Sales Strategy
Engaging With The Younger Demographic | December 09, 2015 (0 comments)
Miami, FL—Engaging with the younger demographic is not an easy task, but it is being done. My Preferred retailers and Continental Buying Group retailers are starting to get the hang of it. Our office is now posting everywhere, especially on Instagram, showing our retailers all of our new suppliers that they will be seeing at our show in January. Young people have started taking more interest, making notes and making their time much more efficient on the showroom floor. But… we still need those Millennials to buy from you. Not easy but it can be done.
If your company’s intent is to capture the hearts and dollars of consumers of all ages, you are in for a challenge. After all, Baby Boomers, Generation Xers and Millennials have vastly different experiences, values and preferences, which means connecting with each will need different tactics.
Here are just a few ways to connect with the younger demographic:
1. Craft a robust online presence. Young people prefer to research online before making purchases. Make sure they can find you and get answers about your products and services online and be able to pay for them digitally as well, whether it’s on a laptop, tablet or smart phone. Also have a blog with “content” that’s actually useful. Your social media company or IT department or your own social media team needs to be engaging with fans and customers seven days a week. This generation would prefer you to not call them on the phone. They prefer to deal with everything electronically whether thru social channels or e-mail and be able to resolve problems without ever speaking to anyone on the phone.
2. Create a sense of community. Millennials seek online advice and affirmation more than any other generation. Just look at platforms such as Twitter and Instagram, which are all about people sharing trends as well as mundane habits and behaviors. Understand that not only do they care how others perceive their post; they will take them down if they do not get enough comments or likes. I get this now because I am on Instagram too. If there aren’t enough likes, I change pictures and subject and believe me I am anything but a “millennial.” As a retailer you need to look at what millennials “do” on social media to stay current.
3. Respect their online space. A much larger portion of a young person’s life is online, compared to people who grew up without the Internet and smartphones. Many companies exploit this reality and use the wealth of information available about online consumer’s behavior to inundate people with targeted advertisement… much of this is unwelcome. If you are interested in building brand affinity, only push out the “content” customers actually want and only on the channels they are using to have them interact with your brand. Not only will you build trust by honoring your customers online attention, you’ll be using your own resources smartly.
We are embracing social media. Soon Preferred Jewelers International will have their own blog, “Jewelry Chatter Box” plus the first week of December we are planning on filming a YouTube video with our new Preferred jingle, written by Bottom Line Marketing, full of dancing, singing young people having fun on the beach and making their wedding proposal an “Experience that lasts a Lifetime™.”
Embrace what’s going on. It is fun! Plus, new customers are always a welcomed sight.
Andie
Andie Weinman, president and CEO of Preferred Jewelers International / Continental Buying Group Inc., was born with the “Jewelry Gene” working in the jewelry industry since she was only ten years old. Her first job was as a cashier in the opening of a catalog showroom doing a fantastic job even at that tender age. Andie holds a B.A. in musical theatre and a B.S. in marine biology from The University of Tampa. When she realized that seawater and marine biology were not good on her hair and she wasn’t quite good enough to make it on Broadway, the jewelry business beckoned. Andie has picked diamonds, sorted color stones, shot waxes and performed a multitude of jobs in the manufacturing of jewelry. Her negotiating experience and prowess has given her the reputation as being tough but fair in her dealings with vendors. In 2012 the Indian Diamond and Color Association awarded Andie the Prestigious Doyenne Award of the Year.