Mobile Engagement and Millennials – Give Them What They Want

Millennials have altered the way we engage consumers and they value brands that give them convenience and flexibility, often over the brand itself. By giving them what they want, we can engage them more effectively than by sticking to traditional approaches. If you are targeting millennials, you know that you must do so with an aggressive mobile engagement strategy. Mobile usage is much higher among millennials than other customer segments – in the double digits according to most studies. What we’ve found, working with retailers across the country, is that millennials not only respond better to mobile engagement, but they have preferred ways to engage with brands over mobile. The most successful mobile marketing programs occur when we use the mobile channels that millennials prefer most. Here are some insights from CodeBroker’s ongoing research into some of the more effective ways to engage millennials over mobile.

Mobile Coupons and Mobile Offers

Like any customer segment, millennials respond to mobile coupons and special offers. We segmented our popular Mobile Coupon Research Report by millennials, and we see that:

• Fifty eight percent of millennials prefer mobile coupons over paper coupons.
• The number one way millennials prefer to access and use mobile coupons is via a link in a text message (41%). A little more than one-quarter prefer to access and use mobile coupons through a mobile app; while 12% prefer to use a mobile wallet.

Mobile Loyalty Programs

Most retailers and brands have made their loyalty programs available through a mobile app. This is a great start, as we found through our research that shows that:

• Only 11% of millennials actively engage with all the loyalty programs to which they are members. However, 97% say that they would actively engage with loyalty programs if they could access their rewards information from their smartphones.

Where many mobile loyalty programs are falling short is that millennials (like all segments) have a range of preferences for accessing and engaging with loyalty programs via mobile. Mobile app is just one of them.

• Twenty eight percent of millennials want to access mobile loyalty programs via a text link on their smartphone – not through a mobile app.

Reaching millennials can be a challenge for marketers using traditional methods. But once you build their trust, they will respond to your brand with ongoing loyalty. And one of the best ways to do so, is by engaging with them in the way that they want.