A Millennial walks into a hardware store and asks the man for help fixing Siri. The man looks puzzled and asks the millennial ‘I’m sorry could you tell me more about your project?’ The millennial replies back ‘well, my phone keeps acting weird so I told her she’s driving me nuts! And Siri replied that I should visit a hardware store. So I searched on Yelp and here I am!’
Millennials Change The Game
How true is the above example? The largest group of consumers hitting the economy is the Millennial generation defined as ages 18-34. This group is approaching almost 85 Million strong! (This year millenials will overtake Baby Boomers)
A major reason the traditional rules of marketing, selling (See HBR's The End of Solution Sales), engaging, connecting, are being disrupted left and right. And that's a good thing. A very good thing. Millennials are changing the game in this connected economy and businesses that are paying attention are winning.
Here's a story about a millennial's real visit to the hardware store, mine.
It started with a need, a recurring need that happens every other year or so. A need that’s uncommon but has to get done. (Read Uncovering the Personality of Your Data) If you own a home you’ve probably done this at some point and if you haven’t you should probably get it done this very weekend! I’m talking about sharpening your lawn mower blade. A simple, infrequent need, but still a need.
I own my home and I take care of it like a man should with whatever time is allotted me between work, errands, work, gymnastics practice (for the kid..), oh and work. I noticed a few weeks ago that my mower was not cutting as smoothly as I felt it should, and yes I notice these things. The time had come to get my lawn mower blade sharpened.
The need is now firmly planted in my brain. So before I set out to mow the following week I intend to address the solution. What would you do next? That’s right, you Google Search something like “Getting a lawn mower blade sharpened” or ‘Where to get blade sharpened, mower’ or another similar search. Everyone searches Google differently, an important note to make when you're a Digital Marketer like us.
What I did next wouldn't surprise a millennial, but it may surprise ye slightly older folks..
I didn’t go to Google, you know why?
Because I’m a Millenial and I had my iPhone on me so I went to Yelp.
I opened up the Yelp app on my iPhone and searched “Lawn Mower repair”. Curious at my search choice? Any place that can repair a lawn mower will also repair the blades and has the ability to simply sharpen the blade, which is exactly what I wanted.
So after typing in my search I was yielded about 4 results of hardware stores that offered ‘lawn mower repair’. I choose the one closest to me with the highest rating. Another point to remember. It was further away than my normal hardware store but still I decided to call. Did you catch that? I have a normal hardware store a mile away that I normally go to, but I don’t know if they can sharpen lawn mower blades and I didn’t feel like wasting a phone call to find out, Yelp told me.
So I take my son with (hey, it’s boy time at the hardware store) and we go to the hardware store. Not only did we get the blade sharpened, but more importantly we spend over $50 on other items I found while waiting. That's a win for this small business. Being found and being clear about what I could do, made all the difference.
So what lessons are learned from this real world example:
- How we search Google matters for what results we get.
- How consumers search Google matters on what they find, Your Business or Your Competitors.
- My regular hardware store may sharpen lawn mower blades, but THEY NEVER TOLD ME!
- Yelp and other Apps can be critical in local consumer markets.
- Ratings and Reviews Matter. Between similar businesses they tip the scale.
- Millenials use smartphones, for EVERYTHING.
- Millenials spend money.
Millions of businesses are found on people's iPhones, make sure your business is in the game.
CONCLUSION:
You set your company strategy, train your employees well, then you find digital marketers like us to bridge the gap. We set your strategy to help customers find you and allow your team to shine.
// Zack
At Kpahi, we believe the internet is poweful. Let's use it.
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