B2B Monday Myth: Your Marketing Should Target Boomers and Gen Xers || Mascola B2B Marketing

B2B Monday Myth: Your Marketing Should Target Boomers and Gen Xers

The Myth: B2B Marketing to Millenials doesn’t work. Brands Should Only Target Baby Boomers and Generation X

The Truth: Millennials Are Making B2B Decisions

It’s no surprise that millennials, those of us born between 1977 and 1995, are influencing many of the trends in B2B marketing. Yet many B2B marketers still believe that this generation is not responsible for making any B2B purchasing decisions. If your company is concentrating marketing efforts solely on Boomers and Gen Xers, you may be surprised to learn these 3 facts about B2B marketing to millennials:

3 Surprising Facts About B2B Marketing to Millennials

46% of B2B researchers today are under 35. According to a 2015 Think With Google report, millennials are playing increasingly important roles in researching purchases and making buying decisions for their companies. If you’re not taking millennials into consideration in your content and media choices, you could be losing more sales than you realize.
Your website is the second most important part of vendor research. After search engines, a B2B vendor’s website is the most important part of the research process in the eyes of millennials. And as a generation that was raised online, millennials are going to expect more from your website than, well, just a website. It needs to be mobile friendly. After all, 42% of B2B research is being done on a mobile device.
Millennials value case studies and white papers. When nearly 1,500 millennials involved in B2B buying decisions were asked which content format was most important when researching a purchase, video unsurprisingly came out on top at 29%. What was surprising, however, were the next two choices: case studies (19%) and white papers (16%). The common misconception that millennials aren’t interested in long-form B2B content is just that: a misconception. That being said, it is wise to return to your existing materials and give them a refresher with a younger audience in mind, in particular, making them easy to find on your website.

When it comes down to it, the motive of B2B marketing is to reach those who would be interested in what you have to offer. Why rule out a generation whose influence has steadily been growing in the industry? Good luck reaching this growing audience and Happy Monday!