While many experts attempt to define the anomalies of emerging young adults compared to older generations, one thing may not be so different after all: how much relationships matter.
Business owners have been told time and time again that relationship marketing is the key driver of a successful brand engagement strategy and this rule doesn't apply any differently when marketing to affluent millennials.
In fact, the notion of success by personalizing relationships may be even more true today than ever.
After collaborating with Jeff Fromm, marketing strategy consultant and President of FutureCast, we discovered that there’s an opportunity to engage millennial consumers through personalized relationship marketing in store and online.
Why is that opportunity an important one to capture? Consider this:
- Millennials are a generation that actively seeks out peer engagement and rarely feels confident enough to make a decision without first asking their family and friends for their opinion.
- They also turn to professionals for assistance more often than most retailers think. When asked how much they agree with the statement, “I like to get help when picking out fine jewelry,” millennials indexed significantly greater than consumers over the age of 35.
How brands are taking advantage
Creating engaging social content is a key way to embrace relationship marketing in the digital space.
Alex and Ani and Bauble Bar are a couple examples of millennial jewelry brands that build relationships through social media. Instead of using highly edited pictures of the pieces on its Facebook and Instagram profiles, the brands encourage millennials to share their own photos of their signature styles .
This type of engagement brings a unique authenticity and builds strong customer loyalty because millennials feel like they are an integral part of the brand.
How to apply this to your business
Posting real photos from your customers is a great way to engage your audience. Consider creating your own store hashtag and ask purchasers, especially those purchasing engagement rings, to tag you in their social media announcement of the big news!
Bridal brands like The Knot and How He Asked have created a network of proposal stories and engagement ring selfies on their social media platforms. Prior to even being engaged, consumers are entranced with beautiful rings and memorable stories.
By sharing these types of stories on your social media platforms, you are engaging your current customers and hopefully inspiring future purchases while intriguing new visitors.
What do you want to know about millennials? Ask us in the comments section below or share your own experience!
