Distinctive behaviors, values, motivations is what makes up millennials, a diverse generation that comes after the Generation X. The increasing numbers of millennials in the world gives marketers something important to concern themselves with.
Millennials are the future. With a strong belief that they can change the world, millennials are a generation that will blossom in the coming decades. By 2020, millennials will have accounted 50% of the global workforce.
As a diverse generation, millennials are different from one another. Our previous blog was on how Asian millennials prove different from the rest. Nonetheless, in terms of purchasing, millennials have their similarities that marketers can look after.
Below contains a checklist of things to assess in order to appeal to millennials and market your product/service more effectively
Start from ‘WHY’ and move from there
Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle was found to appeal to millennials heavily, you can read about it here. Brands should have a belief and a strong positive value in order to appeal to millennials. Millennials aspire to change the world for the better, and so should your brand. Research has shown that 85% of millennial consumers are influenced by positive CSR done by brands towards their purchasing decision. Brands should always communicate, visualise what they believe every customer touchpoint has, strengthen the brand value presence in consumer’s mind.
Transparency
90% of millennials are present in social media, they are also amongst the tech-native generation, other than Generation Z. They check the news, and more or less, a little bit of every change that has happened and is happening in the world. Millennials consumers are more likely to be the first to know if there are any negative practices being taken out by brands, which is exactly why brands should be transparent and play by their consumer’s rules. Communicate transparently without hiding anything.
Show Your True Colours
While it is true that people are more likely to get along with those who are similar to them, but millennials are quite the opposite. Millennials are the generation who highly respect individuality and differences, the idea that brands should become themselves and having a strong sense of authenticity and heritage. Nonetheless, it is fairly okay if a brand decides to be more like millennials. But in order to do so, it has to align with its core values and beliefs so that millennial consumers are able to perceive the brand as authentic.
Embrace Dialogue
In order for brands to be seen as a good friend, we have to listen, communicate and attend to the needs of millennial consumers. Therefore, two-way communications across offline and online channels are essential in maintaining relationships with millennial consumers. For online channels, brands should understand that social media was made to leverage people’s opinion and it’s user-generated content. Brands should give millennial consumers power to criticize, give honest opinion about the brand and the brand should plays with it by attending to consumer’s concern and feedback about the brand, whether it be positive or negative.
Sharing is Caring, and it’s cheaper, too
More and more Millennial consumers prefer renting over ownership. This is where exactly the likes of AirBnb, Grab, Uber, and Go-Jek have taken advantage of. This trend heavily influenced the rise of the ‘Sharing Economy’ whereby people are no longer lured to possession over things. Especially for Millennials, sharing is much more appealing as the whole experience behind it is much more exciting, and the cost is cheaper too, who doesn’t want that?
