According to a study conducted by branding agency Sacunas, 73% of millennial employees surveyed in the United States are responsible for a product/service B2B purchase decision-making process at their company. Case after case has proven than millennials don’t respond to traditional marketing, so B2B companies that can effectively reach this generation would be able to tap into $200 billion in annual buying power.
Millennials have a deeper level of engagement and discernment with the companies from which they purchase than previous generations, so it is critical that businesses understand how to interact with them not just from a consumer perspective, but also as buyers.
B2B News Network offers the top five techniques to capturing this segment: engaging videos, simple interactions, visuals, demos, and online communities.
- Create Engaging Videos
According to Ungapped, 29% of millennial B2B buyers prefer video content to all other forms. Especially in the case of new products, videos should show how products are used and describe customer stories without being overly promotional, as millennials can easily detect and dismiss inauthenticity. It’s also crucial to optimize videos for mobile devices, as this is the only way over half of millennials will watch video content.
- Focus on Simple Interactions
Millennials value being educated about a product but lose trust at being over-marketed to or oversold with promises. The most popular mobile apps today all have two things in common: a user-friendly experience with a clean design. Your company’s website should be simple and easy to navigate, with an uncomplicated brand logo. You can track your website performance using analytics to determine if you’re creating that experience; look at bounce rate, to see how quickly people leave your website, and events and leads generations.
- Be Visual
Customers today have become accustomed to a visual atmosphere, and share an average of 1.8 billion images on a daily basis. Make sure to keep visuals uncomplicated in design, and take advantage if this channel than can rapidly disseminate information.
- Offer Free Demos
With a high prioritization on visuals, millennials are hands-on learners. They don’t just want to read a white paper or case study about your product or service, they want to do. Create a “sandbox” version of your offering with free demos to test things out during their evaluation stages. Ensure that throughout the sales process millennials know they can touch, use, and test out the product/service. Another idea is to integrate micro-applications like ROI calculators.
- Create Online Communities
Millennials greatly value the opinion of their family, friends, and community, and place stock in those opinions when making their own purchase decisions. Creating a social media page is not enough; you must create a community which activates and engages consumers to maintain awareness of your business.
From a marketing management perspective, here are some questions to consider:
- Evaluate your own content strategy, or image you are a marketing manager at FedEx. What are you offering? What should you be offering to make sure you’re best reaching millennials?
- We know by now that millennials value corporate social responsibility. How can marketers show that their company cares and wants to make a difference? How would you integrate that into B2B sales?
Marketing Management 