Is Your Firm Giving Millennials the Customer Service They Expect?

Have you ever seen grown-ups talking baby-talk to little children?

It's understandable why they do it, but it can get a little weird at times. People assume babies understand the gibberish, but actually it makes no more sense to the babies than to the adults.

That's kind of the problem with businesses trying to woo Millennials, as they vie to tap the buying power of a generation that now outnumbers Baby Boomers. They represent the biggest market in America, and law firms have noticed.

But it takes more than a Facebook page to communicate effectively with Millennials. Here's a primer on customer service for millennials:

1.Speak Their Language

According to Forbes, Millennials speak their own language. It starts with tweets, texts, and social media posts, but it's based on a common understanding.

"If you want to reach them, you have to speak in their native tongue," Micah Solomon wrote for the magazine. "And you have to be authentic."

Basically, they want companies to "get real" -- an expression from the 1950s. In other words, Baby Boomers want the same thing as Millennials.

They want real interaction, not canned, automated responses. So when designing a website or Facebook page, provide genuine feedback -- not scripted vanilla manilla.

2. Millenials Want It Now

Millennials grew up in the internet age and were practically born with cell phones in their hands. As a result, they are used to instant access to information.

Studies show that "25 percent of Millennials expect to get a response within ten minutes of reaching out for customer service via social media, and more than 30 percent expect the same speed of response when posting a query via text messaging."

Often, a Millennial will look for information on a smartphone while shopping rather than talk to a live customer service representative. In the law business, receptionists and others should be aware -- especially on the phone, where law firms are notoriously slow.

"In short, if you want to keep millennials happy, you have to respond to their queries as fast as possible or they'll move on," according to Entrepreneur.

3. Repuation Matters

Like Baby Boomers and most people who look for legal services, Millennials base their legal hiring decisions on a lawyer's reputation. However, they may also look behind the lawyer's webpages.

According to advertising research from Barkley, most Millennials want to buy products from companies that support causes they care about. They want good representation, but they also want to to promote ideals.

So they will check the firm's "About" pages to see what they represent as well as whom they represent. Millennials may also do a quick check of review sites.

It's important to understand that Millennials can be passionate about bad representation, too. Bad reviews, like a Yelp review that turned into a $27,000 problem for one law firm, have taken down more than a few lawyers.

Have an open position at your law firm? Post the job for free on Indeed, or search local candidate resumes.

Related Resources:

• How to Deliver Your Message to 83.1 Million Millennials (Network Affiliates)
• Lawyers, Just How Important Is a Good Night's Sleep? (FindLaw's Strategist)
• How to Leave Your Law Firm Amicably (FindLaw's Strategist)

FindLaw has an affiliate relationship with Indeed, earning a small amount of money each time someone uses Indeed's services via FindLaw. FindLaw receives no compensation in exchange for editorial coverage.