Don’t Miss The Boat – We are not a “cheap” generation.

by Sherwin Su  | @sherwinsu

Here is an article I wrote for AMP Agency. It was shortened for technical reasons so I'm sharing the entire thing here. This one's for my fellow millennials! 

If there’s one thing you should know about the millennial generation, it’s that we often feel misunderstood. Add to the fact how there is always a stereotype perception that our generation is mostly different from others in terms of how we behave, think about and interact with different people, brands and things in general, truth be told, we are essentially very similar with every other generation.

The difference though is the abundance of emerging technological and cultural inventions and innovations over time which surrounded the environment we grew up in - the environment that shaped our lifestyle, behavior and perspective of the world we now live in.

In an age where so much information is accessible and abundant, it should be no surprise that the millennial generation will know more about a brand or product even before the actual physical encounter, and this totally influences the way we formulate and generate our purchasing decisions. Our generation decides not solely based on what’s cheap, but on what’s most cost efficient. To say that price is the major determinant is like missing the bull’s eye on how our generation behaves as consumers, and generally as people.

We are a value-oriented generation. The reason why we would rent Zipcars over buying our own autos is due to the many factors that influence our assessment of how much our decision would cost (in terms of price, convenience, safety, etc), and how much value we would benefit from it in terms of functional and emotional value.

What would be interesting to focus on rather than hastily generalizing is the process of understanding not just where, but why and how we spend – the much more complex and simultaneous process of making our buying decisions, because renting Zipcars over buying a real car, purchasing songs on iTunes and getting books on Amazon over traditional stores, and searching on Google over the dictionary is not only cheaper, but also much more convenient, efficient, environmentally-friendly and the list goes on. I would argue that it is value (which is influenced by a lot of internal and external factors) that drives us beyond mere price. 

We are actually a very expensive generation. Ask any millennial what their favorite brands or products are, and you would hear the most popular, exclusive and expensive brands out there. Although we may not be the actual buyer, we also take the role of being key influencers to those who possess the buying power – parents, working class, etc. Truth be told, sometimes, we even spend more than what we earn.

Take it from a certified mother of two. AMP VP for Media Services, Elaine Tocci mentioned that her kids nowadays are not only more aware of luxury brands, but also have the desire to always remain in the loop for the latest trends, and guess who has to make the purchase? Not the millennial, but (you got it!) mother dearest. Truly, the millennial generation is an influential group of peeps.

Moreover, looking at things from a more proactive standpoint, our generation’s behavior (which was shaped by previous generations’ decisions) is actually a catalyst to innovation. It is our value determination process that continues to challenge marketers and brands to be more creative and out-of-the-box with their strategies. Our generation will not settle for products that are unable to fulfill our expectations and provide value, and this is a means of quality control that will weed out the good brands from those that are not, and marketers just have to be persistent about understanding behavior.

Indeed, the aforementioned cycle of ‘understanding’ every new generation’s behavior will continue to change just as each generation will continue to innovate and shape the environment for that of the future, and soon before you know it, a new generation will takeover, and hence give rise to new behaviors and buying patterns, a potential overhaul of strategies and a shift and demand in understanding consumer behavior based on the new available mediums and environment.

So don’t miss the boat, because you’ll never know, the next generation might just leave everyone else behind.