When it comes to describing millennials, stereotypes abound, yet new research by Qualtrics and Accel has found that this demographic may be the most misunderstood generation. Businesses looking to target the lucrative millennial market segment must learn to understand millennials to improve their chances of success.
Qualtrics and Accel surveyed more than 6,000 millennials, Gen Xers, and Baby Boomers to understand their drivers, differences, and similarities.
Key Australian findings include:
– Millennials are willing to spend more on material possessions and are looking for quality and socially sought-after things.
– Despite the stereotypes, millennials aren’t lazy. They measure their work by achievement instead of hours logged and have no problem moving on if it’s not a good fit. However, only 11 per cent of millennials have had five or more jobs in the past five years, and 84 per cent of millennials prefer to have one full-time job rather than multiple part-time jobs. 70 per cent are worried about having the right skills to succeed in the future.
– Millennials aren’t motivated by money: 55 per cent would take a salary of $53,000 for a job they like rather than $132,000 for a job they dislike.
– Millennials are just as plugged into online life as stereotypes suggest. Half own a phone that’s less than a year old, and 35 per cent make in-app purchases on their phones at least monthly.
– Appearances mean a lot to millennials, 49 per cent of millennials say buying brand products is very important, and 33 per cent are very willing to spend more on designer brands. 47 per cent own designer clothing and 58 per cent are loyal to certain brands. They say higher quality is the number one reason they prefer designer brands.
Businesses that better understand millennials are a step ahead in terms of marketing to them effectively. Knowing, for example, how important quality is versus price should encourage organisations to focus on delivering a quality product and quality experience rather than just providing the cheapest product.
If companies aren’t delivering a high-quality and responsive experience, whether on-line or in-store, then millennials are likely to take their business elsewhere. This means businesses have to regularly check-in with customers to gauge whether they are having a positive experience. This checking-in should occur across all feedback channels that are relevant to millennials, such as mobile, web, in-store and social. This is where sophisticated experience management platforms such as Qualtrics plays an essential part in helping businesses determine where the experience can be improved……and then ensuring the improvements are made.
For the full research report, visit https://www.qualtrics.com/millennials/
Millennials will soon represent 50% of a company’s workforce and it is very important to understand them to better manage them. Older generations doesn’t seem to understand the generation gap that is existing between them and the millennials. It is crucial to look at their generational characteristics rather than labeling them with bad attitude for their misunderstood actions.