Millennials: A Conundrum or Opportunity for Re-Building Brand Trust?

Recently I was interviewed by William Arruda, founder of the pioneering personal branding firm, Reach 360. Much of the discussion, fed by insightful questions, concerned that elusive generation, the millennials (those born after 1980), and how their unique expectations and usage behavior are changing the marketing tactics for many companies.

How are millennials different from other generations? Where to start! They are significantly more tech savvy, so independent that it is difficult for many to work on a team, more entrepreneurial and creative, and sometimes work-shy. A 2011 study of millennials by Harvard Interactive found that the number one motivator for a successful career was not money, but “a sense of meaning”. For some high growth companies, they dominate the workforce and are the primary drivers for innovation. At Tata Consulting Services (TCS) in India, the millenials make up 70% of their 240,000 employees.

Perhaps the biggest difference is their lack of trust in advertising and leadership, which effects how they make purchase decisions. The level of trust in societies around the world is in serious decline, and millennials are in the forefront of this trust epidemic. The latest Edelman Trust Barometer and other recent studies report that:

• Trust in government officials declined from 52% in 2011 to 38% today
• Similarly only 43% of people trust CEO’s, compared to 59% in 2011.
• While 50% trust business in general, only 13% trust their leadership
• Only 14% of people trust advertisements (source: Socialnomics)
• Among millennials, only 6% consider online advertising credible

On the other hand, the emotion of trust is critical for buying decisions. According to Edelman, 73% of consumers base these decisions on trust. It is even more important among millennials: 92% say trust plays the most important role on who influences them online.

Here is the big challenge for business: How do you re-gain and enhance these trust perceptions, and in particular, leverage the influence of millenials whose distrust in advertising is so pervasive, yet their trust for the advice of friends online is crucial for their purchase decisions.

The first step for business leaders is to acknowledge this problem, and understand more completely the drivers and manifestations of this declining trust. This will require focused research to really understand and define the problem, and to establish a base for future monitoring once a concerted trust-building effort is initiated.

Any solution must focus on the content or message to be communicated to target customers. This requires a fresh assessment of a company or product brand and its communications platform. To capture the hearts (and wallets) of millennials who are constantly communicating online, one has to dig deep to determine their “sweet spots” and key drivers that will lead to more relevant content and help shape a new brand impression. These millennials will simply not share any information (i.e. the content) with their peers unless it is distinct, captivating and compelling, or being “buzzworthy”.

So how does one go about building a program to strengthen trust? We recommend a 3 step approach, ideally developed with a fresh perspective and an outside expert:

1. Re-visit Value Proposition – in most cases, the brand positioning has not been updated for many companies, and hence is no longer vibrant or relevant enough. This first step should establish a strategic framework and take a new look at current market dynamics to re-define a brand’s value proposition, to make it more distinct from competition and more exciting to target customers.
2. Quality Research – your customer is always the best source for determining if there is a problem of trust and also finding new insights and behavioral drivers. Today there are more research options, including cost effective methods online (e.g. examine and monitor chat room discussions, online surveys, etc.). Whatever the technique, the focus must be on identifying those emotional drivers for today’s behavior, especially as they pertain to the brand trust.
3. New Ideas – creativity has been cited as the most important quality by CEO’s around the world for future success. A new culture of innovation will go a long way to provide a steady flow of new ideas that would enrich the content communicated via social media. The old business models were turned upside down from this recent recession, so businesses must open their minds to different ways to reach and win over their customers. We have found that well-organized ideation sessions can stimulate creativity and help change the innovative style of most companies. Importantly new ideas are essential for shaping more relevant promises or offers that will restore trust in a brand.

“Brand Trust” will be the most important challenge for many companies (and governments) in the future. Focusing on connecting with the millennials with new branding strategies can provide the necessary impetus for future success and re-building trust for your brand. Are you positive that your value proposition or content is truly meaningful enough today for this high potential market segment?

Image Credit: Victor1558 – CC BY 2.0