Blog Post By: Anna Shircel, Marketing Intern
The Millennial Generation sometimes gets a bad rap. Joel Stein’s May 20 cover story for TIME referred to it as the “Me Me Me Generation” and criticized Millennials for being lazy, narcissistic, and entitled. However, Stein then went on to praise this generation for being resourceful and smart and claimed they will save us all. Millennials, he said, believe they can change the world.
Millennials are arguably the most creative and adaptive generation, growing up in a world of rapidly changing technology and increased globalization. In a marketing context, they pose a great challenge. Millennials are nothing like the generations that preceded them. Yes, they purchase many of the same things their parents and grandparents did. However, it is how Millennials make purchase decisions that make them exceedingly different.
Millennials do not use the same mediums for receiving information. While I still love to read the newspaper (the paper one, mind you, not online), most members of my generation have likely not picked up a newspaper in years. Therefore, newspaper ads are becoming irrelevant. Also, since the creation of DVRs, television commercials are rarely paid attention to. I’ll admit that I often record a TV show simply because I want to fly through the commercials later on.
Traditional “push” marketing is an ineffective way to reach Millennials. They consume brand and product information when they want to. Millennials don’t want to hear a sales pitch, get a call from a telemarketer, or receive spam emails and texts. They prefer to do their own research. This generation grew up with the Google search box, and they are not afraid to use it. This poses a danger to brands, as poor reviews can rarely stay hidden.
4 Tips for Marketing to Millennials
1. Products should sell themselves through a great user experience, excellent customer service, and positive word of mouth. Millennials tend to be turned off by a lot of sales jargon.
2. Recognize that you are not in control of the message anymore. Messages are crafted online by millions of individuals sharing opinions about brands and products. Millennials prefer the direct, two-way communication available on Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, and other social media platforms.
3. Construct a complete digital strategy. Millennials can tell when a brand has a professional webpage and when it is just an online billboard. Create an online community that you can use to directly engage consumers.
4. Create value, not noise. Create a product that is truly useful and satisfies an actual need. If it is enjoyable to use, you won’t have trouble getting people to buy and talk about it.
Millennials have immense purchasing power. Currently, many are struggling with huge student debt and a high unemployment rate. Though they are financially burdened now, they will soon control the global marketplace. Marketers can no longer afford to ignore them, and must begin to craft a strategy to reach this important generation.
Sources:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kim-garst/marketing-to-millennials_b_3951404.html
http://www.impactbnd.com/what-you-need-to-know-about-marketing-to-millennials/
