Out with the old (Gen X)…in with the new (millennials)

The rise of the new, digital native generation of the millennials is coming into light and we are seeing them reach their optimal spending era as they reach the 22-30 year age bracket. This means that they are a huge target for the marketing industry and we’re going to tell you how you can grab their attention by the horns…

Who are millennials and why are they worth targeting?

Millennials are a group of young adults, born between 1981-1996, who are moving into their prime earning and spending years.

There are a total of 71 million millennials around the world comprising just over 30% of the worlds population. There are 17 million millennials situated in the UK alone, meaning if you want to run a successful marketing campaign, millennials should certainly be one of, if not your main, priority.

However, they are not like other targeted groups and so it is important for brands to recognise this and adapt your marketing strategies. Millennials are highly dominated by and often urge towards campaigns that are economically friendly. They have a tendency to prioritise the price of the product over factors that other generations would see as a higher priority, such as brand reputation and even quality of the product.

According to studies, Millennials spend an average of $75 per online visit and $57 per instore visit. This suggests that although Millenials still value their ‘in-shop’ experience, they are greatly influenced by what they see and read online. Infact, they are 2.5 times more likely, than the average shopper, to be influenced to shop on a mobile app. This generation are in fact so technologically driven that 53% would rather lose their sense of smell than their access to technology.

So, we suggest that is exactly where you take your advertising, to the asset they value the most… their technology.

But, how much money do they spend? And what do they spend this money on?

Millennials as a generation are trend setters and trend followers.

By this, we mean that they spend money on superfluities and indulgences. This is a generation where looking good and being well presented is more important that saving money and being financially secure.

In fact, most young millennials, aged 20-26, had less than £1000 in their savings accounts and half had absolutely nothing at all.

Therefore when marketing a product to this age range consider the following statistics:

• 60% would spend an average of £4 on a single coffee
• 70% would spend extra money at eating at a ‘cool and hip’ restaurant, compared to one that maybe cheaper but no one had heard of.
• 69% spend money on clothing for reasons beyond being a necessity.
• 50% would spend money on taxis and Ubers compared to older generation which 36% would spend money on transport to travel the same distance.

This indicates that to be successful amongst Millennials you have to get your name out there on social media platforms and be the buzzing everyone is talking about. It will only take a few likes and tags to get you well known amongst this group of highly influenced adolescents, word travels fast and recommendations go a long way.

Loyal Customers

According to Forbes, 90% of Millennials use two or three pieces of electronic devices per day and 50% are using social media or other internet interactions, which ultimately affects their buying choices and decisions.

We’re talking about a generation that has grown up and accepted, with open arm, the new digital age and so you should be adapting your brand around their needs if you want to attract this prime generation.

Surprisingly enough, Millennials, despite the ever growing choice of online merchandise at competitive prices, have been labelled as the most loyal customers to their favourite brands. In fact, just over 50% would consider themselves as ‘extremely loyal customers’.

But, why?

There are a few different theories as to why this maybe the case and what you can do to attract these loyal customers…

Make your advertisements as authentic as possible

Sadly, advertisements alone don’t sell to millennials. Instead they want to see that the brand is authentic and has an array of quality testimonials that keep buyers coming back to purchase. Studies show that 62% are more loyal to brands that engage with the customers directly so bring your brand down to a personal level and expect more interaction from Millennials.

Introduce loyalty discounts

Studies show that 60% of millennials stay loyal to brands they have previously purchased from if they offer a loyalty discount scheme.

As mentioned previously, brands have noticed Millennials like a good barging and so what better way to make them return then to offer them what may seem like a ‘one off’ opportunity to receive 15% off their next order. It’s a win-win for both parties.

Give back to your community

Millennials love to know that as a brand you think about the bigger picture. 75% of them said they would chose an ethically sourced company over a brand that showed no devotion to the environment.

Take the shoe brand ‘Toms’ for example, a widely popular brand amongst Millennials. Their brand manifesto offers a contribution of one pair of shoes to be donated to less fortunate children, every time someone purchases a pair of their shoes.

Visit the place your product is being produced.

You would definitely get some great publicity if you go and physically visit where your prduct is being designed and made. By sharing this with the public almost gives your brand a sense of openness and shows you have nothing to hide. This will restore customer’s faith in you brand and make you a popular choice amongst millennials.

Get a fair-trading certificate

Getting a fair-trade certificate for your products is another way in which your company can show that you care about your product quality and where profits are originating from.

How to target Millennials

The following are some top tips to target millennials and to keep them coming back for more…

Make accessible from a mobile

Surveys say that 1 in 10 millennials would rather lose a finger than lose their Smartphone. If this shocking fact tell you anything, it certainly tell you that the mobile phone for millennials is a huge part of their life and will take up and an incredibly large portion of their time will be spent on their phone.

Make sure your site is clear, well presented and easy to follow through to order completion. If you don’t do this you will quickly lose engagement as the customer will soon be onto the next site looking at similar stock, they will not wait around long so make it quick and simple for them to make a purchase.

Collaborate

Whether it’s with an influencer or another brand that compliments you, make sure you are collaborating with other brands. This will allow you to work together as a team to poach more business, and the more brands you collaborate with, equivocates to more business for you.

This will put your company in good stead making you look like the heroic brand that wants to elevate others rather than being out there just for yourself. This will defiantly but you in good stead as a brand. This will demonstrate your focused on creating a community.

Prioritise customer content

Ever see brands adding a little note on the side of their packages “take a selfie of your food and tag our Instagram @…”.

They do this as people love to see customer guided content, it makes the customer seem like your more than just selling a product, but you actually care about your customer feedback.

Take criticism, it makes you look human. If someone is looking through reviews and every review on your page is 5*, it denounces the legitimacy of you as a brand, don’t delete negative comments, instead improve on them. Let your brand be driven by what your customers are telling you.

Offer a helping hand

An instantaneous chat box is always helpful and means questions can be resolved easily, before customers could potentially lose interest and zone out.

Post daily

Whether that be on Instagram, Facebook, twitter or all three make sure you are posting weekly, if not daily.

In a world where there is huge amounts of competitors, left, right and centre, don’t get lost amongst the crowd. If you post on a monthly basis, sadly you will soon become just a distant memory to your new followers.

If your followers also see your posts daily (the more active you are the more likely they will see this on their feed more regularly) you become more of a friend than a company or a brand. It personalises you as a brand and you will therefore get more people liking you for it.

Whitty and catching descriptions are essential to be remembered. Keep up with trends and like and share posts/photos that are relevant to your brand but are not your own content. Show personality as a brand but please… avoid the buzz words. The likes of ‘LOL’ and ‘OMG’ are so 2010 and are highly unprofessional if you are wanting to create a reputable brand.

Final word.

With this new financial powerhouse generation coming into light, it’s important to understand what motivates them and adapt your brand/product(s) accordingly to be successful amongst them. They have list of high expectations, each of which are different for different industries, but it’s important you do your research and adapt your selling point accordingly.