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Why Millennials Crave Experiences

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A survey by ticket purchasing website Eventbrite revealed that Millennials command an estimated $1.3 trillion in annual consumer spending. This study also showed that this generation prefers to spend their money on experiences like concert tickets or vacations rather than material items. In essence, like any other previous generations, Millennials crave memorable experiences, which influences most of their spending. In order to reach more young people, businesses need to adapt their sales and marketing strategies.

Here are 3 reasons why you should focus on selling experiences to younger consumers:

1. Experiences make memories. Going out for an evening with family and friends helps to deepen relationships, which in turn creates memories that will be cherished for years to come. Many consumers say that their best memories are from an event or live experience they attended or participated in.

2. Experiences build communities. By their very nature, people want to feel like they belong. Events get people out in the community interacting with one another. As a result, most young adults believe attending events makes them feel more connected to other people in their community. If young people feel connected to their community, they will also feel connected to the businesses in it, including yours.

3. Experiences can be shared on social media. It’s no secret that young people love sharing their lives on social media, their experience with your business is no exception. This can provide you with virtual word-of-mouth marketing as the experience will be shared with your followers’ own social media contacts. These contacts may become your future customers.

Now that you know why Millennials crave experiences, you are probably wondering how to sell to them–especially, if you are selling a physical product. Marketers everywhere are constantly told to “sell experiences, not things” if they want to attract and keep prospective customers. This rule doesn’t just apply to travel and entertainment industries, which are based on customer experiences, but to all industries.

Here are 4 ways to sell experiences that your customers will keep coming back for:

1. Treat them well. How customers are treated determines their experience with you. In fact, 70% of buying experiences are based on how the customer feels they are being treated. Be honest with your customers, yet respectful of them. If you promise something in your advertising or create an expectation of your business, you should deliver on it. This is especially true when it comes to customer service. Otherwise, your customers may be disappointed and not come back to you. If you cannot deliver on your promises, you should provide your customers with some kind of restitution, like a discount or coupon for a future purchase.

2. Tell stories. Your business, products, and services have unique stories, share them. With social media and blogging, you have the opportunity to both show and tell your story. People like a good story and will want to share yours with others. Storytelling can provide a channel for user-generated content by allowing your customers to share their experiences with your brand.

3. Create your atmosphere.  If you have a brick and mortar store or other type of business, you need to make your customers comfortable. The ambiance, aroma, and cleanliness of the place matters to your customers. This helps them to form an opinion of you based on their experience, which will determine whether or not they return.

4. Give back. Being involved with the community is a great way to build your brand by sharing your values with your followers. To sell this experience, share photographs, or other social media posts about your charitable contributions. If you sell products, offer to give a certain amount of money from a purchase towards charity. Even though these impacts may be small, your customers will feel like they’re making a difference by doing business with you.

Younger generations are more interested in experiences than ever before. Marketers need to take notice and tailor their strategies to better reach this audience. By doing this, you will build a relationship with your customers based on their experience with your business.

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