Millennials and the Dreaded Phone Call

According to Youth Employment Decade, there is one thing that binds Generations X, Y, and Z together. What is that, you ask? The nickname, “Generation Mute,” which refers to the way young individuals are almost addicted to using their phones. However, as many surveys have found, this Generation Mute detests one basic, founding function of the phone – audio calls. Here are some surveyed results¹ on why the younger generations hate talking on the phone, and what that means for your business’s website. Survey Results The top two reasons given by millennials born between 1981 and 1996 for not answering a phone call were time-consuming calls (75%) and a whiny/needy person (64%). Lower on the list was the risk for verbal confrontation (46%) and other people hearing the call (41%). Millennials grew up as technological advances flourished, giving rise to their need for a fast-paced lifestyle. For this reason, millennials would rather send a quick text than make a phone call that could last anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour, depending on how talkative the person is. This group of people is generally non-confrontational and would prefer to avoid conflict as well. Phone calls leave little time to prepare a response to difficult questions, which is another reason Generation Mute prefers to text. Millennials also value privacy immensely and would rather not have the people around them hear what they are discussing over the phone. That means they won’t call at just any time; it has to be right for them. Implications for Your Business When asked if they sometimes felt the need to summon up the courage to make a phone call, 81% of millennials answered yes. Many of the younger generations feel a great deal of anxiety when it comes to calling someone up on the phone for any reason. This means that this group of people are much less likely to call your business if they can’t find the information they are looking for on your website. They are more likely to move on to another business’s website that has more information. Being active on Facebook Messenger or having a chat service on your website will also boost your connection with this generation, as they prefer to communicate with their fingertips, rather than over the phone.  If you aren’t having much success getting business from Generation Mute, give CyberSpyder a call at 479-782-0005. We can recommend changes and additions to your website that will maximize your business’s appeal to the younger generation and boost your website conversions! ¹ https://www.bankmycell.com/blog/why-millennials-ignore-calls