Vietnam has hit a demographic sweet spot: 50 percent of the population is less than 34 years of age. They represent the millennial movement, a social-media-driven generation, who have had access to anything and everything happening around the globe. Of course, this is the case for this generation on every continent across the world.
This generation is unique in every way when compared to those who came before. With greater access and reach, millennials feel more empowered and independent in their thinking. They are presented with more options and are aware of what everyone around them has and what they are doing.
This new wave of consumers has created a new frontier for marketers and businesses looking to capture their loyalty – which, with the ability to research and compare costs, reviews, and reputation so easily is harder than ever before.
While access to customers is much easier, maintaining an authentic, yet competitive and compelling message, has become more challenging. For many companies, it has required revisiting the classic marketing approach of product, price, promotion and place. So much in today’s marketplace has changed and the millennials have transformed each of these Four Ps based on their access to technology. Consider how each are different today:
- Product – Product is anything that satisfies a customer’s need. That in and of itself hasn’t changed. However, what constitutes as a successful product has. Successful products differentiate themselves from rivals in their specific target markets. In today’s world of real-time reviews and social media influencers, getting your product in front of your target market without pre-existing biases can be difficult.
- Price – When setting a price for any product, companies need to remain keenly attuned to the value customers attach to it, otherwise known as the price-to-value ratio. That value can feel like a moving target in today’s landscape when price-matching and looking for the most low-cost option is what fuels successful on-line companies like Amazon and other multi-nationals who have a global presence. Those companies who are successful today do what successful companies of the past have always done: they take the time and resources needed to truly understand their target market and what they truly value – which may not always be cost.
- Promotion – Promotion embraces all methods of persuasion, which a marketer uses to motivate customers to buy the product. It comprises elements such as advertising, public relations, and sales promotion. These days, social media represents a growing share of any company’s promotion budget, particularly when it comes to targeting Millennials (born after 1980) and Generation Z (born after 1995). Granted, every market will be different based on cultural norms and what individuals have access to; however, the existence of the internet, and prevalence of mobile phones, has drastically impacted this particular “P.”
- Place – Creating a successful product hinges on understanding the place it comes from or is being sold to. Product availability is one of the key success factors. The traditional definition of place is the provision of a product at a location that is convenient for consumers to access. Historically, this meant a physical store or outlet, but has increasingly become an online or virtual location.
The millennial generation is a force to be reckoned with – business and consumerism is being dictated on their terms and continual technological advancements. Learn more about how to successfully navigate this reading my book today, Competing with Giants.
