How to target and market to millennials? In order to understand this peculiar demographic group, we must better comprehend the context they are living in, and take advantage on their characteristics to make the appropriate changes across industries and the Supply Chains that serve them.
According to the Wikipedia definition, Millennials, also known as Generation Y, are the demographic cohort following Generation X: demographers and researchers typically use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000s as ending birth years.
Millennials in Supply Chain – 2017 APICS Report. This interesting report was designed to gain insight into Millennials as a critical segment of the SC workforce and productivity. Some facts about Millennials to highlight in this report:
Millennials are continuous learners looking to be certified, and who are eager to advance their careers, improve their job performance, and take on more challenging work. Millennials are focused, engaged, motivated and committed to working in SCM.
SC represents for Millennials a dynamic and rewarding long-term career choice for professionals in their 20s and 30s.
Those Millennials who started their career in Supply Chain, see more opportunities for advancement in the field.
Millennials have a keen interest in the SCM and Logistics careers.
Millennials are more stable and move less from one company to another.
Millennials have a diverse interest in activities that cover the end-to-end Supply Chain: Design and Planning, the most appealing. Areas.
Millennials feel they can make a difference in the SC field
Supply Chain encompasses people of all types, but even though more women are now entering the area, gender gap among Millennials is persisting and the skill gap is an urgent matter to solve. This disparity reflects complaints and frustration around the attitude towards Millennials by older generations in their organisations, and because of a lack of purpose in the workplace.
Industry expectancy, priorities and communication tools must adapt to the buying/consumer behaviour: Millennials, by all means, are attracted by BRANDS, but they have a fear of missing out certain things, not to belong to, be out trending tools; this makes them stay long time connected to smartphones, tablets, computers, etc. This behaviour helps Millennials’ follower to learn about your brand through Social Media. So, acquiring aggressive strategies within your organisation, to focus on retention of these Millennials is something SC Manager cannot miss.
Conclusions: It’s important to interact with powerful Millennial influencers who can help to show out your brand, by introducing Supply Chain strategies used with any target demographic, whether it’s big or small. Millennials are effective promoter influencers to bring customers attention and grow your brand.
Dave Food