We live in a digital world, from the moment we wake up to grab our smartphones, jump in the car and turn on the satellite radio, turn on our laptops at work. Then back home at night to warm up left overs in the microwave and watch Netflix. Aimia recently revealed some data via the Aimia Institute which conveys that Millennials are the generation most likely (44% more likely) to permanently disengage with brands if they receive high volumes of mass generic email communications. The research, which dubs this consumer group ‘High Volume Sensitive’ found that Generation X had only a 13% likelihood of falling into this group.
The findings show that nearly three in five (59%) High Volume Sensitive consumers indicated that the volume of email communications they receive from brands overwhelms them. The results are similar for SMS messages (60%) and push notifications (62%).
“Millennials are the ‘always on’ generation, but it is a mistake for marketers to make assumptions about their communications preferences. Just because a person shares their details with a brand does not mean they want to be inundated with lots of generic messages,” said Martin Hayward, Senior Vice President, Global Digital Strategy & Futures at Aimia. “Marketers must work harder to listen to individual customer preferences and tailor communications appropriately. Privacy, permissions and preferences are increasingly crucial elements of future customer relationships. Get it wrong, and High Volume Sensitive consumers are ruthless in cutting brands off.”
High Volume Sensitive consumers will only engage if the content they receive by email, for example, is tailored to them. If it is not personalized and too frequent they will:
- Block numbers (80%);
- Close accounts and unsubscribe from email lists (84%);
- Delete apps because of push notifications (82%); and
- Unfollow brands on social channels (86%).
Additional insights from Aimia also reveal that a defining feature of the High Volume Sensitive consumer is that they have the same willingness as others to share their personal data. However, they are 2.3 times more likely to disengage when bombarded with large numbers of irrelevant messages.