Last week we had the privilege to present in Rome for Eurapco. Eurapco brings together some of the best and brightest insurance companies from Europe. Fueled with an inspiring and collaborative spirit we came together to learn more about European millennials. We presented our trend report on Millennials and insurances. The first edition of this report was created for Achmea, but has now been translated and filled with additional European insights. An important question is; Are European Millennials all the same?
Let’s get the elephant out of the room. The answer is yes and no. It would be downright ignorant to disregard the differences between individual Millennials. There are just as many differences between Millennials and Baby Boomers as there are between Millennials from Spain and from Finland, or even between Millennials from Madrid and Barcelona. However, generations do think, feel and behave alike. For anyone working with Millennials in an organization, it is easy to confess that there is a difference in how you motivate, collaborate or communicate with them compared to other generations. Besides your own experiences, we can tell from years of research that academics agree that generation-thinking is a valuable way of structuring our world.
Generation-thinking is not something new, however it is definitely not old enough to have lost its value. For decades, social scientists from the fields of sociology, anthropology and psychology have been studying ‘the youth’ and generations. The language, culture, digital behaviour, norms, believes and values between generations differ. Even though there are differences in economic and political situation between European countries, there are substantive issues and influences that define Millennials in Europe. Much of what influences and drives the behaviour of any generation is their common experience in technological developments, cultural and societal shifts, and economic growth (or fall) of Europe overall. This common experience is shaped during the formative years of Millennials (10-25 years).
Evidently, understanding generations is key to be customer-centric as an organization. More good news, by understanding a generation you understand a huge cohort of your (potential) target group. That makes it not a just a scientifically proven, but also practical way of segmenting your target groups. There are 100 million of these Millennials living in Europe. The Eurapco partners now have the insights to become Millennial-proof. Are you?
