of disposable income.
By catering to the needs and interests of the over 65 market, companies can tap into a demographic with wider purse strings. Here, brands will find less competition and more big ticket sales.
Moreover, companies cannot guarantee that repeat purchases will transfer from the high-street to online. According to Vonage’s recent Global Customer Engagement Report, 76% of 40-74 year olds are very/somewhat likely to stop purchasing products or services as a result of repeated communications issues with brands.
Recognising generational pain points
In order to create an age-inclusive digital customer engagement strategy, brands must first recognise the pain points that exist amongst various customer demographics. This will allow them to adapt their processes to ensure that certain age groups are not excluded from customer communications.
For the Grey Market, it appears that the shift away from traditional over-the-phone support, towards chatbots and messaging-based customer support models, is a prominent pain point. Over 55s prefer to speak to someone over the phone when requiring support, and are less likely to use software such as live chat. As such, brands who completely phase out over-the-phone communications are eliminating the support available for older customers.
However, consumers still feel frustrated with over-the-phone communications. The same Customer Engagement Report found that 61% of customers engaging with brands over the phone have expressed frustrations with being transferred and having to describe their enquiries to multiple agents.
Streamlining Support
While demographic preferences for the mode of customer engagement vary, one fact remains universal. Customers, regardless of their demographic, now expect immediate responses to their enquiries.
To ensure that all demographics have access to customer support, businesses must adopt an AI-powered omnichannel contact centre model. An omnichannel solution allows businesses to route all of their channel interactions into an integrated and uniform platform, meaning that customers can switch between communication channels without repeating their queries.
To further ensure that customers are able to contact brands using their preferred channels, brands should integrate conversational AI into their omnichannel contact centre solutions. AI can extract customer data from an organisation’s CRM platform to provide context to staff, allowing customer service representatives to have a holistic view of their customer journey and provide a more tailored and personalised experience.
For many brands, the shift towards a digital customer service experience has neglected the needs of the Grey Market. However, if executed correctly, a digital-first strategy will benefit customers of all ages. Understanding the communications preferences of each demographic, and using technology to streamline operations, will ultimately improve the customer engagement experience for everyone, not just those who are perceived as ‘digitally savvy’.