Dive Brief:
- Dimension Data conducted a study on how different generations preferred to be reached by customer service and found a wide divide.
- 25 year-olds and under primarily chose social media as their preferred means of communication for customer service, while those over 55 opted for telephone contact.
- While older demographics preferred phone contact and younger demographics preferred social media, 25-34 year-olds preferred email the most, followed by mobile apps.
Dive Insight:
The results from the Dimension Data survey underscore the importance of marketers understanding their audience and how to best reach them. What's best for one demographic may not be particularly effective for another.
For Millennials and Gen Z, social media and mobile apps are the clear choice. But the older the audience, the more likely that a simple phone call will be the best choice. Email is one channel that cuts across age groups.
On social media, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are all seeking to become hubs for customer service. Twitter recently made changes to business profiles on the mobile version of the platform to encourage users to direct message brands instead of publicly tweeting complaints. This week, the social platform even rolled out a button to allow consumers to direct message businesses straight from their websites.
