Anyone trying to promote a hospitality business, whether it’s a bar, restaurant or café, may be wondering which demographic could prove most lucrative. As those who seem to take up most seats in a café or bar, the Millennials may seem the obvious choice, but is marketing to this demographic as hard as herding cats? Or is this group’s dedication to brand loyalty a trick that’s simply missed by too many companies?
Marketing to Millennials
A ‘Millennial’ is someone loosely defined as being born between 1982 and 2004. Marketers often refer to the challenges of marketing to this demographic – a group that has more access to information than any generation before them. Competition for their attention is fierce and global. This is why the term ‘herding cats’, which quite simply refers to a challenging or frustrating task, is what marketing or advertising to this group is so often compared to.
However, there’s good news out there for those operating within the food and drink industry – most particularly chain coffee shops and restaurants. According to a recent study by Aimia, Millennials may in fact have more brand loyalty than any other group.
Loyalty Research
The findings of the study are based on the answers of over 2000 respondents. The research found that 62% of Millennials call themselves loyal to certain restaurants and cafes, whilst less than half of those aged 45-59 felt the same. This significant difference could be a key factor when it comes to targeting this group. Millennials are also more than twice as likely to own loyalty cards to cafes or restaurants (31%) compared to 45-54-year-olds (14%).The research also found that this group were far more likely to share their details with companies in exchange for offers and coupons.
So for those setting up a new restaurant or café, this could be vital information. Of course, a new restaurant of café will need to focus on the tangible things first – for example, finding high-quality equipment from food machinery auctioneers such as clarkefussellsfoodmachinerybrokers and getting the décor right. But once marketing begins at full throttle, could you be missing a trick by not investing in Millennial brand loyalty?
Far from herding cats, building the loyalty of Generation Y could be a simple, straightforward and strategic approach to getting customers through the door time and again.