What Do Millennials want: The Answers Might Surprise You

Editor: Philip Ragner | Tactical Investor

What do millennials want

Raised to view folks of their parents’ and grandparents’ age as their equals, they can be startlingly outspoken with grey-haired superiors. Wondrously tech-savvy, they’re also connection-obsessed, so you shouldn’t take it personally when they text their friends while talking to you. If you’re the one being texted, they expect a prompt reply. Older advisors (or bosses) will find them impatient and unhappy with waiting for things that could be done more quickly.

Kol Birke, a senior vice president and financial behaviour specialist at Commonwealth Financial Network, believes that many brash-seeming millennials with nonconformist work habits are simply seeking a better quality of life. “A common myth is that this is a lazy, entitled, self-absorbed, feedback-needing generation,” he said. “I think much of that comes from millennials being brave about asking for a world we might all enjoy, such as flexibility in where and when they work.”

At heart, then, what they want isn’t so unusual. “In many ways, the millennials are like the generations who have come before them,” says Angie Herbers, advisor consultant and IA columnist. “They want to be able to provide for their families. They want to achieve their personal goals. They want to have stability in their financial situation. They want personal interaction and customization.”

So far, so good. But as more millennials develop their individual money lives, it’s apparent that many — perhaps most — hesitate to seek professional advice. Trying to reach out to them is tricky because they’re so deeply embedded in the online bazaar and social interchanges they invented. Full Story

What do millennials want? Climate Change is A big Issue

Fifty per cent of the world’s population is under the age of 30. This is the highest youth population in history, and the latest World Economic Forum Global Shapers Survey (covering more than 30,000 individuals under 30 from 186 countries) tells us what today’s young leaders think about our world and their place in it.

So, what are the essential insights we should be acting on in 2018?

Firstly, the millennial generation views climate change and conflict as the most critical issues we face.

In addition to these priorities, young people feel their voice is not being heard, as 55.9% of respondents to the survey disagreed with the statement: “In my country, young people’s views are considered before important decisions are taken”.

How can we address some of those pressing concerns while ensuring that our young leaders actually have a say in the decisions that will shape our future?

On climate change, it’s clear that rapid implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 13 – “to combat climate change and its impacts” – is a basic prerequisite at the level of national policy planning. However, deciding what precise actions to take across all levels of society to combat climate change is a more open-ended question.

Some would say the technological answers to climate change are already in our hands, but, in the words of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s lead author Dr Leon Clark: “We really have no sense of what it would take to deploy them at scale.”

Peter Thiel, the entrepreneur who has co-founded or invested in some of the world’s leading companies, such as PayPal and Facebook, is sceptical about attempts to replicate the world’s largest innovation hub: “It is not even clear why Silicon Valley works. It is a singular thing, it is one time, one place… then I always think that once you have set out to copy something you have already put yourself in somewhat of an inferior position”.

Even with generous government grants and tax benefits, ambitious attempts to create new tech hubs, such as London’s Tech City, have failed to live up to expectations. To put this in perspective, according to The Spectator: “Facebook, which was founded in 2004, is worth about twice as much as the 40 European unicorns [start-ups valued at a billion dollars or more] put together”.

If our mission is to reduce youth unemployment and social conflicts, then a better strategy would play to the strengths of particular regions with solutions tailored to local needs. Full Story

Millennials Want It All

Too often, millennials are condemned for their high expectations on the job, especially by the baby boomers who are doing the hiring. Younger workers want more family time, well-paying jobs, rapid promotions and raises, praise for their performance, respect from colleagues, and the chance to make a difference in the world. (I bet older workers want all that too!) Are millennials being realistic or are they reaching for the impossible dream?

Let’s start with the family. Both men and women are looking for better work-life balance. They want more time for family — and it’s time for this kind of movement. Data show that United States workers put in more hours than any other country in the world. Many people are overworked, and studies demonstrate that this can actually have long-term physical and psychological problems. So, why shouldn’t this generation challenge such a harried lifestyle? Especially because, despite some opinions to the contrary, they are unbelievably productive, fast-track workers who know how to leverage technology to get the job done.

A lucrative career is also on their wishlist. Sixty-five per cent of respondents in a survey by Bentley’s Center for Women and Business says that being successful in a high-paying career or profession is important. This is particularly true when it comes to ensuring their family’s financial security, building long-term wealth and learning new skills. In addition to climbing the corporate ladder, this relationship-oriented generation wants mutual respect; they want to know that they’re valued.

Millennials also want to know that the work they’re doing is impacting the world and that the money they make will contribute to society and the economy. Eighty-four per cent of survey respondents say that “knowing I am helping to make a positive difference in the world is more important to me than professional recognition.” Full Story

Give Millennials What They Want?

It happened in 2016: The number of living millennials in the U.S. surpassed the number of living baby boomers, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. As these millennials have aged and taken on new work experiences, their spending power has grown. In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Millennials are now spending almost 80% of what their baby boomer counterparts spend annually — and that number is projected to grow. So it’s no surprise that marketers are clamouring to understand how to build companies, products and services that millennials will gravitate toward.

As marketers, how we do that hinges upon truly understanding our millennial customers. After years of working on brands and products targeted toward this demographic, I’ve had the opportunity to conduct copious amounts of primary market research (and pore over numerous secondary market research studies) and have found a common thread among millennials regardless of industry or product type: Millennials want to do business with companies that care about the causes they care about.

This means that socially conscious brands have the opportunity to capture the hearts, minds and wallets of that elusive millennial demographic by building a values-based brand: a brand that spends its marketing dollars developing programs that advance their customers’ lives as well as their communities — outside of the products and services they provide. Full Story