Understanding Generational Differences In Customer Communication Preferences

Your customers have access to more channels now than ever before. And they expect businesses to recognize this and cater to their unique channel preferences. Interestingly, age heavily influences these preferences.

With this in mind, extensive research has been carried out into channel preferences according to age. Here, we explore the results, discuss why channel preferences matter, and examine how EDC’s Communication Management solution enables you to deliver more satisfying customer experiences by communicating via customers’ preferred channels.

Why do customer channel preferences matter?

Customer satisfaction is intrinsically linked to channel preferences. Customers value obstacle-free experiences that are quick, easy, and efficient. This means they want to communicate via the channel they are most comfortable with. As you will see below, this can be anything from postal to social media. Often, customers prefer different channels for distinct types of interaction. Therefore, delivering rewarding customer experiences to a diverse customer base depends on your ability to communicate across multiple channels consistently.

Customer channel preferences

Over the last century, technology has developed at a remarkably rapid pace. It is fair to say that the current communication landscape would have been unimaginable when the first baby boomers were born. Digital technology has fundamentally altered how we interact with other humans and businesses, and its evolution shows no signs of slowing down. How you engage with this technology, how comfortable you feel using it, and what channels you prefer can often be influenced by your age.

Baby Boomers (Born 1946 - 1964)

Baby Boomers are the oldest of our consumer groups and tend to prefer traditional communication channels, namely phone and print. They are the group most likely to value print for important communications and will often want to receive documents via post.

Generation X (Born 1965 - 1980)

While this generation was largely born before the digital revolution, they are more comfortable with digital technologies and have adapted well to everyday use. They prefer email for work and feel SMS messaging is convenient. While they regularly use digital channels, they are more likely to find complex digital processes confusing than younger generations. As such, they often prefer a mix of traditional and digital communication.

Millennials (Born 1981 - 1996)

The first generation to grow up with digital technology in the home, Millennials represent the emerging dominance of digital channels over traditional mediums. They favor quick and efficient communication, so they typically prefer texting, messaging apps, and social media. A notable characteristic of this age group is their preference for asynchronous communication. They don’t always expect an immediate response and are content with brief pauses or delays between responses.

Generation Z (Born 1997 - 2012)

Generation Z is arguably the first truly digitally native generation, having grown up with easy access to smartphones. As a result, social media has had a considerable impact on these individuals’ communication preferences and they favor visual and instant communication via platforms like TikTok and Instagram. They are far more comfortable with short-form video content, image and voice searches, and AI chatbots than previous generations.

Generation Alpha (Born 2013 - 2025)

The oldest members of Generation Alpha are now just over a decade old and have often been surrounded by digital devices from a young age. They are now growing up with mainstream access to AI, VR, AR and other advanced technologies. However, from a commercial perspective, their key communication preferences are likely to center on technologies, platforms and channels that are yet to emerge.

How EDC’s CCM solution helps you

Of course, these are all generalizations and it’s not uncommon to find older generations embracing new technology with enthusiasm. The key is to offer alternatives that are customized to every individual’s preferences. EDC’s CCM solution enables you to deliver essential customer communications, such as welcome kits, statements, bills, customer correspondence, contracts and marketing communications via a range of channels. In doing so, it ensures you respect your customers’ communication needs and preferences.

Centralizing customer communication management in a single platform, saves you time, money and resources, as you can compose, format and deliver relevant personalized customer communications across all business sectors.

EDC’s CCM solution benefits your business in three core ways:

1. Improve the customer experience - by enabling you to produce highly personalized, consistent communications and deliver them via customers’ preferred channels, you increase customer satisfaction, engagement and loyalty.
2. Improve efficiency - our user-focused centralized CCM makes the process of managing documents and communications across multiple channels significantly easier and quicker. It also features customizable access permissions, so you give business groups access to relevant communication documents in a safe and compliant way.
3. Reduce risk - our CCM does not treat compliance as an obstacle. Instead, it is built into the platform, facilitating safe collaboration between teams, providing a holistic view of data use across all channels, and giving you greater control to adapt your communications to the ever-changing nature of financial regulation.

A CCM ensures you can engage all demographics via their preferred channels, maximizing your appeal among all customer groups.

To learn more, contact our expert team today or explore our Customer Communication Management solution.