There’s a lot of chatter in the mainstream media about the generational phenomenon occurring in America. The baby boomers are retiring in droves, generation X is stepping up to take the reins in business, and millennials (who are the largest living generation) just may be the most misunderstood generation in our history.
Millennials are generally described as those born from 1982 to 2002, and there are a lot of stereotypes surrounding this generation. You’ve probably heard them all – narcissistic, lazy, can’t communicate unless it’s in a text or tweet, high-maintenance (especially at work). That’s a ridiculous picture painted with a broad brush. What’s accurate is that the different generations approach work, research and buying habits differently. As sales professionals, you’ll need to adjust your approach when developing relationships with – and ultimately selling to – millennials.
Millennial insights
A Google study found that 81% of millennials conducting purchase research have an impact on B2B purchases, and nearly half of all B2B researchers are millennials. Clearly, you can’t ignore this generation or think they don’t yet have any buying power. Millennials are what Google calls “digital natives.” Most have never known a world without internet. Google’s advice: “If you’re not marketing to this group, you need to re-evaluate your strategy, taking into account millennials’ familiarity with digital and how this influences the kind of content and media channels they are using.”
See ThinkWithGoogle.com for more insight.
IBM research discovered that when selecting a vendor, millennials value convenience first, collaboration second, and industry/marketplace expertise third. Interestingly, the study found that Gen Xers’ priority when choosing a vendor was quality, while baby boomers preferred speed/ability to respond quickly.
In that same IBM study, 69% of millennials currently meet with vendors face to face during the sales cycle. But when asked their preferred communication option in the future, they’d rather interact through email (No. 1), then phone calls (No. 2).
The study revealed an interesting difference among the generations. When it comes to a B2B experience, millennials will give high praise to a vendor, but they’re reluctant to post anything negative. However, older generations are twice as likely as millennials to voice their frustrations online, according to IBM.
“Why do millennials hold back? These digital natives are well acquainted with the serious ramifications of negative posts going viral. For most, the satisfaction of venting publicly about business-related issues is simply not worth the risk,” according to IBM’s research. Find the entire IBM report, including action points, at bit.ly/millennials-B2B.
Multifaceted marketing
Seeking information from multiple sources, including reviews, peers, videos, and forums, is second nature to millennials, says Molly Seaverns, Director of Market Strategy, at The Garrigan Lyman Group, a digital marketing agency.
“Personal marketing is more important than ever, especially when trying to reach millennials who have grown up telling their life stories on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram,” she writes in her company’s blog. “Today, personal marketing is fulfilled by a brand’s digital presence and its ability to provide a consistent and compelling customer experience both online and in person. Take tradeshows, for example. They still command a sizable portion of B2B marketing budgets, so it’s important to leverage these events with on-demand webinars, lead nurturing, and community building so you can merge personalized digital delivery with in-person traditional tactics. Combining traditional and digital marketing with customer interaction analytics enables a higher level of sales integration and arms your sales force with important insights to personalize the experience.”
Eric Vidal, senior VP of marketing at BroadSuite Media Group, says digital is the most important sales and marketing channel for millennial B2B buyers.
“As a marketer, that means your company’s online presence must be optimized for mobile, user-friendly regardless of device, and chock-full of valuable content to help unify the customer experience,” Vidal says.
And don’t ignore video, he suggests. Millennials prefer video to deliver content marketing, he says.
A study released this spring from Sacunas, a Pennsylvania-based marketing agency, revealed that 85 percent of millennials use social media as they’re researching products or services for their companies. While that’s not surprising, what may surprise you is that Facebook was their primary choice to research products and services. YouTube came in second. See the full report at Sacunas.net.
Targeted product information is important to millennials, according to the Sacunas study. Millennials rate training, demos and product news as being the most helpful information to receive from vendors.
Katie, a 33-year-old government worker told Sacunas, “Training and demos let me ask questions right away. I don’t have to wait for an answer. You can watch a demo online with your team and make an immediate decision. I want to see it work before I talk to the sales people.”
Interestingly, millennials look at decision making more like a team effort than an individual effort, which does differ from their predecessors. Millennials are far more likely to seek out input from their peers, mentors, and colleagues, according to ReachForce, a firm that provides cloud-based data solutions for B2B marketing professionals. The reviews and opinions of others carry more weight to them than your marketing messages do. When your millennial customers and potential clients rely heavily on the opinion of others, ReachForce says the bottom line is to have great content.
“Millennials like their content easily digestible, in the form of videos, infographics, and the like. If you develop whitepapers, make sure you include images and graphics to make it interesting, appealing, and easy to follow along with. Social content is essential, as millennials are heavily dependent on social media for both gathering information on products and for assessing the truthfulness and usefulness of that information. Make customer satisfaction a high priority, because millennials are heavily influenced by the reviews your company and products get online.”
Be authentic
Authenticity is key to reaching millennials, just like with B2C. Don’t try to fake it.
“Authenticity has to come through,” says Melody Gintert, director of market and consumer insights for Alliance Data in an interview with Chief Marketer. “This generation will hold you accountable—they might tolerate a service mistake multiple times, but you can’t break a promise to them based on morality or values.”
Marketers should pay attention to the emotional attributes they want their business to reflect, creating humanized content and brand experiences around them, Vidal suggests. It’s not about selling, it’s about engagement, says Curalate CMO Matt Langie in an interview with Marketing Dive (www.marketingdive.com).
“... these consumers don’t want to be marketed to; they want to be engaged. To effectively reach millennials, brands need to publish compelling, interesting creative that educates and/or entertains ... And they need to make it easy to take action on that content, should it pique their interest,” he says.