Do you have a marketing campaign designed specifically to reach your millennial customers? One campaign or approach simply isn’t enough, according to the market research firm, Exponential. This generation of shoppers, aged 18-33, is quite diverse. A one-size-fits-all campaign to reach them is doomed to fail.

What should you do instead? Perhaps it’s time to start thinking of Millennials the way we think about Baby Boomers: while we know that the members of this generation have traits in common – a high comfort level with technology, for example – they also have had unique experiences and influences that shape their purchasing behavior.

Understanding what those experiences and influences are is key. Not every member of the Millennial generation enjoys the same economic status, for example. Some Millennials are quite financially secure, working long hours in prestigious positions. As shoppers, they tend to be both value-conscious and conservative; an odd contrast to their less affluent counterparts, who tend to gleefully pour all of the scant available financial resources they have into purchases & experiences they deem to be worth it.

For marketing purposes, it doesn’t matter which approach to spending is right or wrong; instead, you need to be concerned by which attitude is the one the majority of your customers actually have. If your base has little money, but spends freely, all the coupon and points-program type of marketing campaigns in the world won’t resonate with them. Flip the situation around, and you’re wasting your time and energy with “Spoil Yourself” impulse buy campaigns aimed at the well-off Millennial; they’re just not going to bite.

It’s also important to understand that Millennials grew up in a connected world, with social media and the internet playing a pivotal role in their lives. It’s important to know if your customer base is composed largely of people who create and share content on social media platforms, or if they tend to limit their online activity to consuming other people’s experiences.

Developing a deeper understanding of who your Millennial customers are, what’s important to them, and their roles they occupy personally and professionally, will make it much easier to craft individualized marketing campaigns that resonate deeply with your customers, motivating them to buy. Need help developing that understanding? We’ve got you covered!