Marketing to Millennials: Avoid the Hard Sell
by Harvey Chipkin /Experience and experiential may be the most overused words in travel right now – but when it comes to the millennial market, those words have real meaning and impact.
“The key thing with millennials is not to focus on the product – the price, the hotels, the coaches, the logistics – but to focus on the experience,” said Melissa da Silva, president for U.S. operations at Contiki.
“They want to know what they will be doing that makes a trip something they will remember for the rest of their lives.”
Learning about millennials
While Contiki has always targeted a younger market, tour operators who traditionally target older travelers have had to study this segment. One of those operators is Globus, where Jennifer Halboth, director of channel marketing, has spent a lot of time trying to understand what millennials want.
Travel Market Report spoke with da Silva and Halboth to learn how millennials differ in their attitudes to travel – and how understanding those attitudes can help agents sell to them. Here’s what they had to say about how to reach – and talk to – this increasingly important market.
Yes, they do use agents
Despite common perceptions, millennials are open to working with travel agents, and many do.
More than half of Contiki’s business comes through agents, according to da Silva, who sees millennials catching up to baby boomers in their usage of travel agents.
“They do a lot of research on our site, but at some point they want to talk to someone who is an expert – and that frequently means a travel agent. “
Halboth also noted millennials openness to working with agents. She recently addressed a university club where a student raised his hand and said he simply couldn’t find a low airfare to Brazil. She suggested a travel agent might know about air consolidators; the student was happy to hear it.
Avoid the hard sell
Halboth cautioned that selling to millennials isn’t as cut and dried as when a baby boomer comes to an agent saying, “I have this budget; construct a trip for me,” Halboth said.
If millennials feel like they are being sold to, they will tune out, Halboth said. “But if you’re adding value or simply helping millennials, rather than selling, they will get on board.”
Da Silva also stressed avoiding a hard sell. “Millennials don’t want to be marketed to – they simply won’t respond to an ad. That’s why videos are huge, and we are investing heavily in them. We revamped our trade website to allow agents to use our videos and photos.”
When recommending a trip to millennials, it’s important to reinforce to them the value of the experience.
“They want to know what the rewards of the trip will be. They – or their parents, as is usually the case in the U.S. – are investing significant time and money and want to see the value of doing that,” da Silva said.
Generate word of mouth
More than three-quarters of millennials are influenced in their travel choices by their friends, according to da Silva. “Agents need to make their customers advocates for their services and, in turn, for products like ours.
“If one millennial takes a trip and has a good experience, they will share it on social media – and that’s really valuable.”
Not surprisingly, budgets are tight for many millennials. So if an agent can figure out a way to get them somewhere – like a cheap ticket to Brazil – they will share their raves about the agent with their many online friends.
“Don’t always think of a big commission. Think longer term,” said Halboth. “At some point they will have money.”
Make it social
One way to appeal to younger travelers is to look at providing trips for groups of friends, since millennials are really inclusive and love to meet their contemporaries, Halboth said.
“They will even be happy to travel with people they don’t know. If an agent tells a young person that they can get a free seat with a group of 10, that would be a real incentive.”
Contiki has an app called Shout that enables clients to connect with other group members before departures. It also allows them to keep a journal and post pictures of their trips. Contiki also has designed its trips to give travelers opportunities to do “cool stuff” that they can share on social media.
Halboth suggested that agents reach out via social media with an invitation for a cup of coffee and conversation about travel at a nearby Starbucks. Use the occasion to learn what millennials are looking for and where they want to go, she advised.
Tap the parent connection
Agents can also reach millennials through their parents. Unlike earlier generations who saw their parents as authority figures, millennials are friends with their parents and will even listen to their advice, Halboth said.
“If you can tap into Gen X or boomer clients who have millennial kids, that can be your pathway to them. When you’re speaking with the parents, tell them the agent is there to handle the kinds of trips [their children] might want to take.”
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