How being cool wins millennial customers

Editor’s note: this is part 2 of 2 on winning the millennial generation as small business customers. Part one: Win Millennial Customers by Being Cool with a Purpose 

“Cool with a purpose” defines the millennial generation. It also defines the marketing path to winning the millennial generation as customers. The obvious business challenge is trying to figure out how to be cool.

The first of this two-part article series profiled the foundations for being cool. To be cool a business must be authentic, purposeful and embracing of diversity.

This second article outlines three action items your business can implement that will increase your coolness and win millennial generation customers.

1. Create experiences

 

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The millennial generation seeks experiences over stuff. “Supersize me” is not cool. The Apple store is cool. What’s the difference?

The millennial generation considers selling cheap or unhealthy stuff at promotional prices to be an ignorant marketing strategy because it does not consider the impacts upon people and the environment. So McDonald’s is not even in this generation’s list of top ten restaurants.

An Apple store is cool because it allows people to play with and experience the technology. It is cool because it enables the millennial generation’s parents to stay current on technology through the Genius Bar and One-On-One training. It is cool because store work associates represent the diversity of the millennial generation.

One easy path for creating an experience that will engage millennials is to help them generate a selfie photo. Fifty-five percent of millennials have posted a selfie online. Create selfie opportunities for the millennial generation and watch the online awareness of your business soar!

2. Videos go viral

 

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This generation grew up with YouTube. They almost all carry a smartphone that can record a video and then seamlessly post it across social media. Video is their coolest messaging path.

Every business must have a strategy for producing and posting videos because 84% of millennials report that content on a company’s website has at least some influence on what they buy. Chipotle is a best in class example. Their videos have gone viral with millions of views.

They don’t show burritos. They use animated video with engaging music to tell a cool story around the sustainable sourcing of foods and what this means to farmers, animals and the environment. For a generation raised on Toy Story this series of videos by Chipotle is very cool.