Ever been in a place filled with twenty-something-year-olds? Have you noticed how they are all glued to exotic devices of different shapes and sizes? If you have not, you should conduct a quick survey the next time you find yourself in their midst.
Ask any of them how to complete a task and they will provide a technological solution. This interesting generation makes up 31.5% of the global population and is currently dominating the workforce. They are in their spending years and as brands, you have to figure out how to market your products to this generation. It is therefore important for you to know who millennials are, what their characteristics are, how you can make your brand attractive to them. More importantly, how can your brand keep up with millennials?
MILLENNIALS, WHO ARE THEY?
Also known as Generation Y, millennials are people born from 1980 to 2000. This generation is one that likes to stay connected and be up to date with what’s trending. This trait makes them socially conscious, informed and adaptable to new trends and technology.
They are bombarded with information daily so, in order to reach them, you need to keep your message precise and interesting enough to get them to engage with your brand.
Generation Y likes to collaborate and is always on the look-out for quick, hassle-free solutions to problems. You may think they are lazy but they prefer to be prudent with their time. Time is money after all.
Millennials are a curious, tech-savvy bunch who would surf the web for products/services they are interested in rather than go to a brick and mortar store to make a purchase. They love getting quality products and solutions at affordable prices and would rather rely on their peers for advice on which product/service to buy than traditional adverts.
Now that you have an insight into who millennials are, let us dive into how important they are to your brand.
HOW IMPORTANT ARE MILLENNIALS TO YOUR BRAND?
Millennials very likely already make up more than 30% of your target audience and in a few years, will make up more than 50% of your customer base. Don’t forget, they currently make up 31.5% of the global population. If you want to ignore this teeming generation, you might as well close shop now because, in the next few years, millennials will make up more than half the world’s population. It might be a smart move for you to start figuring out how to make them fall in love with your brand. Now!
Millennials have proven to be disruptive in nature. They have shaped the way technology works, the way brands market, advertise, do public relations and more.
Marketing materials used to be suffused with traditional markers such as graduating from school, getting a new job, getting married and starting a family. These milestones were and are still often included in marketing materials to elicit emotions that will compel people to make purchases. These marketing tactics may have worked and may still work for previous generations but they will not prompt millennials to engage with your brand.
Why? Millennials are more value-oriented and take a less traditional approach to life. While these milestones are important, they do not hold as much value as the ease of use of a product, its features, the value it adds to people’s lives, the issues it solves, ease of access to customer support and much more.
Therefore, in order to stay in business, you need to adapt your business model, your marketing messages, products and marketing strategies to include the things millennials value.
KEEPING UP WITH THE MILLENNIALS
New technology is constantly springing up and the ways in which we interact with each other as individuals and businesses are rapidly changing. To ensure your brand remains relevant through time, it has to focus on the interests of the different demographics that comprise your target audience especially the demographic that will form its largest percentage in the near future.
To keep up with millennials, you need to:
Understand their needs and values
Millennials love to share and collaborate. You can tell by their desire to constantly share moments of their lives with friends and strangers. They support causes that actively impact society positively. This is visible in the strength of their voice that has sparked causes and movements such as Feminism, the #Metoo movement, #Blacklivesmatter, the Arab Spring and many more that have shaped and are still shaping society.
They value quality and will only patronize brands that are focused on solving real consumer problems. In order to connect with them, you need to speak to their values. Engage in a cause or movement they care about and invite them to participate in it.
Create marketing and PR campaigns that speak to them
Your brand’s advertising and PR campaigns should subtly touch core topics, causes, and movements that millennials are engaged in. However, you have to be careful with your concepts and ensure that they are crafted in a way that will create positive PR for your brand. You do not want to be dragged through the muddy streets of social media like Pepsi and Maggi have experienced. What did these brands do wrong?
In trying to market to millennials, Pepsi launched a #Livefornow ad campaign using the #Blacklivesmatter movement and a combination of other movements to create an ad that sparked outrage because the way the ad was portrayed seemed to make light of the movements that were used. Pepsi had to apologize, clarify the idea behind the ad and stop its circulation.
In an almost similar fashion, Maggi’s “you are a Souper woman” generated a myriad of media backlash for portraying the modern woman as one who works hard and still goes home to take care of the family without any help from her husband. Unlike Pepsi, Maggi did not apologize and this created a comparison of its product against its major competitor, Knorr. As you may imagine, the comparisons did not go in favor of Maggi.
Earn their trust
Most millennials have trust issues. They watched as their parents were swindled by insurance companies, banks, and several institutions over the years, as a result of unclear terms and conditions that their parents agreed to without probing further. As a result, they have become more cynical, more careful and require even more transparency from brands and institutions. They are very careful shoppers who like to get value for their money and thus like to try out products before they make a final purchase.
Want to earn their trust? Be transparent. Make your brand’s terms and conditions very clear and simple to understand. Ensure that there are no hidden charges or conditions attached to using or purchasing your product/service. Showcase your brand’s culture and vision by showing them behind the scenes of the inner workings of your organization on social media. Get their peers within your organization to share positive feedback about your brand in order to attract them.
Take Part of Your Campaigns to Digital Platforms
To get your target audience to know about your brand, you have to reach them where they spend most of their time. Running a PR campaign via traditional media is great. However, there is a new player you should pay attention to and this is digital media.
Why? There are 98.39 million internet users in Nigeria and out of these 98.39 million users, 24 million users have active social media accounts. Imagine missing out on this large number of potential users who are most likely millennials, simply by ignoring digital.
Innovate your business to include solutions for Millennials
If your business is not yet online, you need to take it online in order to give your business a competitive edge as most millennials spend most of their time online. They spend their money online, they create online, search for products, services and brand reviews online and much more. As a result, brands have been forced to innovate their products and marketing strategies to accommodate and reach millennials where they can be reached and you should too.
Create mobile-friendly versions of your website as this will make it easier for a large number of people who access the internet via their mobile phones. This will help them easily navigate your website for information, contact customer support, make a purchase or take an action you want them to.
Millennials have a very short attention span as they are always bombarded with information and have tons of options to choose from. In order to keep them from looking for solutions elsewhere, ensure that your website is designed in such a way that they can easily take the desired actions. Avoid overselling and using marketing buzz words – millennials can easily see through these marketing gimmicks. Appeal to them by using their “lingo”. This will endear your brand to them. Remember to be as transparent as possible about your offerings, be truthful and relatable in your marketing materials else you will be wasting your efforts. And your money.
Make it fun and possible for them to share with their friends:
We have established that millennials are a confident generation who are not afraid to share their opinions. This is not limited to causes they believe in but also includes products and brands that solve their issues.
Millennials love to share and never want to miss out on an opportunity to share. To get them to share your content, your creatives should be in interactive formats like videos, GIFs, Q&As, quick surveys that excite them enough to share with their friends and followers. Want to get your message even further to reach millennials, get an influencer whose opinions they respect to talk about your brand positively and get that influencer to engage in activities that your brand would like millennials to participate in and you will be able to achieve your goal.
Below are examples of brands that are connecting with millennials the right way;
- Airtel: Seen the latest Airtel 4G ads? While promoting their products, they subtly promote simpler and quicker ways to get things done.
- Uber: They have made it easy for people to get to their destinations with ease. Even better, you can share a ride with your friends, add different destinations and more.
- Google: Google has made it easy for people to share and find quality information. They have developed and are constantly developing tools that help people and businesses get work done faster. They also develop programs that can empower people, businesses and society.
- Facebook: The Facebook you know today is different from Facebook that launched in 2004. It has evolved to become much more interactive not only for individuals but businesses also. They keep adding new features and making it more interesting, easier to navigate and more.
- Coca-Cola: Coca-Cola has been around for over 125 years. How have they stayed in business? They have remained innovative and moved with the trend as the world evolved. The brand even ran a campaign to reach millennials using one of its values, “sharing”. Remember those personalized cans and the ad that said: “share a Coca-Cola with …”. Various millennials took to social media to share photos of themselves holding personalized Coca-Cola cans that had their names on it. The marketing strategy was a very successful one not just because it was personalized but because the brand gave millennials the opportunity to share with their friends and audience.
The above examples show that when you apply the values millennials share in your brand’s marketing strategy the right way, success is virtually guaranteed. Do it right and they will freely become your brand ambassadors.
Keep it fresh and interesting
After you have got the attention of millennials, your job will be to keep them interested. Remember, short attention span? They get bored easily so, you have to keep engaging them in ways they value. Add new features that make using your product much more interesting, keep your designs (website, mobile app, creatives) aesthetically appealing and interactive, seek their opinion and improve on your products and services based on the most relevant feedback, keep them informed on happenings within your organization such as a new partnership, a new milestone and more.
Encourage Loyalty
If your business is one that can give discounts on your offerings, create a loyalty program that rewards consistent users, offer giveaways from time to time.
CONCLUSION
Product information, reviews, and pricing are now readily available online. One angry customer can cost your brand its reputation which will, in turn, cost you, customers. Do not leave the reputation management of your company to chance. Your brand should continue to evolve with the changing times as this is the only way to sustain and keep growing your brand’s awareness and image.
Managing the cumbersome parts of your day to day business activities while keeping an eye out for negative sentiments about your brand is not an easy task. Luckily for you, there are organizations around that can be the eye of your business.
Reputation management agencies are always available to track mentions of your brand, manage your brand’s reputation online and offline, pacify an unsatisfied or angry customer and run PR campaigns that will endear you to both millennials and other generations.
Do not wait for bad reviews or a crisis to hit your brand before you spring into action. Nip it in the bud before it grows wild.
ABOUT CARITAS
Caritas is a leading corporate reputation solutions provider. We are a strategic communications consultancy agency with over 10 years’ experience in crisis management, reputation and brand management, public relations and more. Our team comprises high-quality consultants with diverse skills and training spanning economics, media, political science, public affairs, research, and mass communication. Our work is distinguished by our deep knowledge of the political-economic and social context of communications.