Editor's Note: Why Care about Y?

Oct. 9, 2014
Millennials are growing up fast, and you better be on the cutting edge if you want to capture their business

From the pages of Time and Forbes to nightly news and network television, you have undoubtedly heard the buzz lately: the Millennials (those born between 1980 and 1999) are growing up, entering the workforce and becoming your customers.

Millennials represent 1.7 billion people around the world, and according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 80 million just in the United States. Major retailers — from restaurants, to clothiers, to service providers and everyone in between — are collectively trying to figure out this generation.

A U.S. Chamber of Commerce report tells us why: Reports on Millennial — or Gen Y — annual purchasing power ranges between $125 billion and $890 billion. "A more consistent estimate is $200 billion of direct purchasing power and $500 billion of indirect spending, largely due to the influence on the spending of their mostly baby boomer parents," the report says.

As Millennials enter adulthood, it would behoove marketers of all kinds of products and services — ahem, security — to answer the same question we have asked of any generation: What motivates you to buy?   

Time to Get Social

According to the Chamber of Commerce report, the biggest lesson when marketing to Millennials is that organizations must know and use social media. More than three-quarters of Millennials have created a profile on a social networking site, and they spend 1.8 hours per work day on social media sites, as opposed to just one hour for the rest of us. 

A majority of Gen Y uses social media to connect with brands. To be effective, advertising should be placed around engaging content. On average, engagement is higher among Millennials than any other generations on television and websites, and the report says the web offers them the greatest engagement.

To many business owners in the security services industry, social media is a big, daunting beast that only the Millennials can understand. They see it as a time-waster “for the kids.” They hardly use it themselves, if at all; and they certainly don’t see the benefits it can have for their business. News flash: those times are a-changin’ — and pretty quickly. Remember the ice bucket challenge? The ALS Foundation proved that a social media phenomenon can shatter the walls of the Internet and expand into prime-time television, PR efforts, podcasts, radio — you name it.

The Positive Side

I’m sure as a security service provider, you have run into your fair share of customers who are uncomfortable with change. Motivating them to switch over from analog to IP is a prime example. The good news for you is that Millennials are 2.5 times more likely to be early adopters of technology than are older generations. And not only do they contribute to the market directly, but also as vocal consumers and early adopters, Millennials influence the purchases of others.

Sure, there aren’t too many Gen Y business owners out there yet, but they are coming, and it will surely make selling system upgrades a little easier. However, before they are business owners, it is logical to assume that the market is soon to be flooded with new homeowners who represent Gen Y — and this is where it all ties into our October issue of SD&I. If you want to engage with the new Millennial homeowner, you had better be on the smart home bandwagon (see more starting on page 20).

To hearken back to my Boy Scout days: Be Prepared. You may not be selling to many Millennials today, but you will be sooner than you think.

Paul Rothman is Editor in Chief of Security Dealer & Integrator magazine (www.secdealer.com).