1. Steal These
9 Customer
Service Tips
p. 26
Better
Customer
Experiences
p. 36
PSMARCH
2016
VOLUME 54
NO. 03
PS MAGAZINE | THE SALES STRATEGY ISSUE
THE
FACE OF TODAY’S
PRINT BUYER

2. 12 MARCH 2016PSDA.ORG
LINKINGVERVE
M
Millennials
(those of
us born
between
the early
1980s and
the early 2000s) have witnessed and
been part of the transition from paper
to computer and beyond. Instead of
opening a book, we search on our
phones or iPads for information.
Instead of using paper and pencil,
we access myriad network options.
The “Hey, here’s what I had for
breakfast” picture might make its
way to hundreds of people within an
hour. Several friends may go to the
restaurant that served the delicious
food. The restaurant gets new
customers just like that. But is selling
to millennials really that easy?
No. It’s not. We are a complex group.
How does a business attract and retain
millennials? Effectively marketing
to millennials requires the use of
big data. Millennials have access to
unlimited amounts of information.
We need companies to know what we
want before we even want or need it.
We expect companies to customize
our buying experience, whether that’s
suggesting relevant products and
services or offering Venmo.
Big data allows companies to build
relationships by getting millennials to
understand them at a very personal level.
Marketing to Millennials:
An Insider’s Perspective
AGREE? DISAGREE? Turn to p. 62 after finishing this column.
Sarah Scudder A new monthly column from an industry insider about issues important to salespeople.
This allows companies to customize the
buying experience, making it as enjoyable
and easy as possible.
Here are four important things to
consider when using your data to sell
to millennials:
Transparency: Share as much
information as possible. Millennials
want detailed information so we can
make a decision that meets our social,
financial, family and moral needs. We
want to know the good, bad and ugly.
If the business is designing a direct
mail piece, they should tell us if their
company donates a portion of sales
to educate underprivileged children.
If they are creating an online pURL
landing page and their ice cream
contains 1,050 calories per serving
but is the best tasting ice cream on
the planet, we want to evaluate the
positives and negatives and decide
for ourselves if we will buy the ice
cream. The essence is transparency.
We want all the information. It’s up
to the ice cream company to create a
desirable product.
Convenience: We are busy. We work,
spend time with family and friends,
partake in philanthropic activities and
exercise. Not wasting time is high on
our priority list. If something is not easy
to figure out or use, we won’t use it. It’s
as simple as that. Whether a business is
trying to sell print services or developing
a print marketing campaign, the
business needs to make sure it’s easy to
understand, access and purchase.
Last month, I was trying to close a
100-unit chain online print portal
account. The buyer was a millennial
marketing executive. She wanted to
see the process involved in building
our online system. She said, “If it’s
not easy and straightforward, I am
not interested, no matter how much
money it will save me.” She informed
me that her team’s time was valuable.
The team needed to see how easy
the setup process was in order to
commit. I used data to study the
brand, their work environment and
my buyer prior to engaging with
them. I was fully prepared. I put
together a streamlined workflow
based on big data.
Peer reviews: Millennials care about
what peers think. Yelp is a great
example of this. People decide where
to eat based on the reviews of others
that are similar to them in age and
lifestyle. I travel a lot for work. When I
go to a new city, I use Yelp to determine
what vegetarian-friendly restaurant to
patronize. I look at the customer photos,
read reviews and see how many people
have rated the restaurant.
A restaurant (or any other business)
should not use “stale” quotes or
testimonials in their advertising.
A business should use data to find
current customers that portray
their target customer and ask their
customers to give authentic feedback.
If a business is selling an online print
portal, it might find that buyers under
40 care about efficiency and user
profiling more than cost savings.

3. 13MARCH 2016PSDA.ORG
LINKINGVERVE
Quick to dump you: Millennials are
not super loyal. Whereas our parents
might buy a Volvo and stay loyal to
it for 30-plus years, we do not get as
attached to brands. We are open to
new products and experiences. We are
happy to try things out just once. If we
don’t like it, we are fine moving on.
We are quick to spot insecurity and
dishonestly. A business should use data in
an honest, respectful and meaningful way.
It’s important to have data on things
we like, our buying habits, how we
like to be marketed to (text, social
media, email, YouTube or in person)
and what information we need in
order to make a purchase. This data
can then be used to develop a more
targeted marketing campaign.
And if we dump a product quickly,
our feedback should be welcomed. A
business needs to find out why we left
and why we don’t continue to purchase
the product. This will help to make
changes so the business doesn’t lose
more customers.
Millennials like to be fully informed. I
leave you with a quote by the Dalai Lama:
“A lack of transparency results in distrust
and a deep sense of insecurity.” ■
Sarah Scudder is the chief growth officer at
The Sourcing Group.
Big data allows companies to build
relationships by getting millennials
to understand them at a very
personal level.