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How To Win Millennials Over: Connect the Dots

by | Sep 17, 2015 | Digital Marketing

Millennials don’t like to be marketed to.

Yes, you heard right. If you’re a company who is looking to connect with and acquire a majority market share portion of this generation’s attention and support; you’ll have to rethink your strategy.

So the question becomes, what do Millennials do differently that forces us to reshape our online marketing strategy? Everything.

The Buying Process.

Let’s begin with how Millennials like to shop online. Millennials have reshaped the face of marketing, by introducing and requiring the focus to be towards online and mobile marketing. But, the medium isn’t the only challenge B2B companies and manufacturing brands are facing. The sales cycle and sales funnel has also varied to accommodate Millennials’ online shopping habits.

With the rise of wish lists and save to cart tools, Millennials are notably using these tools to cyber window shop. Millennials are savvy researchers whom will look into a company’s product or service extensively before stepping in to show any interest. This runs parallel to their use of social media platforms as ‘sound off’ boards for validation or referrals from their network connections on what to do/what to buy.

Millennials place great trust in their social network (family and friends) to further help make their decision. In fact, they trust user generated (peer) content 50% more than other media. To Millennials, this type of content is more influential, trusted and memorable while going through their buying process. This is especially important for any company to understand their thought process, buying style and decision making actions – because if you can meet them at each step of the way, by identifying your brand and providing reasons for trust and comfortability, than your competition simply won’t stand a chance.

Millennials like to respond to stimulating and engaging online experiences. This generation relishes in being a part of something, fully immersed in it if you will. This works for you. Why? Because this generation wants to share and be a part of your brand, your mission. It is up to you to show your company is worthy of this generation’s’ time and loyalty.

The Millennials Composition.

Gone are the marketing days where you can get away with solely using age and gender to find and target your best audience. With Millennials, you must think through deeper into their lifestyle, by paying attention to their interests and behaviors to show them that your product or service should be a part of their life, and not just a byproduct. Millennials like to define and defend who they are, based on the products they use. This generation has personified brands, humanized them, thinking of companies as an extension of their image.

In order to develop relevant and definite targeted personas that successfully converts strangers into customers, you must conduct extensive research into your current and desired audience. The closer you become to understanding who your Biggest Customer (Millennials) are, the greater chance you have of thriving in the online space, both organically and through online marketing methods.

Now, let’s take a quick look into the behaviors and purchasing habits of this generation, provided by Nielsen Research.

  • 31% of Millennial shopping dollars are spent on deals
  • Millennials respond favorably to celebrity endorsement
  • 50% will spend more on a product from a socially responsible company
  • 60% will pay more for environmentally friendly products
  • 72% use Facebook regularly

This is just the beginning. As we continue to uncover more insight into Millennials and the purchasing power and workforce majority that this generation is rapidly gaining, you must to stay on top of it all in order to see your company prosper through this era.

If you need help maneuvering through this marketing jungle, contact us, and let’s give your company the competitive edge.

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