Millennials are people who were born between 1977 and 2000, although there is still some debate over the exact 
membership in this generation. They constitute about 25% of the total population, representing one third of the total United States population. They are the most diverse and largest generation in the U.S. population. They make up 21% of consumer discretionary purchases, which is approximately over a trillion dollars in direct buying power and have a huge impact on older generations. Therefore, if you are a marketing person of your firm or if you are planning to introduce a new product, it is essential for you to understand this generation as they will make a huge effect in the market – you need to know how they think, what they like, how they analyze things etc.
5 Must-Know Facts About Millennials
Fact 1 – Driven by technology
The past few decades have witnessed enormous growth in computing and technology. As much of the period of advancement and innovation in the technology advancement coincided with the time of Millennial’s childhood, it has shaped the way millennials connect with modern technologies. They are more connected with technology than their predecessors. In fact, a few of them believe that it makes their generation different from the rest. Therefore, you must keep in mind to focus on technological aspects while trying to tap into the minds of the millennials generation.
Fact 2 – Value of family and community
Most of the millennials are connected via social media platforms and are active users of it. They are aware and understand the role that they need to play in their communities and they value it. They prefer staying close to their families and friends and doing recreation in free time. The focus of this generation seems to be quality of life and working in creative jobs. Also, they want to make a good and positive social impact on their own communities and children, including the society as a whole.
Fact 3 – Millennial students depend on loans to pay for their post-secondary education
The outstanding loan debt by the end of the second quarter of 2014 had exceeded $1 trillion, which made it the second largest section of household debt. Most of this collective level of excessive student debt is due to the changing composition of the students and the higher enrollment amongst millennials. It also comprises of a big share of students from the lower-income group, who require to take out more loans to fulfill their educational ambitions. Also they are more likely to focus on studies at a time rather than combing both school and work.
Fact 4 – They tend to get married later than the earlier generations
Although Millennials are delaying marriage, it does not necessarily mean that they do not want to marry. Almost 80% of Millennials in high school seniors say that they will marry, it is more than what Baby Boomers and Generation Xers did at that particular ages. Also, Millennials are more likely to believe in having children. Their delayed or late marriage or family formation might also be a thought out outcome of achieving their family and career aspirations.
Fact 5 – They are less likely to be homeowners compared to the young adults in earlier generations
In Fact 2, we discussed about Millennials strong bond to their parents, community and previous generations. They are very much involved in the lives of their children, which might be the reason that they are likely to share and live with their parents, particularly when the economy is still struggling to recover from the huge recession. Also, due to the increased enrollment of millennials in education, as discussed in Fact 3, may also contribute to the increasing share of them living at home as students often look up to their parents for housing and other financial support. Therefore, with less Millennials as independent homeowners or renters, the need for housing and residential investment is lower than the level implied by some household formation and headship.
Join this session on understanding the right strategies to Market to Millennials with expert speaker James E. Dion and get a better understanding on how to best communicate with this generation. You will come away with a deeper and richer understanding of this millennial consumer and know how to apply that knowledge to change your messaging to them. You will learn about what really works and what you should avoid doing.
