Many business publications would have you believe that customer loyalty no longer exists or at least doesn’t exist in the same ways as in past generations. Articles like this 2016 Forbes article questions how to gain customer loyalty in an age where 79% of retail consumers say they would take their business elsewhere over one bad experience. The article goes on to explain that loyalty programs and incentives help to keep consumers on the hook.
There are lots of articles in the media also claiming Millennials are “killing” products, businesses and institutions as we know it. Don’t believe me? Here’s a 2018 list of things Millennials have supposedly “killed”. Instead of villainizing the largest group of working consumers since our Baby Boomer parents, it’s important to understand Millennial buying behavior and how loyalty in the twenty teens might just look a little different. Lu Chen for Forbes explored this concept in 2017 with a piece they did highlighting how to create loyalty among Millennials. The author highlights concepts like emotional impact, frontier technology, and international markets. Maybe instead of saying Millennials are “killing” things we could talk about how industries and trends are changing, like in past generations.
Loyalty still exists; it just looks a little different.
Blue Ridge Mtn Mama 