14 • OIL
&
ENERGY
For example, you could attract young
homeowners to your company by publishing
a blog post about fuel choices. A Millennial
who has just bought an oil-heated home and
is researching options could discover your
post and form an excellent impression of
you based on what you published. Make sure
the information you publish is well sourced,
because Millennials know how to check facts.
Making your company website a source
of reliable, helpful information will help you
with more than just your Millennial pros-
pects. Homeowners of most ages search the
Internet when they want answers, and they
all appreciate helpful information and feel
respect for the company that provided it.
CUSTOMER VOICES
Companies should also continue to
promote the customer review process and
maximize their online reviews and customer
testimonials. Consumers across the demo-
graphic spectrum are increasingly relying
on online reviews, and the trend is only
strengthening with Millennials. In its 2012
report
Strangers: Millennials Trust People Over
Brands,
Bazaar Voice reports that 84 percent
of Millennials said user-generated content on
company websites influences what they buy.
Fifty-one percent of them said that consumer
opinions found on a company’s website have
a greater impact on purchase decisions
than
recommendations from family and friends.
Companies should redouble efforts
to solicit online reviews and testimonials
from existing customers, and display their
words prominently on the website. Positive
customer reviews are some of your most
effective sales tools, so it makes sense to
invest in getting more positive customer
voices into the public sphere.
FOCUS ON THE PHONE
To communicate most effectively with
Millennials, target their smartphones,
because the phone is the nerve center
of their universe. An eMarketer study
from 2013 indicated that 92.3 percent of
Millennials used a mobile phone in 2012
and 63.2 percent used the mobile web.
And in a recent survey by Zipcar, 30 percent
of Millennials said losing their phone would
have a greater negative impact on their daily
routine than losing their car would.
Companies will need effective mobile
websites and should embrace business-to-
consumer texting to communicate with
Millennials on their preferred devices. It’s
easy to imagine a future – and not very far
off – when virtually all B2C communica-
tions occur on the phone.
Another characteristic of the Millennial
generation is their strong attachment to
technology in many forms. The Better
Homes & Gardens Real Estate survey
delved into this: “If a home is not up-to-
date with the latest tech capabilities, 64
percent of Millennials surveyed would
simply not consider living there,” the com-
pany wrote. “In addition, 84 percent of the
younger Americans surveyed believe that
technology is an absolute essential to have
in their homes. The most sought-after tech
being an energy efficient washer and dryer
(57 percent), security system (48 percent),
and smart thermostat (44 percent).”
The implications are clear: To appeal to
Millennials, home comfort providers must
ride the cutting edge of new technology. That
means growing your expertise in consumer-
facing comfort technology such as com-
municating thermostats. Companies should
also learn to handle a full range of advanced
heating and cooling solutions, from ductless
AC to instantaneous water heaters to variable
speed fans and circulators. Position yourself
to say “yes” to as many customer requests as
possible.
If Millennials want energy-efficient
washers, dryers and smart thermostats, as
the Better Homes & Gardens survey indi-
cates, we can expect them to appreciate effi-
ciency in heating and cooling as well. This
news bodes well for equipment sales but is
contradicted somewhat by the Millennials’
apparent frugality. They may like to run
an energy-efficient home, but will they be
open to upsells for the highest-efficiency
equipment?
SALES STRATEGIES
Companies should scrutinize their
sales and marketing from end to end and
determine whether they are ready to suc-
ceed with the next generation. Evaluate
your ability to sell high efficiency heating
and cooling. Are you integrating apps
into your sales pitch? Are you presenting
facts that make it easy to understand the
tradeoffs between standard and high-end
equipment? Are you generating enthusiasm
about energy savings?
Companies that innovate in sales and
learn to hook online shoppers during search
and then guide them through a seam-
less process will have a big advantage in
customer recruitment. You’ll need to push
the front end of the sales process online,
because Millennials will feel thwarted if they
have to wait for “regular business hours” to
speak with a salesperson. “[Millennials]
are extremely impatient with irrelevant
information, and they have no tolerance
for unwieldy experiences,” Michele Serro,
a former associate partner at IDEO, told
Entrepreneur
this year.
Apps and online chat could play large
roles in the sales process in the very near
future, because you’ll want to engage cus-
tomers on your site the moment they arrive.
An online rewards program can also help
with sales, because 78 percent of Millennials
are more likely to choose a brand that offers
a loyalty or rewards program over a brand
that doesn’t offer one, according to a 2011
study by Aimia.
CONFRONT SKEPTICISM
Of course, the elephant in the room is
how Millennials will view their fuel choices.
In the 2009 report
New Progressive America:
The Millennial Generation,
The Center for
American Progress reported that Millennials
have strongly progressive views on energy and
environmental policy. “Millennials believe
we need to move away from dependence on
fossil fuels and embrace the need for major
investments in new energy technologies, and
they think doing so is vital to our economic
future. What’s more, Millennials think that
environmental protection and transforming
the economy away from fossil fuels is one of
the defining features of their generation,” the
report states.
Negativity towards petroleum is hardly
a new challenge, but Oilheat dealers will
want to get ready for Millennial-style
skepticism. Address the oil-vs.-natural
gas choice proactively with an aggressive
approach that includes freshly updated
online information to knock natural gas
off its bogus “clean energy” pedestal.
Setting aside the price advantage that we
hope will pass in the near future, natural
gas lacks any clear advantage over heating
oil. Become adept at cutting natural gas
down to size with the facts quickly and
then shifting the focus onto your expertise
in reducing energy consumption.
At the same time, prepare to give
customers more options. By helping home-
owners get the home comfort solutions
they prefer, regardless of the fuel involved,
you create more opportunity for yourself.
Diversification has been essential since the
Millennials were in diapers; their coming of
age merely reinforces the necessity.
In fact, many of the steps you can take
to accommodate Millennials will improve
new customer acquisition and improve
your service for customers of all ages. As
always, we are ready to help. Please call us
at 1-800-796-3342.
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