12 • OIL
&
ENERGY
ARE YOU READY FOR THE MILLENNIALS?
At 90 million strong, the generation
born between 1980 and 2000 is
the largest in U.S. history. The
pioneers among them have already
purchased homes, and their peers
are right behind them, poised to
take on mortgages and become your
newest home comfort customers.
Their life experience differs from pre-
vious generations in important ways. Many
of them grew up with the Internet and
entered adulthood texting on smartphones.
They have experienced the worst economy
since the Great Depression. They have been
bombarded with advertising messages all
their lives, and they possess a sophisticated
understanding of social media.
They arrive with new expectations and
assumptions, and, like every generation
before them, they are most attracted to
companies that understand what they want.
Within 10 years, many of the homes you
serve today will be owned by Millennials.
Will you have what it takes to attract them?
PRODUCTS OF THEIR TIMES
To understand them, it helps to think
about the world they know. “We forget how
tough it is right now for these young GenYs
to have a down payment,” Greg Tsujimoto,
manager at JohnBurns Real EstateConsulting
in Irvine, Calif., told
USA Today
recently.
“They have student debt. Another obstacle is
finding and establishing their careers.”
Better Homes & Garden Real Estate
recently conducted a survey of 1,000 adults
ages 18 to 35 and came away with some
interesting findings. “Results indicate that
the next generation of homeowners
seeks essential, purposeful homes
(77 percent) equipped with the
technological capabilities they have
grown accustomed to, as opposed
to stereotypical luxury homes pre-
ferred by many in their parents’ gen-
eration,” the company stated in announcing
the results. “The findings also demonstrate
that 82 percent of ‘Millennials’ surveyed
embrace their independence with gusto
and prefer to handle home improvements
on their own instead of turning to their
parents for money; a stark contrast to the
general misconception that paints young
Americans as coddled or entitled.”
Reading between the lines, I found myself
wondering how these luxury-shunning,
DIY-minded, young homeowners would
respond to heating oil prices that vary by
$0.80 or $0.90 per gallon from company to
company on a given day. They’ll know how
to find price information online, and many
will probably be loath to pay anything but a
discount price.
As homes in their markets turn over,
full-service dealers could lose business to
discount providers if they don’t modify
their pricing structures and/or make a
convincing case for the full-service model.
There could be significant opportunity
ahead for companies that can develop and
market an innovative sales model that offers
attractive, alternative pricing without gut-
ting their margins.
THE PRICE IS RIGHT
Given the hard times they have experi-
enced since 2008, Millennial homeowners
can be expected to behave like their
Depression Baby grandparents and watch
every penny. Companies might look to
price their oil near the bottom of the market
and build far-reaching service relationships
with these new customers. Perhaps the
service contract will be priced higher, or
customers who choose it will get a discount
on their oil price.
Whatever approach you choose, be
straightforward. This generation has seen
every advertising and marketing tactic in the
book, and they are likely to respond more
favorably to straight talk than sales talk.
“Millennials are a skeptical bunch,” David
Wells, founder of Inbound Now, recently
told
HubSpot.com
. “If there is a bunch of
marketing/sales jargon behind a specific
product, an alarm immediately goes off.”
Given Millennials’ skepticism about
communications from corporate entities,
companies may want to increase their
use of non-traditional marketing, such as
informational content that builds on their
expertise. That could take the form of a blog
that features truly informative posts about
home comfort and the company’s other
specialties, such as indoor air quality.
By publishing sound expert advice and
information, optimizing it for search and
announcing it in social media channels, you
are engaging in inbound marketing, which
is the practice of attracting customers while
they search for information.
Marketing
The Millennials Are Coming
Home comfort companies must adapt to succeed with the new generation of homebuyers
By Richard Rutigliano, PriMedia Inc.
Continued …
