The Year of the Millennial and How This Affects Business Growth

Millennials are the demographic cohort born between the early 1980s and the early 2000s. By 2036, researchers have calculated millennials will top out at 81.1 million. It’s apparent that this demographic already has a significant presence. Now is the time to start shifting your business focus to millennials, as well as the potentially more obvious cohorts. If you do so, you can tap in to additional income, revenue and success.

Word of Mouth (W-O-M) Matters

Although it often seems outdated, word of mouth is fast becoming the most influential factor in the purchasing decision process. This is particularly apparent in relation to the buying patterns of millennials. It may be taking place through social media rather than literal word of mouth, but it’s important to keep this technique in mind.

Earlier this year, Huffington Post reported 68% of millennials are likely to purchase after seeing a friend’s post about a service or product via social media. That means if you make 100 sales you could make an additional 68 without having to do anything other than maintaining and encouraging active social media profiles! You can do this via interaction with each mention you get on sites such as Facebook, even those that are negative. If there is a negative comment the second worst way to handle it – the first being to react in an angry and argumentative way – is to ignore it.

The best way to deal with this is to thank the commenter for their feedback, promise to take it on board and offer them a solution. As well as offering to assist the original commenter, potential customers will view these replies and see how helpful your business is. You’ll also have access to unedited feedback which can help you develop and grow.

Millennials Influence on Travel Trends

As well as social media, millennials can be found frequenting the travel industry. Air travel bookings are becoming cheaper, which is providing the younger generation with new opportunities and aspirations. In fact, 70% of young adults are more likely to have budgeted for annual travel than their older counterparts.

Alongside their love of travel, millennials are already moving on from the age of the ‘selfie’, opting for the far more aptly named ‘braggie’. Surveys suggest that in 2013 alone the number of social media users worldwide increased by 18%, with an average of 350 million photos uploaded to Facebook each day!

In an age where social media profiles are carefully crafted and constructed, not only by businesses but by individuals, it’s no surprise generation Y are wanting to share their carefully selected memories. This is good news for businesses, as they can tap in to public sharing and ensure they’re getting snapped!

How to Attract Millennials

Travel goes hand in hand with tours, activities and various other forms of adventure which is useful for businesses within those industries. Utilise your tour or activity business so it’s getting seen by amillennials. Market your bookings as fun and adrenaline-filled, put adverts in places millennials will frequent – e.g. university halls – and provide online booking options to keep up with their shift to technology.

More and more people are booking online rather than over the phone, so it’s vital you provide this option to prevent losing out on custom. Booking Live offer specialist online booking systems for professional activity and tour businesses, as well as many other industries, so get in touch today to find out how you can start attracting additional custom.