Marketing Tips for Winning With Millennials

Brands that create authentic, meaningful and unique interactions and experiences will have better odds of sustained success with millennials.

By Jeff Fromm

What’s a top marketing priority for today’s retail franchising professionals? Millennials. Millennials account for more than 21 percent of consumer discretionary purchases, totaling $1.3 trillion in direct spending power. With millennials having just entered parenthood, expected to hit their peak spending years soon and having significant influence over other generations, this group is now the most powerful of U.S. economic players.The millennial influence on the market is so dramatic that it has altered the language that brands use when discussing target audiences. In fact, the term “target audience” has shifted to account for millennial attitudes. Millennials want to be consumer partners — not a target audience — with their favorite brands, and because of that, franchise professionals must shift their thinking to engage this influential group. Another big shift is that the term millennial has morphed into the Millennial Mindset or even more broadly, “consumer mindset for the modern brand,” because their influence on purchasing decisions is so vast that people of all ages are starting to shop, buy and behave like millennials.

How do Franchisees Address Millennials?

To connect with millennials and speak to their mindset, franchisees must provide high participation and shareworthy content to their patrons. Participation means that consumers can co-create the product or service with the brand, co-create the customer journey before, during and after the purchase moment, and co-create the marketing (that’s a big “M” not just an “S” for social media). To be shareworthy, a brand must be authentic, transparent and stand for something more than its bottom line. Ultimately, what we’ve seen with the relationship between brands and millennials is that sharing is about the sharer often seeking peer affirmation.  A consumer shares something about the brand based on how he feels. It’s not about the brand; it’s about the consumer and the meaning behind the content. Brands that are both “highly participative” and “highly shareworthy” tend to be more unique. Brands that create authentic, meaningful and unique interactions and experiences will have better odds of sustained success with millennials.

What Does This Mean for Franchisees?

Franchisees must be on the upside of these trends to provide customer experiences that inspire millennials to not only choose their brands, but also to share them with their friends. Fashion, for example, has always been social; there’s nothing new about a few friends meeting for lunch and a day of shopping. The definition of what we describe as “social” has expanded, however. For 13 years, “friends” have been the No. 1 purchase influencer according to Piper Jaffray’s “Taking Stock with Teens & Young Adults” survey. The Internet has moved from No. 7 10 years ago to No. 2 currently. Friends + Internet = Social Media. Millennial women don’t only ask their friends for opinions when it comes to choosing their outfits. They check fashion blogs, sift through photos on Pinterest and often take and share photos of clothing in the store before purchasing. Eighty-three percent of the U.S. millennials surveyed in a recent study by Netbase said that they consulted at least one social platform before making a fashion purchase. Specifically, 63 percent cited fashion blogs and message boards as their main sources of inspiration. Word of mouth, however, is also important. A recent report from PunchTab found that 60 percent of the 1,200 millennials interviewed learned about brands via word of mouth. The bottom line: Franchisees will win if they provide opportunities for experiences that will inspire consumer partners to share.

The Personal Experience

Once upon a time teens begged their moms for shirts, bags and shoes covered in logos by Nike, Hollister and Abercrombie. Although high-quality is still important to millennials, they aren’t as concerned with touting name brands across their chests. In fact, 2013 research by Ypulse found that expressing individuality was more important to people ages 13 to 34 than flashing high-end names. The same study also reported that 55 percent of those surveyed agreed with the statement: “I don’t follow trends; I like to have my own personal style.” Brand logo goods accounted for more than 40 percent of fashion purchases, for example. Now, it is less than 10 percent, according to investment bank and asset management firm Piper Jaffray’s “Taking Stock with Teens & Young Adults” survey. Personal style is also very important to millennial moms who are trying to balance their new mommy roles with staying true to themselves. People StyleWatch recently polled this group and found that although the demands of motherhood have changed how they shop, they still want to look fashionable and youthful. To succeed in both aspects of their lives, millennial moms plan purchases online, spend less time in the store, often shop alone and embrace technology to get feedback before making purchases. The bottom line: Franchisees can attract millennials by offering them ways to showcase their personal styles.

A Valuable Experience

Value isn’t only about price for millennials. They are willing to pay top dollar for products that they view as worthy. They’ll even rent or share items when they want access to an expensive item for a special occasion or for a limited time. Choice counts are up significantly, by a factor of near two times over the past decade. Millennials have more choices today and more accessibility to those choices. Brands that had historically concentrated their merchandise offering on few, high-volume ideas are losing share to brands that offer greater choice, versatility and convenient solutions. Personalization and customization are also creating more differentiation. The bottom line: Brands must show millennials the value of their products.

A Winning Experience

Few things are more satisfying to a millennial than finding a great deal. Millennials who are “incentivized and rewarded” are three times more likely to follow a brand on Twitter and seven times more likely to share that experience there. They’re also six times more likely to upload photos of the items on Instagram, according to PunchTab. The bottom line: Millennials are very receptive to marketing tactics, such as emails and texts, if they deem it worth their time. Spamming is not a problem for millennials if they see a benefit to trading their information. Franchisees who provide exclusivity and reward loyalty will win with millennials. Millennials love secrets. Make sure your rewards program has both linear (expected) and non-linear (surprise and delight) benefits.

Build a Modern Brand With a Higher Purpose

Millennials believe in brands with a higher purpose. They believe in powerful ideas that align with their values. Today, brands that are winning stand for more than just their bottom line. It’s called a Modern Brand Mindset. Brands must focus on creating ideas that they can share ownership of with millennials. In return, millennials are looking for brands that add to their story. It’s not a question of “What can you do for me?” but, “What can you add to my story?” Or, “What are you doing to help make my life better?”

Jeff Fromm is vice chairman of Three Dog Bakery. Find him at fransocial.franchise.org.