Getting the attention of Millennials means being connected
Millennials are a new breed of consumers who are well connected – to their families, friends, and online "communities". They spend time with the people that matter to them, whether virtually, on the phone, or in person. These connections are influential to Millennials at work, home, and in the consumer world.
TV is no longer king
A Forrester.com study on next generation consumer behavior shows that Gen Yers sacrifice watching television to use the internet and other media such as, cell phones, watching DVDs, and playing video games, compared to Gen X and Boomers. I personally find myself jumping for the internet first when I get home from work even though I’ve been staring at a computer screen all day (which probably attributes to my eye fatigue!). If I do turn on the TV it’s usually for background noise or to watch my favorite reality show.
'Friends' opinions matter more
Millennials have so many media messages being thrown at us that the only sane thing to do is to turn to other people like us. Smart retailers like Amazon.com and Target allow shoppers to post reviews of the products online and with mitigation I usually go for the item that got the best reviews. The same goes with shopping for cars or finding a place to stay for a trip. When my husband and I took a trek to Europe for two weeks of backpacking we went to hostelworld.com and narrowed our search for hostels and B&Bs to only include user ratings of 80% or higher. On eBay users get to know sellers not by the traditional name, phone number, and address, but by their ‘personality’ and ratings from other buyers.
Don't underestimate social networking
Getting connected with this generation is less push and more pull. No longer does one-way communication work. Instead you have to tell us "what’s in it for me?", and then we might include you in our comparison process. The result if you can connect with our generation is a very loyal and influential network. Something not to be underestimated.
