Millennials are some of the most important clients that you may not know about. Well, you may ask, if I don’t know them, how can I get to know them and more importantly, who are they? Millennials are a demographic group of people in the world that are over 80 million strong ranging from 18-29 and is strongly influenced and empowered by technology. This large faction has strong political influence and unlimited purchasing power that could turn your company into a multi-million dollar establishment. The key here is to get Millennials into your booth and into your company’s success strategy.
Some of the keys to Millennials is knowing how to attract them and how to harness their power for your company.
Millennials:
Expect content on demand. That’s right, this group wants to watch and find what they want, when they want. With everything from Google to YouTube they have been able to get it. By making your information and product readily available and a large amount of transparency to your company, you will be able to provide it. You can achieve this by providing pre-tradeshow content anywhere from video to text that will inspire and draw their attention to you like a magnet.
Demand and expect free Wi-Fi. Another demand? Of course! This faction wants to be able to connect to their networks-Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, FourSquare, etc. anywhere they go. This is great for you being that you can be the funnel for their information at a show and likely get some worthy shout outs to their friends and contacts. If you want to get crazy, set up a digital camera and incorporate your Millennials into your show exhibits. Video is very big in this target market and a great way to go viral.
Use their online savvy to live and to shop. To really connect a Millennial to your product it would be wise to get all of your social media profiles figured out and set up before a show, this way they can single you out amongst many and easily reach you and buy your product. Also, it is important to know and incorporate this way of thinking into your company. You must market with social media tools for a simple, free and effective way to get through to millions.
Expect to be treated as an equal. Ageism is a fairly common experience with this age group. The thought of “you’re too young to know” or “but how much money could you really have” are the nails in many companies coffins. They have a wide array of influence on the world and on larger companies at many occasions. Wowing the youth can be wowing the world.
New Experiences. More than wanting cool things, Millennials want to do cool things. Create unique experiences on your tradeshow floor with interactive exhibits, live social media sharing areas, live Internet radio shows, unique healthy food cooking experiences, etc. Millennials are naturally curious and believe experiences are a way to invest their time.