Brad: Well you’re definitely privy to why, you mentioned in your speech, where you said Apple and Nike are the number one and number two brands in millennials. And you’re proving why they spend so much time making that connection. And you also mentioned that millennials are three times more likely to go out and get advice on social media than others. So tell us a little bit about that kind of persona they live in on social media, and why it’s important for, even mid level business, not just Nike and Apple; to make that connection because it’s the future of their business, right?

Dr. Harness: It is. Yeah, absolutely. So when you think about millennials, where are they going to get advice? They can go to their mom and dad, they can go to their friends, or they can go to the web, which combines a lot of that together.

Brad: Their phone.

Dr. Harness: Absolutely.

Brad: Immediately.

Dr. Harness: How are you discovering….So, I back up into, let’s say, my generation; and I wanted to know…

Brad: He’s not a millennial, by the way, even though he looks it.

Dr. Harness: I’m not a millennial, surprise. I wanted to know what a good dentist was. I’d go to the Yellow Pages. It’s a totally, totally different environment. And I had no feedback as to whether this was a good dentist or not.

Brad: They put those in their car now, to teach their kids how to drive.

Dr. Harness: That’s right. So, today I have the incredible ability to share; sometimes among strangers; share information to provide instantaneous feedback on, normally it’s the tales of the distribution, the ups and the downs of an experience. So I get to share with others; does this make sense or does this not make sense. One of the cool things as advisors today; people are rating us. We are being rated online. People are going to the market to say; ‘do business with this person or don’t do business with this person.’

Brad: And it’s happening in every business.

Dr. Harness: It is. Absolutely. So, to have a footprint out there; I think having user driven content is important as well. So, let’s say financial services…

Brad: Especially when it’s associated with your brand.

Robert: I love that term; user driven.

Brad: Because on of the things we always preach to our clients is, it’s about them, it’s not about you.

Dr. Harness: Absolutely.

Brad: And especially in the millennials, correct?

Dr. Harness: Well, the terminology that you use. So the terminology that we use in financial services can be acronyms. It can be shorthand information. We talk about things; I’ll give you the example; this was in Texas; I said stock to somebody, and they thought I was talking about cattle.

Brad: Cattle, of course.

Dr. Harness: It’s a different animal. So being able to have user driven content, to where they are using the key search terms in a way that they think of what it is that you do. So that when the average user comes in and starts to Google or find out information about you, you don’t know what all those search terms are. They do; let them drive some of that.

Brad: That’s making that deeper connection.

Robert: Talk about, what is it that millennials value? Number one, we know, experiences.

Dr. Harness: They’re socially conscious. So socially conscious investing in the financial realm is very important to them. They also value, you hit on the head right there, is experiences. Experiences are critical. So the question becomes how do we help them get to those experiences without breaking the bank in the process. So they don’t spend all of their assets. I think part of it is driving the experience of doing business with us. So I go to the dentist today; I keep going back to the medical analogies, but I think they’re good. I go to the dentist today. Used to, when I’d go to the dentist, it was the worst experience ever; I mean it’s going to be uncomfortable; there’s nothing I can do about that. They ease it by, my dentist has a window I can see into the forest that his building’s built up against. When I lean back I’ve got a TV on the ceiling. He’s making this environment comfortable for me. And I think we’ve got incredible opportunity with millennials to take the assets that we know that they need and overlay that with the experiences they want to have. And it may come down to reframing. Helping them to understand that I have this asset as a placeholder for your trip to Europe. And then what are you going to do when you go on that trip to Europe.

Brad: See, and in our world, the whole key is creating that experience, right there in the palm of their hands, online, with your brand. We help you create that experience online.

Robert: So, finally, take away here. If you’re in business and you’re not engaging in social media; your destiny is what?

Dr. Harness: You’re behind. You’re well behind today. I would argue that, especially in the financial realm, in business in general, you are going to be an unknown commodity in the future. People will not know how to find you. What are the touch points that they have to reach out and know who you are in a real way. If there is no presence; I went to find a lawn mower; somebody to mow my yard in College Station; and the person that I chose was the only person that had a website. I didn’t know who anyone else was, other than word of mouth. So this is the new word of mouth. It is the way in which we communicate.

Brad: It’s in all levels of business.

Dr. Harness: It is.

Brad: So don’t just take Robert and Brad’s word for it, listen to the Aggie, old Nathan. That’s our Clarity Digital Clip of the week.