Thursday, May 14, 2009

Email Marketing to the Millenials


Understanding generational differences and what it means to marketers is a topic that continues to fascinate me.

See this article from B2B Magazine, called Marketing to Millenials. It's a concise read on how the Millenials (sometimes called Generation Y--people born before 1982) perceive email marketing, and includes tips on what works with this group. Perhaps more importantly, it provides insight into what doesn't resonate with Millenials.

The two tips that I found most interesting:
1. Create “automated relevance.” Behavioral marketing works, but when you’re marketing to Millennials, you’ve got to be faster and more precise, Wilson said. “Millennials are almost wired to block out advertising and marketing. They are capable of finding what they want when they want it, so you have to be fast and give them something relevant as soon as you see a specific ‘hand-raising’ activity,” he said.

2. Get personal about the right things. There are differences in what you’ll need to know to market to Gen X, for example, and Gen Y. For one thing, Gen Y is less likely to answer personal questions about what they buy and why, Wilson said. “I’m amazed at how often marketers ask people about the wrong things,” he said. “If you can ask questions in a genuine way, you’ll get answers, though.”

Instead of asking how Gen Y thinks about and uses your products and services, Wilson said, ask about what’s important to them instead. “Instead of asking which products are important, ask what’s important to them in the buying cycle. Is it having a personal reference? Ask how often they purchase rather than what they are purchasing.”

Good stuff!

If you'd like an overview of the five living generations, it's your lucky day :)

RRW has put together a White Paper that provides traits and differences between generations, called Generations Overview (catchy name, eh?). We'd be happy to share.

14 comments:

Cynthia said...

Great post~ I enjoyed reading, especially since I am writing a new project for another "generation" - young professionals, and I just finished reading a long focus group study overview on how to market to them.

Nancy Arter said...

I loved this post. Such a forward thinker! Realistically, marketers must take into consideration many of the generations alive today as they create their marketing campaigns.

Nicely done!

Rick Wilson said...

I know this post is about email, but I can't help but mention that the same principles hold true when it comes to direct mail.

It is important to target your mailing campaign to the right audience and then relate your message to them, don't you agree?

Market Survey said...

I chanced upon to view your blog and found it very interesting. Great ... Keep it up!

Anonymous said...
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direct marketing said...

Good article. While it is true that Gen Y has a lower tolerance level for personal questions and the sort. Direct marketers have to also compete with their limited attention spans. Like the article mentioned, it pays to come to the point immediately. One more point to note is the frequency of contact. It should not be too often, otherwise they may be seen as an interruption.

Suzanne Ortiz said...

Thanks for the comment and thoughts about getting to the points, as well as frequency of email. I agree with you completely!
Suzanne

Mobile Marketing said...

I think mobile marketing is the new trend. More people are checking text messages over emails. It's interesting just how much research has been done about each generation to see what works best. We live in an amazing time!

Alexander said...

Came across your blog. Very good.
I have my own company and Email marketing helped a lot.

balufeb1 said...

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balufeb16 said...

Good post, nice blog. Thanks for share. I am follow your blog.

Mobile Marketer said...

I agree with the comments posted. You wrote a good post. It was informative and I learned something from it. Thanks!

Mobile Marketer said...

I belong to the Generation Y people and I could say that I can truly relate with what you posted. I believe marketers already have the initiative to think on how they would progress.

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