The youth market is one of the forces to reckon with for any business looking for brand loyalty and increased market share. While the youth market doesn’t have as much purchasing power as older generations with more years in the workplace, their population has grown rapidly over the years. Because of their tech savviness, they’re easily reachable yet more selective in the brands they associate with. Here are just a few of the many great ways you can connect with the youth market to expand your business.
1. Collaborate With Your Local Community
One of the best community-driven strategies to tap into local communities is to identify actual needs you can help meet. What better way to start than local schools and colleges? You can connect with young people there who influence marketing decisions. For example, say you are a shoe company. By collaborating with local college teams, you can show genuine interest in the youth, which will likely translate to more brand loyalty to your company.
You can also reach the youth market through NGOs directly working with youth dividends. For example, if an NGO focuses on helping youth transition from high school to college, donating to such NGOs can give you youth access, which can help you build brand loyalty. You can also work alongside NGOs to volunteer for causes that matter to youth.
2. Use Technology to Cultivate Young Brand Advocates
The youth market is tech-savvy. If you can make brand advocates out of the youth market, you can make tech-savvy, socially conscious advocates for your brand. This can be a cost-effective strategy considering that 29% of small businesses fail because of a lack of capital, according to CB Insights. Brand loyalty makes marketing easier because you’re reaching a warm audience.
One of the best ways to reach youth and make them your brand advocates is by making them part of your brand. Hire from the youth population and engage with influencers that resonate with this market. Find creative ways to reach your target audience using digital forums. A good strategy is creating sharable visuals such as memes, videos, and infographics.
3. Invest in Solutions That Directly Impact the Youth
When engaging with communities, look for solutions directly impacting youth success and their ability to thrive. Does your area have a high rate of juvenile crime? According to a study by Youth.gov, most youths who committed serious felonies reduced their offenses over time regardless of the interventions, while 92% reduced offense rates three years after encountering the juvenile system. These outcomes are hopeful, but they suggest a number of young people falling through the cracks. You can provide solutions that help young people avoid crime in the first place as well as support for those in the process of reforming themselves.
As you might imagine, education is also critical for the youth market. As such, you can consider developing solutions that ease the school-work transition or provide interventions the youth needs most, such as mentorship. The government has programs that allow mentorship between senior career professionals and students from disadvantaged backgrounds. By providing solutions, you position yourself as a caring and trustworthy brand.
4. Prioritize Good Business Practices That Resonate
Now more than ever, the youth market is socially conscious, wants personalized attention, and cares about more than the product. For example, according to Statista, in 2020, almost 70% of Gen Z and Millennials said they were more likely to buy from brands that offer customized products. Why not give them what they’re looking for? To tap into any market, it’s important to go the extra mile in responding to what the market wants.
In addition, Millennials and Gen Z across the board tend to invest their attention in sustainability, gender equality, and inclusion. If you want to reach them in a meaningful way, show that you care about these values. Ideally, your product will also show evidence of that. For example, if you’re a coffee shop, customize your coffee by showing the customer the journey this coffee has taken from farm to cup. Offer the coffee in eco-friendly cups, and you’ll be talking directly to the youth market.
To bring it all together, the youth market holds so much promise, but it’s also unique. Youths want to be wooed with personalized experiences and deep concern for more than profit-making and making the world a better and fairer place. Will you be that brand?
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