Editor’s note: Katy Mallios is an insights and intelligence consultant at SPYCH Market Analytic, New Orleans. This is an edited version of an article originally published under the title, “A Millennial researcher’s tips for researching Millennials” the October 2014 issue of the American Marketing Association’s Marketing Insights e-newsletter.
Understanding how to properly reach and successfully engage Millennials is an elusive but important target market for most companies – and rightfully so, given this generation’s estimated $200 billion in collective buying power. And as a consumer insights professional, regardless of which industry you work in or consult, you’ve probably been tasked with at least one project that involves Millennials. And if you haven’t, it’s coming.
Just as the nuances of this generation have implications for marketers, so too do the nuances of this generation have implications for customer insights professionals. As you begin to research and engage with Millennials in hopes of digging deep into their generation’s lifestyle, behaviors, consumption patterns and shopping habits, here are a few tips to ensure your project is set up to yield the best insights.
- Establish rapport. While nobody likes an imposter, Millennials have a special aversion, if not abhorrence, to inauthenticity. If you are a non-Millennial researcher moderating a group of Millennial respondents, avoid establishing rapport by trying to fit in or act like a member of a younger generation. Slipping in a cliché pop culture reference or incorrectly/obnoxiously using terms found on Urban Dictionary are sure ways to put off the entire group and hinder rapport. To ensure authentic participation, especially among Millennial respondents, simply be your true and authentic self.
- Drive mobile optimization. We all know the statistics about how attached Millennials are to mobile phones. When conducting research online (via bulletin boards, online communities and even surveys) the platforms through which you are conducting your research must be optimized for mobile. Not just mobile-friendly, mobile-accessible or mobile-compatible but mobile-optimized. This can make a huge difference as to just how engaged respondents are, whether they fully complete the study and quite frankly the quality of the respondents themselves.
- Fit within a Millennial’s inclination toward digital expression. I’m honestly still surprised that bulletin boards and micro communities are not more frequently suggested as an option when doing qualitative research projects with Millennials. I know there are many pushbacks to this methodology, but assuming from a data-collection standpoint that in-person focus groups and asynchronous online discussion are both on the table, please remember your audience and the way in which they flourish in the online space.
I am not saying in-person qualitative methodologies do not work for this demographic; I’m saying that a conversation that relies on text, image and video for self-expression is not only accepted but feels natural to the majority of Millennials. With that in mind, think about how conducive your online research project could be to Millennials’ on-the-go lifestyle. For example, if they have five to 10 minutes to spare four times a day – while in-between classes, waiting to meet someone, during their commute from work or school – it is second nature for them to pick up their smartphone and see what’s going on in their social/digital world. When conducted on a mobile-optimized platform, your research conversation has the potential to seamlessly fit into their lives during these moments, making for a more back-and-forth type discussion filled with in-the-moment data as well.
- Understand that the individual is not representative of the demographic. To understand the collective Millennial demographic and add value to the internal research team, macro demographic trends are certainly vital to know. However, when actually designing and conducting the research, go easy on the stereotypes. Don’t go into a room (virtual or physical) assuming that the Millennial with whom you are speaking is a tech-loving, selfie-addicted individual who watches TV shows only via Netflix and values work place attributes such as “dog-friendly environment” over higher pay (unless, of course, those were your recruitment specs). Remember that older Millennials can be very different from younger Millennials in many aspects, so be attuned to those differences as well. (Again, not just during fielding but also as you design the study or draft the discussion guide.) You may even discover an eye-opening difference between Millennials who engage with your client’s brand or product category versus the general Millennial population.
Compared to generations past, Millennials represent a highly engaged and vocal consumer base, which makes them a lot of fun from a research perspective. As a consumer insights professional, I look forward to our industry continuing to evolve its practices so we can make the most out of our Millennial research.