10 Essential Things to Consider When Marketing to Millennials

Have you heard of Marketing to Millennials? Perhaps, you are a little bit baffled by this term but don’t be, it’s a new marketing strategy directed at a specific group. This group is the so-called 21st-century generation, whose outlook on life clearly differ from those of previous generations.

Marketing to Millennials will greatly improve your business when you adjust your efforts to include them and their views on life; statistics show that they want brands which socialize with them and meet their needs.

Millennials’ Expectations, Nature, and Tendencies

Millennials think somewhat differently than previous generations. This is because they were born in a period of technological advancements.

Their lifestyles are patterned after the principles of modernization. They are adept at using computer gadgets, smartphones, etc. And they are well-informed of how to use videos, images, and texts.

Their lifestyles are characterized by adaptability, flexibility, practicality, entertainment, a highly intellectual mindset, and innovation. Furthermore, they’re economically-driven and meticulous in the buying decision-making process.

Hard-selling doesn’t often influence them because critical thinking largely influences their preferences. They investigate, make deals, and conduct reviews of products and companies.

How to Market to Millennials Generation

1. Authenticity
2. Personalized Approach
3. Educational Content
4. Collaboration
5. Use Over Ownership
6. Fun and Entertainment
7. Time Urgency
8. Hot Deals
9. Reviews and Consumer Opinions
10. Customer Service

1. Authenticity

This has a major influence on buying decisions. You have to nurture trust and confidence before you can turn people into customers. To do it, you have to patiently incorporate a data-driven marketing approach by publishing blogs, posting photos and images, and quality video articles.

You can utilize different social media platforms because these are their favorite ‘standby’ places via their smartphones. When your posted contents gained a higher number of shares from their friends, families, and peer groups, they will feel you’re authentic.

2. Personalized Approach

Millennials love to deal with marketers whose approach is customer-driven and personalized. They resent impersonal campaigns filled with company logos and unwarranted product advertising.

This is where outbound marketing becomes ineffective because the group knows what they really want and how to search online to satisfy their needs.

Traditional advertising never has an appeal to them because of unsolicited offers. It will only ignite interest in them if the advertisements have relevance to their search histories on the Internet.

3. Educational Content

They are attracted to content that is designed in a way that aligns with their interests and doesn’t hurt their pocketbooks and wallets.

They are distracted by any content with an emphasis on “buy” now. In this context, your generated content should have a specific and transparent purpose- to address their needs and educate them further.

In this manner, your marketing approach will not appear pushy, but rather carry a helpful note which will capture their interest. Millennials value authenticity and awesome ideas, which mean that great content marketing will always have a huge impact on them.

4. Collaboration

Millennials are people fueled by creativity, both in self-expression and objective purposes. They are heavily drawn to a business that makes them feel involved and part of its growth and success.

The Coca-Cola company has successfully done this by opening its door for collaboration. They encouraged their audience to unleash their creativity by giving their own interpretation of Coca-Cola’s brand promise “energizing refreshment” in diverse formats by their own preference.

5. Use Over Ownership

With a mindset oriented by the principle of “sharing economy”, Millennials hardly move themselves to the buy option right away. They are not into ownership of anything until they have tried it.

The free trial marketing strategy has a bearing on them because they can test the waters to evaluate the authenticity of your offers.

This is a huge challenge for you as a marketer because once Millennials find out about anything misleading, they will no longer extend their attention to whatever you offer to them.

They are scrupulous buyers, and their reviews through personal experience with your products will have a strong impression on them.

6. Fun and Entertainment

The emergence of e-commerce businesses has become a source of fun and entertainment for Millennials. Browsing catalogs from one site to another entertains them more than buying; they want to make wish lists.

Their buying decision is suspended to the later stage as they keep on gathering fascinating offers. The companies that grant them a privilege to make a wish list for future buying benefit from this kind of strategy.

As mentioned, they hate a pushy marketing style. So, delight them in all possible ways and take full advantage of social media platforms.

7. Time Urgency

With the vastness of information at their fingertips, Millennials have a trait, just like Freddy Mercury – “I want it now.” It means that you have to value customers’ time, and the average response rate according to studies is within 10 minutes.

Using their mobile phones, they expect to receive a response at the same speed when they posted an inquiry through text messages.

On the other hand, if you have a standard time of response that is a 24-hour time interval for email inquiries, make sure to fulfill it on or before the said time frame.

8. Hot Deals

Millennials know the range of competition among businesses, and they take advantage of this opportunity. They are aware that one of the customer-driven tactics most companies used is by jumping into hot deals.

Discounts, promos, and bonuses allure them and these things quickly prompt them to make purchases.

Their practicality about life largely influences this decision. As long as the items are of quality, a slight difference in prices from one source to another doesn’t matter a lot. What concerns them most is the ability to save while acquiring those desired items at lower costs.

9. Reviews and Consumer Opinions

What else could drive them to buy items, are the genuine testimonials, reviews, and consumer opinions. Having a page on your site reserved for this affects not only their buying decision but also their loyalty to your business.

If your products have positive feedback and reviews, Millennials will become your loyal customers. Know that they are into authenticity and practicality.

They can never be manipulated into spending their hard-earned cash on something that is just hyped. Their conviction is — right product, right price, at the right time.

10. Customer Service

Millennials are very particular in the business-customer relationship. Being relationship-driven, they expect that customer service nurtures the needs of their customers by promptly answering whatever their concerns are. They detest the idea of delayed responses to complaints and inquiries or sought assistance.

Their views on customer service are quite different as compared to in the past. If possible, your business must have a system that marks and tracks their concerns properly. One plausible strategy is a system that generates a specific ticket number, where everything is well-recorded.

Examples of Brands Successfully Targeting Millennials

Panera Bread

The fresh food fast brand differentiated itself from the competition by offering preservative-free, healthy offering with a convenient ordering system that appeals to millennials.

It is a digital pioneer in the food world, offering online ordering, and with nearly 1/3rd of its sales digital (in some markets, nearly ½ of its sales are digital). Delivery and a rewards program are the icings on the GMO-free breakfast pastry.

Dove

There’s nothing particularly exciting about Dove’s formulation itself, but Dove won over millennial’s hearts with its advertising campaigns.

As one of the first beauty brands to embrace a variety of models – people of color, bodies of all shapes and sizes, and hair types of all colors and textures.

Dove created an authentic beauty experience that millennials could relate to and see themselves in. Dove was also one of the first to skip airbrushing in ads, empowering customers to embrace their bodies as is.

Kroger

In-store grocery shopping is on its way out, and Kroger seized an opportunity to appeal to millennials – particularly young millennial parents – with its curbside pickup and home delivery programs.

Customers can shop weekly ads and even apply digital coupons to their orders for pickup and delivery. Loyalty programs like Kroger Rewards and gas discounts keep millennials coming back through the grocery retailer’s digital doors.

Best Buy

Call it the little digital retailer that could. Back in 2012, the technology store’s decline seemed inevitable. The brand proved it could make a comeback – and has – by shutting most of its brick and mortar locations and prioritizing its digital experiences. Boutique customer service in the form of the Geek Squad helps tech-savvy millennials navigate their arsenal of devices.

Nike

As the most beloved brand of millennials, the brand has tried to assert itself as being on the right side of history, from choosing inspirational spokespeople for its Just Do It campaign such as Colin Kaepernick and the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team. On the digital front, Nike won over millennial hearts by acquiring retro-cool brand Converse, creating its own running and fitness app, and even launching “Nike By You,” a customizable footwear platform.

Conclusion

Your business has a huge opportunity to advance and become successful by employing marketing to Millennials strategy.

The technological advancement provides a greater edge for you because these people are adept at using computer gadgets. Through a candid understanding of their nature and tendencies, you can literally improve your business to a higher degree.

As a marketer, you must always prioritize the responsibilities that can satisfy their set of expectations and valuable time. Bear in your mind that these people have different perceptions and expectations about everything.

Their lifestyles are well-influenced by the vastness of information that is just at their fingertips. Therefore, never make any attempt at misleading them with a hyped marketing.

At DevriX, as a world-class B2B digital marketing agency, we have tons of experience in succesfully marketing to Millenials. Keep that in mind in case you can’t handle it on your own.