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June 08, 2015 at 02:37 PM
It’s not easy to reach a multitasking, screen-obsessed generation. My fellow millennials (ages 18 to 32) are entering their prime buying years for life insurance, and agents still haven’t quite figured us out.
Gen Y represents a massive opportunity (read: We’re getting married, having kids, etc.). Couple that with the fact that this year the total number of millennials will surpass baby boomers, a generation that fueled insurance sales in the 1970s.
American millennials already spend $1.3 trillion every year, according to a report by the Boston Consulting Group; and yet this spending hasn’t trickled down to some important, personal purchases. This generation remains largely underinsured and undereducated about life insurance.
Agents have historically struggled to reach mobile, tech-savvy millennials. It’s a group that grew up with Internet access during their formative years, which has shaped the way they communicate. The average millennial spends 18 hours a day consuming media and 5.4 hours on social media per day, according to a recent study.
Because we’re hyperconnected and social, engaging my peers isn’t as hard as it might seem. The key for agents is to connect with Gen Y based on the information they’re already sharing. With the first cohort of millennials in their early thirties, many are thinking about or experiencing key life events, like career moves, buying a home, getting married and having children. This is a pivotal time to build trust and get to know this younger generation.
Here are three ways to leverage predictive technology to capture our attention and build meaningful relationships.
1. Know when to reach out.
Staying in touch with younger generations can be time-consuming. It’s not easy to know precisely when to reach out and learn about a major life event. Luckily, social media has completely changed the landscape and it is now much easier to connect with Gen Y at the right time, in the right way.
According to a report from the Council of Economic Advisors, three-quarters of millennials have an account on a social network, compared with only half of generation Xers and less than a third of baby boomers. This makes them an easy demographic to both track and engage.
They’re updating social networks with major life announcements about new jobs, moves across the country and sadder news, like deaths within their families. According to a recent study by LIMRA, 41 percent of consumers say a life event was a trigger for them to buy life insurance.
The news people publish on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter can indicate a mindset shift or a willingness to consider the future in a new way. For example, agents can start to build relationships with younger investors by starting conversations around life events, such as having a first child. An agent could send flowers and a note of congratulations to the new parents, which could lead to a conversation about life insurance. This is a natural time for you to reach out and be helpful. And these nuggets of information can equip agents with more context to forecast future behaviors, like buying products or services.
