Today's Technology for Tomorrow's Firm.
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April 2016 • www.CPAPracticeAdvisor.com 5 MARKETING IN PRACTICE By Kristy Short, Ed.D Marketing to the New Boom Cross-generational challenges and complaints, let's be honest, don't exactly equate to a revolutionary discovery. Cultural diferences among age groups have always existed, and will continue to. Understanding these differences, however, can help frms beter market to this group of prospective clients. A quick aside: let it be known that while this article focuses on marketing to Millennials as prospective clients, the s a m e g u i d e s c a n b e a p p l i e d t o recruiting. Ya'dig? Cool. Moving on… Tips for bridging the gap Bridging the generational chasm isn't as hard as it may sound. It's really just about understanding your audience and adjusting your messaging to meet their needs and habits—the stuf of Marketing 101. Te following tips will help you in your eforts to fgure out the New Boom and how to market to this unique group. Put them in the picture Consider first that if Millennials, by their own admission, are "self-focused," then it makes sense to include them in your marketing message. Stats don't lie. A recent survey by a major Boston- based company indicated young adults will take more than 25,000 photos of themselves over their lifetime—place them in your picture. This can be accomplished in a few no-brainer ways: • Visuals—Show younger, entrepre - neurial-types in your advertising and other marketing collateral. It's kind of like a selfe. • Writen communications—Write for this group by emphasizing that you understand many of their needs, such as working from mobile devices, fex schedules, and their very clear need for freedom. • Explore all communication chan- nels—Don't just stick to the familiar communication channels (website, printed materials). Say what you have to say within multiple social channels. Mirror their confdence In general, today's younger generation exudes a great deal of confidence. Whether this is a result of parenting or the independence afforded via the internet and the abundance of social channels—Millennials don't seem to be afraid of putting themselves out there—everyday and everywhere. Do the same. Get out on Facebook , Google+, Twiter, Instagram, and other social channels and show the human, social side of your business. Don't be afraid to be confdent with who you are beyond the four walls of your frm. Communicate on a more personal, social level Piggy-backing on the last tip, the need to get personal cannot be overstated. While the next-generation of clients do respect structure and hierarchy, they also want to see the human side of business. So show them yours. Geting a bit more familiar will draw in this highly personal group, incentivizing them to learn more about your frm and your services. Tis is best accomplished via social media. Tese channels repre- sent strong vehicles for humanizing your business. Post personal photos of staf engaging in favorite hobbies, pics from events like open houses or staf parties, and other events that ofer a personal view inside your frm. W hi le on the subject , it 's al so important to create two-way dialogue within your social channels. Tis gives your followers the opportunity to speak to you and build rapport. A few creative ways to get the conversation started include running contests, inv iting viewers to rate your services, asking open-ended questions, responding to fol lower comments and shar ing. Essentially, be active in your channels… talk to people. Express a sense of community More than ever, smaller social groups are going the way of the VCR and people are becoming part of larger communities. Trust that Millennials will look for professional service frms that ofer a sense of community. It's done wonders for Apple. By providing an inside, personal look into your business and including staf in these eforts, you will create a sense of closeness and community. Millennials are probably the easiest group to analyze because they are out there in ever y possible channel— offering volumes of intelligence on which to draw. Stay tuned in and learn from this activity. From there it's much easier to adjust your messaging and marketing initiatives to attract this group (a group that now outnumbers Baby Boomers). No one is asking for you to compromise professionalism— but digging into your inner creative and getting personal is where it's at for Millennials. Kristy Short, Ed.D, is president of rwc360, LLC ( rwc360.com )— a frm dedicated to providing branding , marketing , and public relations services exclusively to the accounting profession. She is also a professor of English and marketing. Reach her at kristy@rwc360.com . M illennials have reached about 80 million strong and are estimated to spend more than $1 trillion annu- ally. A recent focus group also revealed a self-proclaimed tendency toward a "strong focus on self." Daily per - sonal updates on Facebook and Twitter, selfes on Instagram by the millions…yes, self-focus is certainly apparent, but what does it all mean to frms trying to atract the new generation of professionals?