Who’s Afraid of Gen Y?

For some reason, the term Gen Y seems to be a little scary to some. Sure, they seem to be everywhere (they make up an estimated 25% of the US population) and it may also appear that they were born hard wired for texting, surfing (the online kind) and being connected 24-7 to some type of media. But, as a marketer, the term Gen Y should not scare you. For you, Gen Y should spell huge opportunity.  The fact that there are so many of them and they are hard wired for things like social media and texting is a huge advantage to marketers smart enough to market to them on their terms.

Gen Y actually spends more time texting, emailing and on logged in to social media sites than they do watching television. We all know by now how much cheaper it is to advertise online than it is to advertise on television. We also know that digital is cheaper than print. FYI- Gen Y’ers don’t get their news delivered by print. THEY GET IT ONLINE! They also are more likely to have things like bank and credit card statements to be delivered greenly, aka online.  Digital online marketing is cheaper, quicker and more effective. Di d you know that, given the choice, Gen Y would rather live without social media and television for a week than go without texting and email.

So, now that you know what they want, give it to them! If you haven’t already started planning to use email campaigns and same site advertising like personalized banners, there is no time like the present. Get your CRM’s in gear and start using the information you already have to your advantage. Gen Y has huge buying power now and it will only increase in the future.

Get them to be loyal customers now by advertising to them in their own language and you will see benefits now and in the future.

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