Millennials are sometimes difficult to understand. They are unlike any generation the world has ever seen before and their numbers are staggering. More than 80 million of the people from Generation Y as they are sometimes called live in the United States and their numbers across the world are even more shocking. Making up about 25% of the total population of the USA, millennials are extremely important individuals that can start and end trends and influence both brands and consumers.
This is why marketers are always trying to understand them and find new ways to target them more successfully. Here are some of the things you should consider if you are interested in marketing to millennials:
Webbounding
Webbounding is a new term that describes a very interesting way to shop. In the recent past, people used to go to brick and mortar stores, check out the goods and go back home to search for better prices online. This was known as "showrooming". Webbounding on the other hand is when consumers do their research about a product online, visit a brick-and-mortar shop to physically inspect the product and then go back home to purchase it online for a better price.
This whole ordeal shows that millennials are actually only interested in products that they can benefit from (in other words, products that are useful). Millennials will not spend their money on something that is "techy" or gimmicky but not useful.
GEMS
Girls Engaged in Massive Spending (or GEMS) is used to describe what women do when they have babies, get married, move in with someone or get engaged. GEMS are usually budget-conscious and hardworking who are willing to spend a significant amount of money on big items like chandeliers and couches for example. Another thing that GEMS are willing to spend a lot of money on is weddings. Many millennials are not in a hurry to get married and this means that they are spending their own money when the time comes for babies, weddings and moving in.
Music
An interesting fact about millennials is that they listen to music much more than they play games, use the Internet, read or even watch TV. Brands can use this knowledge to their advantage by collaborating with artists and relying heavily on music in their marketing campaigns when targeting millennials. What brands should remember, however, is that they should choose the artists they want to use carefully. The artist must reflect the brand and be fun and authentic at the same time. People can tell when the artist is not really passionate about what he/she is promoting.
Rewards and incentives
Let's take the fashion industry as an example. Millennials who are looking for a nice outfit at a reasonable price can be satisfied even more by using rewards and incentives. It is estimated that millennial women who receive such rewards are six times more likely to actually upload pictures of what they bought on a social network, seven times more likely to talk about their experience on Twitter and three times more likely to start following that specific brand.
Keep all those things in mind if you want to be able to market to millennials the right way. Winning a millennial over can be for life and these can be especially loyal customers. Find out more millennial marketing must haves on Forbes.
