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There are a few big reasons why you should start to learn how to sell to millennials.

This generation, often defined as people born between 1980 and 2000, will soon make up a majority of our population. By 2020, one in three adults will be a millennial according to a study by the Brookings Institute.

This generation is also quickly become the largest and most powerful economic group in the U.S. Millennials will account for more than $1 trillion in U.S. consumer spending as reported by a Cone Communications Social Impact Study.

So, it’s safe to say that if you aren’t marketing to this generation, you’re missing an opportunity. It’s time to learn how to sell to millennials.

Don’t Sell To Them

It may sound counterintuitive that the first step in selling to millennials is “don’t sell to them.” But this is how you need to position your overall approach to connecting with millennial customers, because millennials don’t respond to the traditional sales tactics that were used on their parents and grandparents.

This age group does not like to be sold to, so you need to find other ways to build connections and present your products and services, which you can do with the following strategies.

Give Them Information  

One way to present your products and services in a non-salesy way to millennials is by allowing them to do the research on their own. Millennials typically don’t like pushy sales people that try to sell them products. Instead, they like to do the research on their own.

Make it easy for them to find information about your products and services. Build trust with customers who don’t like salespeople by offering information resources that guide them to purchase on their own.  

Build Digital Touchpoints

Millennials are extremely tech savvy. They are up-to-date on the newest technologies and often multitask using more than one technology at a time. As you provide information to millennials shoppers, deliver it through the digital platforms they love.

  • Build digital touchpoints such as in-store interactive digital signs that encourage audience interaction.
  • Develop omnichannel marketing that connects all of your customer touchpoints through integrated systems that unite in-store elements with online properties and profiles.  
  • Use digital screens to display product demo videos that allow customers to see exactly what they are buying.

Be Authentic & Transparent

As you open communication lines and avenues for researching information, be strategic about your delivery of these messages. Millennials are skeptical; they typically don’t trust marketing messages and brand promises. And, they can quickly spot lies as they regularly look up facts.

As you deliver information, always be authentic and transparent. If your messaging feels forced, millennials will notice. If your data seems too good to be true, millennials won’t take your word for it. They will seek out the truth, and if it doesn’t match your messaging, they may leave your brand for good.

Give A Voice To Others

Millennials value reviews and feedback from others. A study by Shoutlet found that 95% of millennials say that their friends are the most credible source of product information. Partly due to their skepticism of corporate messages, millennials consumers want to see peer reviews when making purchasing decisions.

Make it easy for past customers to share experiences and for new customers to see those reviews. Share reviews on your digital platforms, create profiles on review sites, and highlight testimonials and reviews as digital content in your location.

Get To The Point

Millennials have mostly grown up in an on-demand society. Tools like Google and Netflix have shaped a generation that has a short attention span and expects instant gratification and immediate service.

When presenting information to millennials — whether to encourage a sale, build brand awareness, or deliver a message — make it quick. Studies show that access to smartphones may contribute to decreasing attention spans. To connect with millennials, quickly get to the point when showing benefits and sharing messages.

Highlight Your Generosity

To connect with millennials, connect with a bigger picture. Millennials believe in living a socially-conscious life and believe that companies should do the same. A Horizon Media study found that more than one in eight Millennials expect corporations to make a commitment to good corporate citizenship.

By being a socially conscientious company that gives back, your business will connect more deeply with millennials. So create initiatives that make a commitment to a cause and tell the story using communication tools like digital screens that enable you to highlight the work so millennial customers can see it.

Millennials are becoming one of the largest and most powerful generations of all time. They are quickly taking ownership of customers spending and becoming the large consumer demographic in the U.S., so it’s time to learn how to connect with them. Use the tips outlined in this post to begin to sell to millennials.

Then, get more tips on how to build connections with this powerful generation by reading Communicating with Millennials, How to Speak Their Language, which explains how to change your tone and learn to reach this growing consumer base.

How have you marketed to millenials in the past? Tell us below in the comments!