Companies Need A New Approach: Marketing to Millennials

Every generation brings its own key characteristics and approaches that companies need to keep in mind when targeting their ideal customer. Millennials (born after 1980) is the generation between age-group of 18- 38 years. But despite Millennials now taking up the bulk of the marketshare (being the largest living generation in the United States alone), many companies have not yet shifted their marketing focus towards this powerful, trend-setting generation.

Tailoring An Approach

If any company wants to keep their competitive edge, and succeed as millennials gain a larger and larger market share in the coming years, they need to become informed about what really matters to this generation of shoppers and workers.

Multiple research studies have identified some key traits millennials share when it comes to branding and what things make them want to purchase a particular product:

  • It’s about causes. Majority of Millennials are willing to make a purchase from a company if their purchase will support a cause.
  • They’ll pay extra. Significant percentage of Millennials are willing to purchase a product or service to support a cause they believe in, even if that means paying a bit extra.
  • It’s about passion. If they believe in what you’re doing, Millennials are more likely to be an early adopter of technology. They don’t need the “social proof” of previous generations.
  • They’ll get on board first. Majority of Millennials say they’re one of the very first to get new technology when it becomes available to them.
  • It’s about function. Millennials value brands that enhance their lives. In order to be considered “cool”, new technology must serve a purpose.

They Have Purchasing Power

Millennials make up about 21% of consumer discretionary purchases, meaning they have a direct purchasing power of more than $1,000,000,000. They also have a huge influence on the decision of older generations, especially as Millennials begin taking the role of caregivers for parents, grandparents, and other family members.

Their purchasing power is further maximized when you take into consideration that 53% of Millennial households already have children. Approximately 1 in 4 Millennials are parents today, and this number is only growing.

They Have Influence

Plus, with 46% of Millennials saying they have more than 200 friends on Facebook alone, they have more influence than any other generation online. The same percentage of this generation are considered content creators. That means they have posted original photo or video content that they have made to the internet.

What are they saying about you? More importantly, what is your company doing to make them take notice?