In other to grow as a business in America, you have to understand the market. You need to discover how the market thinks, acts and purchase things so you can find opportunities to engage them. This was true for baby boomers and it is true for Millennials. Understanding Millennials is not as difficult as most people think as there are tons of information regarding this unique market that can’t seem to get enough of great companies selling instantaneous services. According to statistics from the US Census Bureau; Millennials, with a larger cohort, is the biggest in the US history with over 92 m in population bigger than the Generation X and the Baby Boomers.
Their annual spend in 2018 is expected to eclipse that of the Boomers at $3.39 trillion. The fun fact doesn’t end there: they hardly watch TV, they are always on the move, socially connected and they spend a lot of time with their phones with over 39% saying they spend more time with their smartphones than their significant others.
Millennials are a unique market that has continued to generate billions in revenue for companies like Amazon, Uber and Air bnb. Millennials are the only reason why CNN is on Snapchat. They are also the reason why food delivery services are such a big hit in most U.S cities. They love instantaneous services. There are many qualities that endear these businesses to millennials such as:
1.) Experiences
Your ability to deliver on your brand promise could be a difference between whether or not your business succeeds with millennials (who are the largest group in America). Uber for one has made it possible for Millennials to get to anywhere they want at the lowest possible cost. Baby Boomers grew up going to college; getting a job and saving up to buy a car. Millennials on the other hand, save up their money and use it for other things that would be more beneficial like a ClassPass gym membership.
Why buy a car when you can pay Uber to drive you in a luxurious vehicle? Millennials prefer to spend their money on technology and experiences. This is why Uber is so successful. You don't need to save up thousands of dollars to ride in a really expensive car. Uber brings that experience and makes it affordable to its users.
2.) Sharing
Millennials have embraced the sharing economy more than any other group in the history of America. Airbnb allows users to rent small rooms to bigger apartments and even ancient buildings. This has been a success among Millennials who are usually connected and travel a lot. DogVacay - a startup that allows owners to leave their dog with a host when they travel is also quite successful due to how easy they allow people with similar interest share. Millennials are interconnected professionally (LinkedIn) and even socially (Facebook and WhatsApp). They are used to sharing information with one another and they love the idea of a sharing economy.
3.) Convenience
Millennials love instantaneous services and they like it when a business accompanies speed with convenience. They want to click on a couple of buttons without bringing out their ATM cards (Stripe makes this effortless) to make a purchase. Some of them won’t bother coming to your site so you have to be ready to make use of plugins and lead pages on social media sites like Facebook and Pinterest that allows users to purchase items from the network.
Companies like Amazon, who recently launched Amazon Home Services where you can order for handy men to help out with minor to major tasks in your home is targeted at Millennials. Amazon is one of those few companies in the world where you can get basically anything for yourself. You can order for a jacket, a cat and a handy man to help you install your cat litter box from the convenience of a smartphone.
Millennials want speedy service, great experience and convenience. If your business can combine these three qualities into your business, you would experience tremendous growth in your business.