Marketing to Gen Y

They are called echo-boomers, or Generation Y. They have also been called “the unreachables” by many marketing experts because of their resistance to traditional advertising. But however you label them, Generation Y demands your attention. Their numbers (75 million) rival that of the Boomers. Their skepticism towards media and advertising rivals that of Generation X.

Generation Y is coming of age during the communication revolution. Let’s face it, the internet has changed the way we live, work, and communicate. While Gen X grew up with a remote in their hand, Gen Y grew up with a mouse.

To fully understand how to market to Gen Y, we must first understand the implications of growing up in the communication age.

First, Generation Y is used to a free-flow of information. While Boomers make their decisions based on gut feelings, and Gen X’ers make their decisions based on product value, Gen Y makes purchasing decisions based on Word of Mouth and consumer reviews.

Think about how much we communicate now because of social media, cell phones, and email. Before cell phones and the internet, did you talk to anyone outside of your physical proximity? Maybe you talked to 1 or 2 people per day on your phone. Maybe you got a letter from you Aunt and Uncle in the mail. But the internet and cell phones have allowed us to drastically increase the number of people we communicate with on a daily basis. Because of email, blogs, Facebook, cell phones, Twitter, etc., Generation Y is in constant contact with their peers.

What makes Generation Y choose a product is based almost completely on Word of Mouth. If people are doing it, and the feedback is there, they will purchase.

The new way to advertise is not to get your message out, but rather to open a dialogue. Communication is what Generation Y is looking for, and communication is what will drive customers your way. While traditional advertising involved blasting your message out as much as possible, this strategy will not necessarily work for the newest group of consumers. Stop thinking about message promotion and start thinking about how to engage your target market into a conversation. Break down the barriers and come out from behind the curtain. And most importantly, understand that negative feedback is not always bad in today’s world. Whether feedback is positive or negative, the important thing is that we are encouraging feedback.

Encourage conversation, encourage interaction, and encourage communication. Marketing is no longer a monologue.