Meet The Millennials

Recently, I’ve had so many cleaning business owners reach out to me asking “how can I market my cleaning business to millennials?” , that today’s post is completely focused on how to demystify this important market segment so that you can ensure your marketing is actually going work, and not fall flat because you don’t understand how to reach this increasingly influential audience.

So, Who Are Millennials?

They are living in homes and working in businesses that your cleaning business wants to serve and do business with, and are also known as:

• GEN Y
• Gen Why
• Generation Next
• Generation Me
• Gen-Narrators.

They were born between 1980-1995 and if you’re not paying attention to them with the marketing focus of your cleaning business…. you should be.

To really understand Millennials, you need to take a look at where they are today because they’re in 2 very specific groups:

The ‘Settling In’ (25-34) Group:

They’re becoming ‘grown-ups’ and establishing themselves and their future life.  They have their first ‘proper’ job, saving for house/kids, marriage.

Then there’s the,

The ‘Starting Out’ (18-24) Group:

They’re growing into adulthood, hunting for new experiences.  They’re graduating school/starting college, dating, and travelling.

Although these two groups are (currently) on different paths, both groups are totally defined by contradiction.  They are obsessive over-sharers and obsessive knowledge gatherers, which means your marketing messages have to serve two functions every time you want to communicate with them.  One, your messages need to be share-worthy, and two, this market segment will go to extraordinary lengths to gather information.  That information, they’re gathering…

…..is on you.  It will be about your cleaning business… so if you’re not marketing yourself online… you’d better get started.

So Why do Millennials Matter So Much to Cleaning Businesses?

There are 3 reasons, the first is they’re Big – they are not only the largest generation now, but they are also the future of the workforce.   They’re Influential – They have a rapidly advancing income and they have massive power.  Studies have shown that 74% have a direct influence on purchases of other generations.  What this means for the cleaning industry, is that although the final decision-maker in an organisation (or household) may be someone older, they will be highly influenced in their buying decision by a millennial.  Why?  Because Millennials do their homework, they obsessively gather information…

And finally, they are Revolutionary – highly educated, they ‘live’ online, however, recent studies conducted have shown that despite living online, a massive 49% don’t interact with ‘brands’ online – they prefer to interact with ‘people’.  What that means for cleaning businesses is that your presence online needs to be person-centric, not business-centric.  People buy from people, especially when you’re talking about millennials being the buyers..   

If your website or social media is not personality driven (i.e. there’s no ‘face’ to your business), you’ll really struggle to gather interest from millennials because it’s all about people with them..

How Can a Cleaning Business Fail when Marketing to Millennials?

1. To not understand them – if you arrive to do a site inspection and you don’t fully engage with the younger employees in the organisation…
2. Not be relevant and engaging – if your social media posts are all about before and after photos of dirty floors and bathrooms…
3. Not adapt to their changing expectations – if you’re not positioning your cleaning business correctly in order to get their attention.  And keep it.  

Their passions are evolving and they focus their energy and finances on connecting with others and themselves.  So, if you win a new cleaning contract and you don’t take the opportunity to go in and personally introduce yourself and their new cleaner to everyone in the organisation.    You will completely miss out on a golden opportunity to make a great connection with each and every millennial in that business.  

How Can a Cleaning Business Succeed with Millennials?

So what are they talking about, what are they interested in?  Studies have shown this generation is more globally aware than any other in history, thanks to the internet.  They’re connected to causes, what they’re watching on TV is their number # 1 topic of conversation, they have a huge fear of missing out (FOMO) on anything, and they are massive consumers of content.

By content, I mean information and articles they read online that are of interest to them – like blogs and social media posts.   So, as a cleaning business, the types of social media posts or blogs that you put out online, should be interesting to your audience… what would make them want to read something you post, and then maybe tag a friend or share something with a friend..?

HINT:  It will not be anything to do with actual cleaning

They love public recognition – so if you have a way of recognising your clients and publicly connecting with them (think a shout-out on social media for example..) then this is how you’ll create engagement and long-term marketing and sharing opportunities for your cleaning business.

They’re the most educated generation ever, they like their information or content in ‘snack size’, and they are far more engaged with visual formats – so great images to go with your posts or blogs are a must to get their attention.  Essentially, the key is to speak to them in their visual language.

Millennials matter – So What’s Your Plan For Them?

They’re rapidly becoming the most powerful generation, and according to economists, they are set to hit peak earning and spending years between 2015-2018, and are already having a huge influence on other generations.

So, consider this:

• Content is how they connect – What role does it  or could it play in your the marketing mix for your cleaning business?
• What they’re watching is the # 1 thing they’re talking about – so how can you leverage that to stand out and be noticed?
• Their status is defined by what they contribute to the group – so they’re highly engaged at work, they want to make a difference and are looking for ways to make an impact.
• Looking to brand/publisher channels for validation – which bloggers or social media channels can you follow that will help you to engage more with this market segment?
• Increasingly visual – so how can you use more visually appealing messages on your website and on social media?
• Changing from mass to intimate – They’re much more likely to be attracted to smaller bespoke cleaning companies who understand them..
• Increasingly want intimate experiences – How can your business thank or make an impact on them once you start working with them?
• They want ‘real’ stories and experiences off the field – How can you start to share some of the stories from within your cleaning business?
• What brands they can buy into – What do you stand for in their lives?

Are you a great cleaning business who’s attracting millennials?  What’s been the number # 1 secret to your success..? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below..

Today’s quote: 

“The quality of a persons life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavour”. Vince Lombardi

   Lisa x

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