Get To Know Your Millennials

Published:

By: Drew McManus

In: Audience Development, Marketing & Communications

There’s a fascinating infographic from badgeville.com published via their blog on 12/18/2013 in an article by Adena DeMonte that provides insight into what they define as info marketers and managers need to know about Millennials. It’s a wonderfully comprehensive infographic in that it doesn’t gloss over a few key points and instead, focuses on a broader data cross section.

You would have to be operating under a rock to miss the growing attention focused on Millennials as both ticket buyers and prospective employees but awareness and knowledge are not one in the same; to that end, this infographic should serve as a beneficial resource for anyone interested in learning more.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the data is presented from the value perspective of a typical commercial enterprise but here are some excerpts that are uniquely applicable to performing arts orgs.

Brand Loyalty

Brand Loyalty

Arts marketers are well aware of the woes associated with the cost to sell single tickets compared to subscriptions or memberships but this infographic indicates there could be a few silver linings related to Millennials in that although they may be a tougher hook (95 percent want brands to court them actively while 80 percent want to be entertained by brands), they have a high retention rate (70 percent come back to the brands they love). Likewise, taking the time to enhance subscription/membership programs with improved loyalty rewards offerings is a likely worthwhile investment (77 percent participate in loyalty reward programs).

Influencer-Influencee Symbiosis

Social Generation

Millennials aren’t as strict with their spending as previous generations and their spending habits have a higher degree of influence via social channels. They rely on social interaction so much that 71 percent are willing to break work related social media polices in order to engage their social media profiles and more than half won’t even work at companies that ban social media during work hours. Slightly less than half are driven to positive engagement via “share rewards” programs and the lion’s share actively search for user feedback on a company website. When was the last time you checked out your organization’s Yelp or Google reviews and how many of you provide the means for feedback directly on your website? Likewise, do you regularly encourage patrons to leave reviews?

Romantic Rōnins

Romantic Ronins

When it comes to employment Millennials feel underutilized, underappreciated, and perpetually searching for a meaningful career vs. a job. The lion’s share gravitate toward workplaces that provide clear task goals, a welcoming and social environment, and regular constructive feedback. Savvy arts employers and senior executives should be keen to recognize these trends within their own institutions and conduct an honest assessment on whether or not their workplace is conducive to these trends; after all, it’s the flexible stick that avoids breaking when stressed.

The Whole Enchilada

The entire infographic is pretty big, so if the embedded version below from badgeville.com isn’t functioning, just download this pdf copy.

Rise of the Millennials Infographic by Badgeville, The Gamification Platform

Drew McManus
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Drew McManus
In addition to my consulting business, I'm also the Principal of Venture Industries Online but don’t let that title fool you into thinking I'm just a tech geek. I bring 20+ years of global broad-based arts consulting experience to the table to help clients break the cycle of choosing one-size-fits-none solutions and instead, deliver options allowing them to get ahead of the tech curve instead of trying to catch up by going slower. With the vision of legacy support strategy and the delights of creative insights, my mission is to deliver a sophisticated next generation technology designed especially for the field of performing arts. The first step in that journey began in 2010 when The Venture Platform was released, a purpose-designed managed website development solution designed especially for arts organizations and artists. For fun, I write a daily blog about the orchestra business, provide a platform for arts insiders to speak their mind, lead a team of intrepid arts pros to hack the arts, lead an arts business incubator, and love a good coffee drink.
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