If you are like most Realtors, you spend a lot of time reading think pieces on Millennials, that huge, virtually untapped market just waiting to buy their first home. Young, highly educated, and often with a fairly large down payment saved up from time spent living back home after college, these young consumers are driving the discussion of everything from selling sodas to selling vacations to selling real estate. They are the market to watch.
However, all of those studies and all of those trend articles say the same thing: Millennials are hard to market to. They are savvy, they’ve seen it all, and they tend to do what they want, when they want, the way they want to do it. However, this should not lead you to the conclusion that marketing to Millennials is impossible. You just have to go about it differently. Here then, a few things to think about as you approach this desirable market.
- Service is key. According to Inman, “Gen Y comprises the largest share of home buyers at 32 percent, which is larger than all baby boomers combined. [They are] also the largest share of first-time buyers at 68 percent.” That means that you have a huge market with relatively little experience of the ins and outs of residential real estate purchasing. Millennials might know what they want, but you are the expert who knows how to help. Taking care of and educating these consumers is key to winning their trust and helping them to make good choices as they buy. Don’t think of yourself as a salesperson. Think of yourself as a teacher and connect with these younger clients in that way. Give them the benefit of your experience and expertise to help them “win” the home of their dreams.
- There is no such thing as too much information. This is a generation that is highly educated and used to doing their own research on the fly. They crave information so that they can make good decisions. Your job is to help provide that information in a way that is convenient for them and to help them make sense of all of the data out there. The more they know, the more they can feel good about the decisions they are making.
- Community is paramount. Millennials are part of complex network of family and friends and they are in constant communication with them. Their down payment may include gift funds from family. They may be purchasing with a best friend rather than a significant other. And every step of their journey to home ownership will be recorded on multiple social media platforms (the good, the bad, and the ugly). While this adds complexity to their process, it can mean a lot of free advertisement for you as you connect with all of the various players in the process.
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