Like it or hate it, we all need to learn the basics of marketing to millennials.
In a recent article, “4 ways marketers can attract new consumers,” Dale McIntyre (@discoveringbest) of Pharos Systems has taken note of the need for businesses to recognize that “The millennials in today’s workforce will be the decision-makers of tomorrow, not five years from now.” Further, “Organizations that fail to recognize this shift, or delay the process of discovering how best to change along with new demographic opportunities, can end up fueling internal resistance to such change and ultimately lose their opportunity to stay relevant.” Whew!
Mr. McIntyre presents four common-sense steps—ultimately based on creating an optimal customer experience—that you can take to help your business appeal to a new demographic.
- “Develop robust personas.” Every communication should align with a specific persona. And of course, each persona requires different messaging. Surveys work in gathering information, but Mr. McIntyre believes in one-on-one interviews, even if you can only do a small sample. For example, if I’m a hotel exec who’s concerned about the incursion of Airbnb and who also travels a lot, I’d make a point of asking seatmates what influenced their choice of accommodations in their destination city.
- “Understand what your data is saying.” Seems obvious, doesn’t it? Ask a wide range of questions and translate the data into customer characteristics. That will enrich your personas. Mr. McIntyre also points out that analyzing your data can help you discover audiences you may not have considered.
- “Showcase how your brand delivers what people want.” You certainly don’t want to abandon or alienate current buyers, but you also want to adjust your message to promote the benefits a whole new crop of buyers is interested in. Mr. McIntyre mentions Vera Bradley, a boomer brand that checked out social media to learn that millennials absolutely hate short-lived smartphone batteries and clunky battery cases. The company responded with a popular bag with a built-in smartphone charger.
- “Harness the power of marketing automation.” If you aggregate your demographic data, you “destroy any change of recognizing the need to change,” to say nothing of robbing yourself of the information you need to create robust personas. Hatchbuck, HubSpot, and Marketo are all great tools with great micro-targeting capabilities, and they support your efforts to create the personalized messaging that’s becoming normative.
These tips are helpful, of course, in appealing to new and upcoming audiences, but I hasten to add that they apply to refining your appeal to any demographic.
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