Young shoppers check out a store display of consumer goods. (Photo : Twitter)
By 2020, a sizable chunk of retail sales will be geared to millennials. Big brands are repositioning their product and service offerings to cater to this potent force comprising a trillion-dollar demographic.
To date, global brands that include fastfood restaurants, apparel firms and retail stores have changed tack, retooling product lines and developing innovative marketing campaigns aimed at attracting the discerning consumers born between 1980 and 2000.
Into this mold belong established global firms like McDonalds, Wendy's and Walmart, as well as other service firms like the American international transport company Uber, a clear-cut illustration of a brand that know its target market well, and set out to win them through a unique and convenient offering.
In their book "The New Rules of Retail: Competing in the World's Toughest Marketplace" Robin Lewis and Michael Dart cited that modern-day consumers want to gain experiences rather than accumulate more stuff.
Lewis, who has years of consulting experience in the retail and related consumer products industries, noted that a growing number of millennial customers prefer customized goods or services to mega brands.
Today's consumers want immediate availability and providers that have community interests, rather than self-serving agenda, at heart.
Some big brands have come out with new slogans, and have utilized social media to lure young people into their fold.
Some firms have also incorporated technology, in interactive websites, mobile apps and other aspects of business, to engage the teen and young adults market base, Business Insider reported.
Millennial marketing, as business trailblazers learned soon enough, can be successful if brand movers align product or service thrusts with authentic values.
Millennials with evolving lifestyles and needs want to be spared the crap and ditch companies that provide bad service. They then share their feedback with their like-minded friends or colleagues. The bottomline is to unlock better relationships with customers.
Marketers woo millennials by providing the platform for shared experiences among people with common interests, and then get out of the way, an article in the Harvard Business Review website reported.
By offering value for money, convenience, immediacy and instant gratification, marketers ensure that their targeted millennial customers will not be switching brands in a heartbeat.
