{"id":24074,"date":"2017-06-12T00:15:27","date_gmt":"2017-06-12T05:15:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.crowdspring.com\/?p=24074"},"modified":"2022-05-06T18:22:38","modified_gmt":"2022-05-06T23:22:38","slug":"marketing-small-business-millennials-strategy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crowdspring.com\/blog\/marketing-small-business-millennials-strategy\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Effectively Market Your Small Business to Millennials"},"content":{"rendered":"

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What group in the US numbers more than 80 million<\/a>, has an annual buying power of $200 billion, and makes up nearly half of the US workforce<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Millennials.<\/p>\n

Sometimes called “Gen Y”, millennials are the much sought after<\/a>\u00a0generation born between 1980 and 2000.<\/p>\n

This generation carries impressive buying power, so it\u2019s no surprise that marketers are focusing on understanding and speaking to this lucrative demographic. Millennials are 1.75x more likely than baby boomers (born between 1946-1964) to say they\u2019d like to be brand-loyal<\/a>, so earning their trust is likely to yield a years-long relationship with your brand.<\/p>\n

In fact, millennials will be the recipients of \u201cthe largest wealth transfer in history<\/a>\u201d as baby boomers transfer over 30 trillion dollars of their wealth to their children.<\/p>\n

Every generation brings its own set of values, priorities, and cultural touchpoints, and millennials are no exception.<\/p>\n

The West Midland Family Center recently created a generation comparison table highlighting the differences between four distinct demographic groups. Below is a sample of the information they compiled. To view the entire table check out the WMFC’s full report<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Data via the West Midland Family Centre<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

When you categorize a large group of people with a narrow set of descriptive labels, you risk homogenizing the messaging meant for them. Delivered poorly or without nuance, brand messages geared toward millennials will devolve into self-parody, or even worse, ham-fisted caricature. Forbes magazine expounds on this idea<\/a>, writing:<\/p>\n

This is the number one thing you need to know about millennials. They are not like other generations in that they are a simple demographic. You have to drill down deep into the millennial generation to come up with the right marketing campaign for you.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There are, however, some striking, fundamental similarities amongst millennials. Understanding and leveraging those similarities to reach millennials in meaningful, authentic ways is the first step to connect you to the Social Generation (as they’re sometimes called).<\/p>\n

Since they represent an increasingly powerful group of consumers, nearly every business owner must figure out how to effectively market their business to millennials.<\/p>\n

Bye, Traditional Marketing<\/h2>\n

Traditionally, marketing<\/a> has been about all send and no receive: today, that’s termed interruption marketing.<\/p>\n

TV spots and direct mail campaigns are examples of this one-way communication style which pushes information out to the consumer, but doesn’t allow for response or conversation. As the most technologically savvy generation ever, millennials expect to be able to interact with brands they like.<\/p>\n

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Image via Inbound Marketing Agency<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

This doesn\u2019t mean you should toss out that giant media buy just yet \u2013 traditional and other types of marketing will always have their place<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 but be prepared to really engage.<\/p>\n

One way you can better engage with millennials is through inbound marketing.<\/p>\n

Inbound marketing can impress millennials without making them feel they\u2019re being condescended to. The Nielsen Company explains<\/a>:<\/p>\n

When interacting with companies via social media, they [Millennials] value authenticity \u2013 they want to feel like they have a personal, direct interaction with the brand\u2013and in return, they\u2019ll advocate and endorse that brand.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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