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29 January 2018

The Millennials -The most important elements of a contemporary loyalty program

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Marketing specialists realize that the Y generation is an important target group for many brands. That's why they attach so much importance to creating communication strategies and building loyalty schemes dedicated to the Millennials, whose attitude requires a completely new approach, so different from the one used to address other generations.

Right next to your favorite brand

The Millennials are in favor of emotions and experiences, they are keen on getting involved and taking up challenges. That is why they appreciate those brands that are willing to communicate with them, allow them to shape their identity and co-create values. The Millennials are not passive, but active consumers who eagerly take the initiative. And their relationship with the brand means a full identification and accord with the brand concept. It was found out that, 14% of respondents join loyalty programs (New window) (Link to another page) to have a close relationship with the brand. As many as 63% of people from the Y generation appreciate when the brand loyalty strategy suits their lifestyle. Moreover, 11% of younger consumers perceive membership in such a program through the prism of higher social status. Finally, 40% decide to participate just because of access to products and services reserved exclusively for the loyalty program members, and 27% seek better service.

Communication strategy challenge

Communication with the Y generation must skillfully combine the need for experience with the purchasing process. It should be based on strong personalization giving a sense of exclusivity as well as on interaction enabling participation in the life of the brand and expressing their opinion. This approach is confirmed by research, according to which 41% of the Millennials are willing to share information about themselves in exchange for individually tailored services. At the same time, such a strategy should be executed on a multi-channel level, because the Millennials simultaneously use many channels via various devices - smartphone, tablet, computer.

Entertaining loyalty programs

In order to prepare an effective loyalty program targeted at the Millennials, one needs to carefully analyze what this age group expects. Relevant information is provided to a large extent by social media used by the Millennials. They show that the Generation Y is interested mainly in having fun, and therefore standard methods of building relationships should be entertainment driven.

Loyalty programs addressed to the Generation Y should be focused on providing entertainment to their participants. It is getting more and more popular to use mechanisms characteristic of games, i.e. gamification. The worldwide research shows that for 34% of the Millennials fun is more important than economic factors. For 27% of respondents gamification elements are the driving factors, and 25% participants are events motivated. Despite the fact that a favorable price is still a dominant decisive factor in Poland (74%), the interest in gamification applied in marketing has been growing. Undoubtedly, this is influenced by the increasing number of players, who constitute 30 % of the 20-30 age group.

Technology is a prerequisite

Technology has become inseparable part of life of people born between 1980 and 2000, who require more and more innovation from brands in almost every area of activity. Therefore, loyalty programs addressed at the Y Generation should be flexible. As many as 81% of participants expect benefits for making a purchase, not only in a brick and mortar store, but also in an internet shop. Moreover, 18% of participants quit a loyalty program due to the lack of mobile applications that facilitate using it through multiple channels and with various devices.

The use of technology brings benefits not only to the demanding Millennials, but also to the organizer of a loyalty program. Thanks to the acquired customer data, it is possible to arrange for personalized communication, which is extremely important for the Y generation. Research has shown that 49% of the Millennials resign as a result of incoming irrelevant messages.

 

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