There are three things that define millennials. The most obvious one is that they are the generation born between 1980 and 2000. Keeping with the obvious stuff, the second one is that they LOVE technology in all of its forms. The third one isn’t a secret, really, but big companies are perhaps the only ones that have understood it and taken advantage of it – millennials are incredible spenders.
A quick Google search should bring tons of articles taking about that last characteristic and how businesses can make the most out of it. Yet, even with that widespread attention, small businesses aren’t marketing to millennials at all. At least that’s what a recent survey conducted by Manta has revealed. According to it, only 15% of small businesses across all industries are marketing to millennials which, of course, means that most of them are missing out on perhaps the most important consumer demographic today.
Manta polled 781 of its members to come to this surprising conclusion and not only asked them if they marketed to millennials – the company also wanted reasons for not doing so. The respondents offered more than one. Lack of budget and the disbelief about millennials’ consumer significance (with 26 and 25% respectively) were among the most cited ones. On the other side, 80% of the small businesses that actually market to millennials say they are seeing positive results by doing it.
It’s obvious that marketing to millennials isn’t an easy task. That’s because is a vast demographic that, apart from the three characteristics we mentioned above, isn’t easily identifiable. Additionally, its fragmentation is pretty large, which means that you can’t develop a single strategy to appeal all millennials. You have to learn how to reach to the specific subgroups that make up the larger demographic.
How can you do that? There are a lots of things to keep in mind when figuring out a strategy to market to millennials, but there are some tips out there that might help you out. The most important one – be yourself. Millennials have an amazing instinct to detect bullshit, so it’s crucial for your business to say what you mean and how you mean it. Honesty above all!
Don’t fret over this, though. Some people may have you believe that if you aren’t reaching out to millennials right now, you won’t be able to do it at all in the future. That’s simply not true. It’s better for you to develop a clear strategy before targeting millennials with your marketing. Trust us, they won’t go anywhere – and they’ll still have plenty of money to spend when you catch on.
