Ronco Johnson knows financial planning. But when it comes to planning how to reach a critical set of potential customers, he mostly knows that he needs a new plan. That group is the Millennial Generation. Also known as Generation Y, this 80-million-strong legion of Americans born between 1982 and 2000 already exceeds the baby boomers in size and influence — and someday will rival them in affluence. Its a market no small business can afford to ignore.
Johnson, president and chief executive officer of L.R. Johnson & Associates, an insurance and financial services provider in Marietta, Ga., realized awhile back that his marketing tools and strategies would need an overhaul if he was going to have any hope of successfully reaching this huge market. “There is a big difference marketing financial services to Millennials,” he said.
For one thing, the pace of interactions is sped up until it resembles a cartoon chase. “They want their information now,” Johnson said. A series of 2-hour meetings in his office to discuss financial planning needs — de rigueur with older clients — is a nonstarter with Millennials.
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