How to be Successful in Marketing to Millennials
Melanie Asher, MBA
Fractional CMO | Interim Executive | Leveraging Innovation + Strategy to Drive Impact and Revenue | Go To Market | Category Pirate ???? | Boy Mom <3
What Key Events Influenced Millennials?
- 1970s-1990s - Rise of the Personal Computer “A computer on every desk and in every home” <-Microsoft’s First Mission Statement.
- 1980s – Rise of Video Games in the Entertainment Industry
- 1990-1991 – Operation Desert Storm / Gulf War
- 1994 - Rise of Social Media (MySpace, Friendster, Facebook)
- 1995 - Oklahoma City Bombing
- 1999 – Columbine High School Massacre
What Do You Need to Know About Millennials?
The generation that the media loves to hate and is the most targeted in marketing was born between the years of 1980-1995. They have taken over the workplace and some don’t even remember a world without the Internet or cell phones.
Millennials began entering the workforce as the economy crashed, and as a result, is the largest generation of entrepreneurs. They are soft-hearted and value social issues over economics. According to the Brooking Institute, 64% of Millennials would rather make $40,000 a year in a job they love than $100,000 a year in a job they think is boring.
They are the least frequent store-shopper and prefer the ease of online shopping, are heavily influenced by recommendations, and make decisions based on online photos. They are unresponsive to traditional marketing tactics and not as loyal to brands as older generations, so they can be a challenge to convince.
Millennials prefer experiences over physical things and online and mobile access for making purchases. They are willing to spend more on brands and often use brands to define whom they feel they are. They hold tremendous power in influencing other generations and demographics. They have an entrepreneurial mindset and value work-life balance.
Marketing to Millennials.
The techniques that they prefer include:
- Be active online, with blogs, social media posts, and lots of videos.
- Use hashtags.
- Give them an opportunity to experience the brand.
- Sell online and mobile.
- Past-history-based marketing is most effective.
- Respond very well to personalization in marketing.
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Do You Want to Know More About Millennials or the Other Generations?
This UPDATED edition of Omicle's Brilliant Insights dives deep into each generation and what works and doesn't work.