Millennials have arguably the most purchasing power of any generation currently. They’re in the work force. Over half of them have graduated college and they are ready to be your customers. But millennials are not bought easily. They have some expectations that you as a brand need to meet if you want their business.
Entrepreneur put together a list of tips for marketing to millennials. We simplified it and made our own list titled:
6 Things Millennials Expect of Your Brand:
Millennials of today expect your brand to:
- Be Influential: They don’t respond well to “hard sells.” They would rather see you collaborate with an online influencer on Youtube or a podcast to sell to them. They also expect these influencers to be targeted well to them. Pick a spokesperson that represents not only your brand, but your customer demographic as well.
- Be Mobile: Everything is mobile for millennials. While most digital marketing works as well on desktop as it does on mobile, make sure all advertising collateral and multimedia promotions are optimized for mobile. They’re also doing most of their purchasing and booking online. According to Entrepreneur, “64% of millennials book a hotel stay after searching for a room on their mobile device.”
- Be Neighborly: Send them selective coupons and discounts. (Doing so via mobile whether it be SMS or an app is always a bonus.) Also, incorporate social media contests and campaigns into your marketing plan. If they feel like winners, they will keep coming back.
- Be Friendly: Customer service is everything for millennials. If they haven’t been trained to do it themselves for a job in the past or present, they know exactly what it looks like. To millennials, it’s incredibly important to them that they are treated kindly and respectfully.
- Be Worthy: Worthy of what? Their loyalty. Millennials are staunchly brand loyal. If you gain their good graces, they will not only support your brand, they will rep it. So take advantage of that word-of-mouth marketing and treat them well.
- Be Social: Social media is EVERYWHERE and that means, for millennials, it’s EVERYTHING. Stay in touch with social media trends and potentially up-and-coming social media platforms. Promote campaigns on social and be interactive. Also, according to Entrepreneur, 70% of customer read online reviews before purchasing a product — and there are plenty of places on social media for people to write reviews.
Millennials are often painted as presumptuous and needy. This is absolutely a broad brush perspective and arguably not at all representative of the millennial generation as a whole. But it is a fact that millennials have very clear and definitive expectations from companies that serve them. With Gen Z coming close on their heels, expectations for brands only promise to increase. In the end it’s about how we adapt to the marketing landscape of today and tomorrow. Are you ready to be who they need you to be?
