- Email: [email protected]
Millennial Mind-Set: Pursuing the Next Generation of Consumers
RETHINKING THE PATIENT EXPERIENCE ELLIOT K. FISHMAN, MD, SIVA P. RAMAN, MD
Millennial Mind-Set: Pursuing the Next Generation of Consumers Tina Wells, Elliot K. Fishman, MD, Karen M. Horton, MD, Siva P. Raman, MD TINA WELLS There is no globally accepted definition of the millennial generation, but most observers think of them as the group of people born sometime between 1980 and the early 2000s. Regardless of the exact years you use to define the demographic, there is little doubt that this generation of Americans has a unique mind-set when it comes to their expectations in the marketplace, and part of my job is to advise companies and businesses on how best to approach them. The rest of the economy is already wrestling with how to adjust their business models to appeal to this new generation of consumers, and there is little doubt that the medical world will have to make a similar adjustment in the coming years. My company, Buzz Marketing Group, has been studying the millennial generation in detail for several years, and I believe that there are 10 major trends that businesses, including your own, will have to be cognizant of in the years to come. 1. Makers movement: The millennial generation is a group of people who see themselves not as simple consumers but rather as makers. They want to participate in the creation of the products or services they use,
742
instead of passively accepting whatever a company wants to sell them. For example, it’s not enough to buy a pair of jeans off the rack—they want to customize those jeans online or in the store before they buy them. From the perspective of your business, this is a generation who will want to be active partners with their physicians when dealing with health care issues. 2. Content proliferation: As most of you realize, there is now an incredible amount of content (both online and offline) that millennials can choose to consume. The companies that succeed will not necessarily be those businesses with the best products but more likely those companies that can create content that effectively attracts customers. Health care companies may need to stop defining themselves purely as businesses that provide direct medical care and instead as companies that also provide content (whether online or in magazines) that can help patients learn how to manage their health outside of the hospital. Perhaps if I am consuming online content produced by Johns Hopkins, I am more likely to see a Hopkins physician when I fall sick.
3. Net neutrality: In our surveys of millennials, we have found them to be incredibly passionate about their online rights. This generation of consumers sees their access to the Internet as a lifeline, and net neutrality is certainly a potent political issue. 4. Amazonian access: Starting a few years ago, we began to see in our surveys that Amazon and eBay were becoming the single most important brands for millennial consumers. Even though only about 15% of all sales are currently conducted online, this will undoubtedly increase in the future, as consumers expect their purchases to be customized for them online. The attraction of Internet commerce for millennials makes it critical that businesses find a way to make their online and offline operations work together seamlessly. 5. Conscious consumers: A generation ago, we may have had little idea about how the products we consume came into being. Even if we wanted to know, that information was not particularly easy to find. Now, the Internet has made it very easy to find out how products are made, and as a result, social consciousness has become incredibly important for
1546-1440/15/$36.00
n
ª 2015 American College of Radiology http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jacr.2015.03.031
the millennial generation when making purchasing decisions. They now care not only about products or services but about their origins and creators as well. Businesses must be careful, as this social consciousness can quickly become viral online and in social media, and it can easily have an impact on a brand’s viability. 6. Low-cost luxury: This is a generation that is both brand conscious and price conscious. Some companies have found a way to utilize their brand value by branching out into slightly lower priced products. For example, Christian Louboutin may sell handbags and shoes that cost hundreds (or thousands) of dollars, but their $50 nail polish has been a best seller among millennials who seek the name brand but want to spend slightly less. This is something to consider for health care companies, as millennials may want to seek out care at the very best institutions but will still be wary of the prices they are asked to pay. 7. Power girls: A major trend in advertising to millennials focuses on the empowerment of women in marketing campaigns. Again, this is a generation that does not see themselves as passive recipients of a service but rather as proactive participants, and these advertising campaigns are designed with that sentiment in mind. 8. Selfie-conscious: Millennials live with the idea that the world they live in should look perfect to outsiders. School may be stressful and their personal lives may have issues, but the outside world should not see a single
blemish. The way in which “selfie” photos are perfectly posed is emblematic of how this generation of consumers wants to tightly control the way in which the outside world sees them. 9. Fitspiration: Millennials are incredibly focused on their health and fitness and are willing to pay for it. As I mentioned earlier, this is a generation that is quite careful with their money, but this is one area in which they feel that spending money is worth it. 10. Philanthro-me: Although there is little doubt that charity has always been an important part of life for previous generations, nonprofits and philanthropy have taken on a larger role in the life of millennials. Although previous generations may have been content with merely writing a check to a charity of choice, millennials are not satisfied with simply making financial contributions but also want to actively participate in nonprofits’ missions. A great example of this was the recent “ice bucket challenge,” in which people not only donated to charities for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis but also used social media to stress their own personal involvement and raise funds. To this generation, engagement with charities and nonprofits has become a reflection of how they feel about themselves and their place in the world.
KEY POINTS AND LESSONS FOR RADIOLOGY n Because of the very nature of our business, a disproportionate percentage of our patients are
Journal of the American College of Radiology Wells et al n Rethinking the Patient Experience
n
n
elderly and from the baby boomer generation. However, Ms Wells’s lecture is a very strong reminder that the millennial generation will increasingly be seeking health care on behalf of their aging parents, their young children, and eventually themselves and that we must be prepared to appeal to this new generation of consumers in a very different way than what we have been used to. Our patients have traditionally been passive recipients of radiologic services. We, as radiologists, have performed the radiologic studies, provided interpretations, and sent those interpretations to patients’ providers, all of which occur with little direct interaction with the patients. We are already starting to see that change slowly, as patients increasingly contact us directly for information about scan results and recommendations. This new generation of consumers will want to engage us directly, rather than simply trusting the words in our reports. One wonders if practices that are open to direct discussions of scan results with patients will one day have an advantage in the marketplace. In addition, we are also seeing that patients are increasingly viewing their own reports and sometimes have questions for us regarding our reports’ findings, and we will undoubtedly have to find ways in the future to make our reports appeal not only to our referring physicians but also to the patients who read them as well. Ms Wells’s advice on “content proliferation” may have implications for us as a field, especially because we have limited opportunities to directly engage with patients in our day-to-day work. Although we worry about how 743
our lack of patient contact may be accelerating our field’s own commoditization, perhaps we should focus on creating “content” that might be able to directly appeal to patients and convince them of our importance in their medical care. Whether through magazines, social media, blogs, or health care websites, Ms Wells suggests that the most successful businesses will be able to create content that appeals directly to consumers and
n
that secondarily convinces them to spend their money. Ms Wells noted the health consciousness of the millennial generation and their focus on fitness. Perhaps that trend bodes well for us. This is a generation that is willing to spend their money on preserving their health, and perhaps we, as a field, might be able to directly appeal to them regarding the importance of engaging radiologic services. Whether it is screening
mammography, screening breast MRI in high-risk patients, or prostate MRI, this is a generation that will not just rely on referring physicians to order the correct test but can instead be directly appealed to when it comes to the best means of preserving their health.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Additional resources can be found online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.jacr.2015.03.031.
Siva P. Raman, MD, Karen M. Horton, MD, and Elliot K. Fishman, MD, are from the Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. Tina Wells is the CEO and founder of the Buzz Marketing Group. The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Siva P. Raman, MD: Johns Hopkins University, Department of Radiology, JHOC 3251, 601 N Caroline Street, Baltimore, MD 21287; e-mail: [email protected].
744
Journal of the American College of Radiology Volume 12 n Number 7 n July 2015
Millennial Mind-Set: Pursuing the Next Generation of Consumers Tina Wells, Elliot K. Fishman, MD, Karen M. Horton, MD, Siva P. Raman, MD TINA WELLS There is no globally accepted definition of the millennial generation, but most observers think of them as the group of people born sometime between 1980 and the early 2000s. Regardless of the exact years you use to define the demographic, there is little doubt that this generation of Americans has a unique mind-set when it comes to their expectations in the marketplace, and part of my job is to advise companies and businesses on how best to approach them. The rest of the economy is already wrestling with how to adjust their business models to appeal to this new generation of consumers, and there is little doubt that the medical world will have to make a similar adjustment in the coming years. My company, Buzz Marketing Group, has been studying the millennial generation in detail for several years, and I believe that there are 10 major trends that businesses, including your own, will have to be cognizant of in the years to come. 1. Makers movement: The millennial generation is a group of people who see themselves not as simple consumers but rather as makers. They want to participate in the creation of the products or services they use,
742
instead of passively accepting whatever a company wants to sell them. For example, it’s not enough to buy a pair of jeans off the rack—they want to customize those jeans online or in the store before they buy them. From the perspective of your business, this is a generation who will want to be active partners with their physicians when dealing with health care issues. 2. Content proliferation: As most of you realize, there is now an incredible amount of content (both online and offline) that millennials can choose to consume. The companies that succeed will not necessarily be those businesses with the best products but more likely those companies that can create content that effectively attracts customers. Health care companies may need to stop defining themselves purely as businesses that provide direct medical care and instead as companies that also provide content (whether online or in magazines) that can help patients learn how to manage their health outside of the hospital. Perhaps if I am consuming online content produced by Johns Hopkins, I am more likely to see a Hopkins physician when I fall sick.
3. Net neutrality: In our surveys of millennials, we have found them to be incredibly passionate about their online rights. This generation of consumers sees their access to the Internet as a lifeline, and net neutrality is certainly a potent political issue. 4. Amazonian access: Starting a few years ago, we began to see in our surveys that Amazon and eBay were becoming the single most important brands for millennial consumers. Even though only about 15% of all sales are currently conducted online, this will undoubtedly increase in the future, as consumers expect their purchases to be customized for them online. The attraction of Internet commerce for millennials makes it critical that businesses find a way to make their online and offline operations work together seamlessly. 5. Conscious consumers: A generation ago, we may have had little idea about how the products we consume came into being. Even if we wanted to know, that information was not particularly easy to find. Now, the Internet has made it very easy to find out how products are made, and as a result, social consciousness has become incredibly important for
1546-1440/15/$36.00
n
ª 2015 American College of Radiology http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jacr.2015.03.031
the millennial generation when making purchasing decisions. They now care not only about products or services but about their origins and creators as well. Businesses must be careful, as this social consciousness can quickly become viral online and in social media, and it can easily have an impact on a brand’s viability. 6. Low-cost luxury: This is a generation that is both brand conscious and price conscious. Some companies have found a way to utilize their brand value by branching out into slightly lower priced products. For example, Christian Louboutin may sell handbags and shoes that cost hundreds (or thousands) of dollars, but their $50 nail polish has been a best seller among millennials who seek the name brand but want to spend slightly less. This is something to consider for health care companies, as millennials may want to seek out care at the very best institutions but will still be wary of the prices they are asked to pay. 7. Power girls: A major trend in advertising to millennials focuses on the empowerment of women in marketing campaigns. Again, this is a generation that does not see themselves as passive recipients of a service but rather as proactive participants, and these advertising campaigns are designed with that sentiment in mind. 8. Selfie-conscious: Millennials live with the idea that the world they live in should look perfect to outsiders. School may be stressful and their personal lives may have issues, but the outside world should not see a single
blemish. The way in which “selfie” photos are perfectly posed is emblematic of how this generation of consumers wants to tightly control the way in which the outside world sees them. 9. Fitspiration: Millennials are incredibly focused on their health and fitness and are willing to pay for it. As I mentioned earlier, this is a generation that is quite careful with their money, but this is one area in which they feel that spending money is worth it. 10. Philanthro-me: Although there is little doubt that charity has always been an important part of life for previous generations, nonprofits and philanthropy have taken on a larger role in the life of millennials. Although previous generations may have been content with merely writing a check to a charity of choice, millennials are not satisfied with simply making financial contributions but also want to actively participate in nonprofits’ missions. A great example of this was the recent “ice bucket challenge,” in which people not only donated to charities for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis but also used social media to stress their own personal involvement and raise funds. To this generation, engagement with charities and nonprofits has become a reflection of how they feel about themselves and their place in the world.
KEY POINTS AND LESSONS FOR RADIOLOGY n Because of the very nature of our business, a disproportionate percentage of our patients are
Journal of the American College of Radiology Wells et al n Rethinking the Patient Experience
n
n
elderly and from the baby boomer generation. However, Ms Wells’s lecture is a very strong reminder that the millennial generation will increasingly be seeking health care on behalf of their aging parents, their young children, and eventually themselves and that we must be prepared to appeal to this new generation of consumers in a very different way than what we have been used to. Our patients have traditionally been passive recipients of radiologic services. We, as radiologists, have performed the radiologic studies, provided interpretations, and sent those interpretations to patients’ providers, all of which occur with little direct interaction with the patients. We are already starting to see that change slowly, as patients increasingly contact us directly for information about scan results and recommendations. This new generation of consumers will want to engage us directly, rather than simply trusting the words in our reports. One wonders if practices that are open to direct discussions of scan results with patients will one day have an advantage in the marketplace. In addition, we are also seeing that patients are increasingly viewing their own reports and sometimes have questions for us regarding our reports’ findings, and we will undoubtedly have to find ways in the future to make our reports appeal not only to our referring physicians but also to the patients who read them as well. Ms Wells’s advice on “content proliferation” may have implications for us as a field, especially because we have limited opportunities to directly engage with patients in our day-to-day work. Although we worry about how 743
our lack of patient contact may be accelerating our field’s own commoditization, perhaps we should focus on creating “content” that might be able to directly appeal to patients and convince them of our importance in their medical care. Whether through magazines, social media, blogs, or health care websites, Ms Wells suggests that the most successful businesses will be able to create content that appeals directly to consumers and
n
that secondarily convinces them to spend their money. Ms Wells noted the health consciousness of the millennial generation and their focus on fitness. Perhaps that trend bodes well for us. This is a generation that is willing to spend their money on preserving their health, and perhaps we, as a field, might be able to directly appeal to them regarding the importance of engaging radiologic services. Whether it is screening
mammography, screening breast MRI in high-risk patients, or prostate MRI, this is a generation that will not just rely on referring physicians to order the correct test but can instead be directly appealed to when it comes to the best means of preserving their health.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Additional resources can be found online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/ j.jacr.2015.03.031.
Siva P. Raman, MD, Karen M. Horton, MD, and Elliot K. Fishman, MD, are from the Department of Radiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland. Tina Wells is the CEO and founder of the Buzz Marketing Group. The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose. Siva P. Raman, MD: Johns Hopkins University, Department of Radiology, JHOC 3251, 601 N Caroline Street, Baltimore, MD 21287; e-mail: [email protected].
744
Journal of the American College of Radiology Volume 12 n Number 7 n July 2015