Update on Millennial Female Consumers
Looking to Target Millennial Female Consumers?
In February 2020, we created a blog post about female millennial consumers and their buying behavior, based on research by Meredith, a female-centric media conglomerate. It’s been over a year, so we wanted to update our readers with new information regarding marketing to female millennials in an ever-changing market. Here are some of the more recent millennial marketing facts and what they prefer when choosing products and services.
Interesting Statistics
Some of these new statistics include:
- 89% of millennials trust recommendations from friends and family more than claims by the brand.
Takeaway: Treat your customers like your family. By being honest and loyal to your customers, they will keep coming back. Claiming your product or service is great does no good if the consumer can’t experience it him/herself. You want to give the public something that they would want to tell others about. In other words, don’t sell it to the public if you wouldn’t sell it to your family!
This relates very well to a takeaway from last year’s blog post. Since 75% of millennial women try a beauty product based on a recommendation, it’s important to know that not only do women base their shopping habits on recommendations, but all millennials do. Requesting testimonials, reviews, and ratings are important, especially for the smaller businesses who use the word-of-mouth marketing technique.
- Millennials value experiences over owning things.
Takeaway: Make sure the use for the product/service is highlighted within your marketing. Since millennials prefer to rent, share, barter, or borrow products, be mindful of purchase prices, deals, and special offers marketed toward this demographic cohort.
One great example of a product millennials would rather lease is the car. Leasing cars has become more popular than purchasing and owning them, especially now that it’s cheaper to drive a BMW than a Honda. Even author and economist Jeremy Rifkin says, “25 years from now, car sharing will be the norm, and car ownership an anomaly.”
- Nearly half of millennials will promote products if it means they will reap the rewards.
Takeaway: Sometimes, you have to lose some to win some. Maybe offering a free month’s gym membership if you own a gym or a free dozen of cookies if you own a bakery is worth it when you are gaining a new customer. Millennials want what benefits them most, so these free treats in exchange for social media attention is crucial to customer acquisition.
Similar to the give-and-take approach, some brand’s include freebies to customers to ensure that they will repeatedly purchase. Younger millennials enjoy this; however, older millennials don’t necessarily buy a second time. We can all agree that we enjoy receiving gifts that we didn’t purchase or ask for. It’s like a pleasant surprise, and that serotonin must mean the company is great! But be careful, because not every millennial bases his/her opinion of a company on the freebies. Here’s an example of something Uber did:
- Millennials seek brands that align with their values.
Takeaway: Notice what millennials stand for, and find common ground between both parties’ values. You must also be transparent with your brand’s corporate social responsibility efforts.
Green marketing is a type of environmental sustainability marketing that millennials and Gen Z are passionate about. A brand’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts can make (or break) a millennial’s opinion, especially when, “79 percent of consumers are changing their purchase preferences based on a brand’s social responsibility, inclusiveness or environmental impact.”
This blog is aimed to guide you through your marketing approaches. After all, marketing to millennials is a completely different ballfield from marketing to other demographic cohorts! If you need some help with your marketing strategy, don’t hesitate to reach out.
