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By Talia Mashiach - Eved CEO, Founder & Product Architect
It’s no surprise to anyone in the business world that today’s workforce is changing. Boomers and Xers are making room for Millennials, the generation comprised of anyone born in the early 1980s to the early 2000s.
A recent article in Wall Street Journal noted a challenge that the retail industry is facing as they struggle to attract Millennials into the malls. This generation prioritizes experiences like dining out or a trip away, over the latest handbag or video game.
What’s interesting about this trend is that it not only creates a new way for companies to look at incentivizing their own people (e.g. creating live experiences to reward employees vs. handing out gifts), but also indicates companies that sell into other businesses need to start thinking about what is going to change when Millennials make up a majority of their decision-making customers.
What will this look like? Faster than any other generation before them, Millennials will rise to management and jobs with responsibility such as purchasing. Why? Because these are the kinds of positions this generation is seeking. When they get those responsibilities to make decisions on what they will buy on behalf of their company and not just for themselves, the same values will apply. This introduces a new challenge and way of thinking. As a B2B business, how will you get this generation’s attention by creating experiences around your product?
Live Events #FTW
There is no greater marketing channel than live events to create the experience these Millennials are seeking. Event creators have a significant opportunity to flex their creative muscles and really connect with a new audience that is amenable to this channel. Live events have been around for decades, but they are just starting to be recognized for what they truly deliver, one of the best returns on marketing investment over any other channel. This will become even more dominant as the Millennials become the customer.
What do you need to do to be prepared for this huge shift? Start by asking yourself the following questions:
- How are events organized in your organization?
- Do you know what you spend?
- Is your event team filled with logistical meeting planners or content filled experience builders?
- Are they still using excel, email, PowerPoint and fax to manage and procure services from suppliers?
- Can you strategically look at your spend data and know where the right investments are?
- Are you scoring your current events?
- How many leads are generated, how many of them convert, what are the key things that happen at an event that convert those leads to sales?
If you don’t know this information, you are already behind the 8 ball and it’s time to focus on getting your events in order. The good news is… Eved can help. Contact us to learn more.
View original and other blog posts on Eved.
