When developing your marketing plan, it’s easy to rely on traditional strategies that have worked in the past. But with millennials making up more of the market, those traditional tactics may not work. As the marketing landscape shifts toward millennials, there are a few things to consider.

Think Segments, Not Demographics

Marketers used to think primarily in terms of the demographics to categorize their consumers. Millennials are entirely different, as they’re the most diverse generations. Not only do their demographics vary, but their interests do as well. You will find that millennials have high engagement in a wide variety of topics.

Soften Your Hard Sell

Millennials don’t respond well to traditional hard-sell tactics. In their eyes, it’s laughable and will quickly turn their attention to something else. Millennials place more emphasis on word of mouth and authenticity when making purchasing decisions. Pull strategies are much more effective than push strategies as a result. Take prominent apparel brands, for instance. They use influencers, brand ambassadors, and fear-of-missing-out (FOMO) to draw in consumers.

Maintain Brand Loyalty

Members of the baby boomer generation stick with brands they like for a feeling of security. Millennials are more drawn to brands based on their environmental impact, price-point, and community engagement. This makes maintaining the brand loyalty of millennials a double-edged sword. It takes some time to build loyalty with them, but once you have, they become fiercely loyal. Due to their emphasis on community engagement though, keeping that brand loyalty is a constant process.

If you find yourself struggling with any one of these, reach out to GoSmallBiz.com. They can set you on track for success with their 10+ years of business expertise. If you’re an AFEUSA member, you can take advantage of your exclusive discount for their services.