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advertising. A recent study by SocialChorus found:
• 98 percent of millennials are more likely to engage with a friend’s
post over a brand’s post
• 95 percent of millennials say that friends are the most credible
source of product information
• 91 percent of millennials would consider purchasing a product if a
friend recommended it
• 67 percent never click on sponsored stories
• Only six percent of millennials consider online advertising to be
credible
• A recent study by Edelman discovered seven in 10 millennials
believe it’s their responsibility to share feedback with brands when
they have a good or bad experience
Long gone are the days of traditional advertising when brands
could push out messages to the masses. The impact of this new reality
means that marketers must find tactics to connect with millennials in a
softer way than traditional advertising. Some of the most effective mar-
keting for this generation can occur in those situations where brands
encourage and make it easy for millennials to share their own stories.
Instead of broad marketing approaches, companies should think in
terms of “personalization.” They must find unique ways to market
“with” rather than “at” millennials. They should aim to reinforce mil-
lennials’ belief in the idea that businesses and brands willingly “pay it
forward” and want to help society, not just amass profits. If they want
to build long-term relationships with millennials, brands must find
ways to get millennials to publicly “like” the products their companies
represent and help millennials share their stories with their peers.
Brands would also be well-advised to speak authentically to the
attitudes, beliefs, personalities and preferences of millennials in their
marketing copy, and incorporate specific visual imagery that resonates
with this generation.
As marketers themselves, the person-to-person relationships that
pave the way to marketing success are not an inherent strength in mil-
lennials who often incorrectly see their co-workers, supervisors and
customers as just like them. To succeed in marketing, millennials will
require help in order to develop a better understanding of how to
influence and persuade people; they must learn how to be more
“other-focused.”
Millennials’ Expectations
Since millennials behave differently from the boomers and Gen
Xers who currently dominate the workforce and marketplace, both
environments need to evolve to accommodate the diversity of the gen-
erations as the composition changes.
Business leaders need to understand the characteristics of the mil-
lennial generation: broad optimism, social tolerance and involvement,
value of work-life balance, team orientation, desire for inclusion,
inherent trust issues and embodiment of technological communica-
tions. Leaders and marketers ought to demonstrate they value and
care about millennials and want to foster relationships with them. As
a matter of fact, anyone who wants to successfully market to this
newest adult generation should fully comprehend that millennials:
• Use Google and other search engines to do their own research
before purchasing
• Can be attracted through social media, blogs, electronic newsletters,
etc.
• Often rely on video content for learning
• Trust testimonials from their peers and peer groups
• Want customized solutions that fit their lifestyles
Because of their relentless electronic research, millennials have dif-
ferent expectations from those of previous generations when it comes
to making purchases and engaging in retail commerce. As customers,
millennials know about, and expect, the best value from what is avail-
able. In this context, marketers will want to focus on creating specific
messages and products that resonate with millennials.
Accommodating Millennials Requires Change
Millennials are affecting business across the board. In the work-
place, decision makers should proactively address issues in workplace
design, tools, processes and systems. To create a stable workforce, they
must confront human resource and career planning issues as the vertical
promotions millennials desire eventually become insufficient to fill the
demand for this larger cohort of workers.
In business relationships, leaders should focus on effective ways to
deal with the constant demand for and influx of new technology that
affects business operations and can change well-established personal
relationships. By the same token, business leaders must find new ways
to help millennials appreciate and master the traditional, face-to-face
people skills that millennials miss in a world dominated by text mes-
saging and online chats.
The Millennial Generation is profoundly altering the customer
marketing landscape in terms of both products and methods of pur-
chase. Companies are already coping with the impact of peer-to-peer
recommendations as they struggle to find new methods to build the
deeper, rather than broader, brand-focused relationships required to
succeed in the future.
Millennials are certainly different from any previous generation,
and companies need to find creative new ways to build brand trust in
order to earn their respect, loyalty and business.
Named one of the Ten Best and Brightest Women in the incentive
industry by Incentive Magazine, Michelle M. Smith, CPIM, CRP, is a
highly accomplished industry leader, international speaker, author and con-
sultant. A respected authority on leadership, internal branding and employee
engagement, she is past president of the FORUM for People Performance at
Northwestern University, vice president of research for the Business
Marketing Association and president emeritus of the Incentive Marketing
Association, among many other prestigious board positions past and present.
Smith is vice-president of business development for O.C. Tanner. You can
reach her at
MEET THE MILLENNIALS
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