Whataya Want From Me?

By Allison McGuire

We Millennials have been accused of many things. (Lazy, selfish, soulless, greedy, to name a few.) While I’ve already written a rebuttal to some of those myths, I thought I’d put the question to you:

What do you want from your Millennial customers and employees? Check out how a couple of our attributes can tie directly to your cause portfolio, allowing you to capitalize on both our passion and engagement.

Commitment to cause = Attachment to reputable brands

Consumers: Millennial consumers are disproportionately interested in supporting brands that are tied to cause. “Almost 70 percent say that giving back and being civically engaged are their highest priorities,” says Leigh Buchanon in Meet the Millennials. That nugget is not to be underestimated when you’re targeting a Gen Y audience. In addition, while Edelman’s goodpurpose study found 73% of global consumers will switch to a cause-related brand over one without cause ties, remember Millennials are even more interested in CSR than any previous generation.

Employees: If you want to recruit and retain top Millennials, remember that your brand’s cause portfolio is a deciding factor at the top of our list. When the Tory Burch company interviewed potential employees, they realized a funny thing—interviewees were drawn to the company's cause work:

“[Our philanthropic work] is attracting amazing talent. When we interview people, one of the first things they bring up is the [Tory Burch] foundation. They bring it up. We don’t. And that’s really exciting.” 

The reputation of your brand is of utmost importance. A study on Millennials and the workplace found that when a company’s reputation suffers, so does employee moral. In fact, “employer reputation is the most frequent engagement threat.” [emphasis mine] A reputable brand, however, gives employees bragging rights and increases loyalty. If you want employees to be your ardent supporters, keep up the good work.

What's another attribute, and how does it connect to your Millennial consumers and employees?

Read on, via CompaniesforGood.org