8 Strategies for Selling to Millennial & Gen Z Buyers

It’s no secret that Millennial and Gen Z age groups have had an increasingly dominant presence in the market. In fact, these groups now make up over half of the U.S. population and by 2025, Millennials will represent 75% of the global workforce. Let’s explore strategies to better connect and market to this massive group of young buyers: 

1. Leverage sustainability.
   Forbes has deemed Gen Z the “Sustainability Generation” and are reportedly willing to spend 10% more on sustainable products. According to a FirstInsight study, 65% of Gen Z and 55% of Millennials also claim they prefer to receive a gift that’s sustainable compared to 46% Gen X and 36% of Baby Boomers. 
   

2. Promote giveback efforts.
   Our industry supports so many incredible giveback efforts that we should be promoting to our customers. PromoCares does an excellent job compiling and maintaining this list. A giveback program help humanize and add meaning to a project and often allows you tap into an influencer network to increase advocacy. Not only does it resonate with younger buyers and decision makers –it transcends age groups and demographics.
   

3. Hook them quickly.
   Collectively, our attention spans are only getting shorter. In fact, over the last two decades, the average attention span has dropped from roughly 12 seconds to 8 seconds. This means, messaging needs to be engaging and meaningful – quickly. Once simple trick is to make it about the audience immediately. Saying or writing “you/your” within the first few words can help capture their initial attention and hold it long enough for your message to land.
   

4. Anticipate that top-tier eCommerce is expected.
   The younger the buyer, the more it will take to impress them with technology. Their online stores need to be beautiful and easy-to-use on the frontend and quick to set up and process on the backend. We also can’t stick with the Field of Dreams mentality of “if you build it, they will come”. Once you build a site, buyers need a consistent loop back to it. Furthermore, we need to provide customers with the content and products to help drive that push.

5. Know they’ve probably researched you (or plan to).
   They won’t just research your company. They will find you. Your social media presence: posts, articles, shared links…professional and personal. It’s likely they’ll form an opinion on you based on what they find (or don’t find) …another reason why personal branding and content is so valuable.
   

6. Be transparent.
   This isn’t just about professional integrity. Eliminate corporate fluff and break it down into real terms. Unnecessary jargon will only make you appear intimidating, ingenuine and frankly…sketchy. It’s a bit exaggerated, but here’s an example:  

• Fluff (bad): I’m your strategic enterprise branding executive targeted at optimizing your promotional marketing and advertising objectives though digital eCommerce solutions. 

• Transparent (good): I’m your branding and merchandising consultant who can help you reach your exposure goals through eCommerce, merch and print.
  

7. Avoid age-gap condescension. 
   There’s nothing wrong with talking about age differences – especially when it helps explain one’s extensive experience and background. Inversely, be careful not to accidentally downplay someone’s credibility because of their age either. I’ve seen it happen plenty of times where someone makes the joke “I’ve been in the industry longer than you’ve been alive.” Even if it’s true (and said light-heartedly), your customer might hear “you think I’m too young/inexperienced/unfit to make the right decision.”   
   

8. Be a communication chameleon. 

As a disclaimer: when in doubt, always follow the lead of your customer. Figure out their preferred method of communication and roll with it. In addition to email, many younger buyers will be comfortable communicating via text and social media platforms like Instagram and Snapchat. There are certainly instances where a phone call is needed, but don’t be offended if this group doesn’t always answer. (Side note: stop leaving voicemails for anyone under 40. We really don’t like them.)

Any time we analyze the generational traits of hundreds of millions of people, we can never depend on absolutes. However, by better understanding the collective quirks of a growing group, we can adapt to meet present and future market needs (not to mention, maintain better relationships with our customers). There must be a mindset shift in how we think about these younger buyers. They’re not an enigma – they are the majority.