The mystique surrounding the Millennial generation has long generated tension for marketers as they struggle to adapt their strategies for this powerful consumer demographic. Millennials contribute 170 billion dollars of purchasing power per year, making them a crucial segment of target sales. As Millennials mature as consumers, marketers must re-evaluate traditional strategies in order to capture this dynamic and powerful segment.
In order to effectively sell to Millennials, marketers must first understand this complex demographic. The 19-36 age group is comprised of cynical consumers who are untrusting of experts, marketers, and corporations. They have grown up emerged in technology with access to limitless streams of information, which they utilize in most major purchases. They tend to be liberal toward social issues, and ambitious in education and career paths. This generation has come into adulthood among poor economic conditions, so they tend to be skeptical consumers. However, the most powerful implications for marketers is a lack of trust in traditional advertising, creating a necessity for a deeper bond between the consumer and the brand.
The Millennial generation is unique because its members have rejected both push and pull marketing strategies in favor of a relationship with the brand. As consumers, Millennials want to draw their own conclusions. In order to be effective, companies need to make information available. A strong digital presence is crucial in evaluating brand options and corporate identity, while lack of information triggers distrust.
Because there is so much information at their disposal, Millennials evaluate competitors more stringently than any other generation. Companies must compete not only for their purchase, but for their trust. They do this by very subtly developing a relationship with the consumer. Social media campaigns are crucial to this demographic because they create a more intimate, two way relationship with the individual. Millennials need to understand not only the brand and its products, but the entire identity of the corporation before making a decision. Fifty percent of U.S. Millennial ages 18 to 24 and thirty-eight percent of those ages 25 to 34 agreed that brands “say something about who I am, my values, and where I fit in,” while forty-eight percent of young Millennials reported that they “try to use brands of companies that are active in supporting social causes.” So, tactically, how can a company accomplish this? Millennials do not trust experts, but they do seek affirmation from others. Seventy percent of Millennials reported feeling more excited when their friends agreed with them about where to shop, eat and play, where only forty-eight percent of other adults indicated the same. This creates an opportunity for sales associates to assume the roles of friends. In this way, dress, speech, and behavior of employees become crucial. Salespeople must look, live and believe the brand in order to convince a Millennial to do the same.
With this complex demographic comes an obvious struggle. Marketing has become an intense two way street, taking more time, effort and thought than ever before. However, as the consumption power of Millennials continues to increase, this relationship building strategy becomes crucial not only to the success, but to the survival of brands.
References:
Group, The Boston Consulting. “The Millennial Generation Is Changing the Face of Consumer Marketing.” The Boston Consulting Group 15 January 2014. Press Release.
“Inside the Millennial Mind: The Do’s & Don’ts of Marketing to this Powerful Generation.” Forbes 16 April 2014. http://www.forbes.com/sites/patrickspenner/2014/04/16/inside-the-millennial-mind-the-dos-donts-of-marketing-to-this-powerful-generation-3/.
