Love or loathe the term “millennial”, this generation is impossible to ignore for many sectors, and we can now include accountancy in that.
As specialists in websites for accountants we have a wealth of data about how online users behave. Based on information from our clients’ websites, we see that the largest cohort of website visitors come from the millennial generation: that is those born between 1982 and 1996.
They now make up 50% of all visitors to our clients’ websites.
In fact, research by Xero in 2019 found that 38% of UK small business owners are 35 or younger, and 44% of all the accounting and bookkeeping services provided to small businesses were to under 35s.
So millennials matter to you right now and going forwards. But, speaking generally, what do their buying habits tell us about how to market to them? Here are five tips to help you be relevant and appealing.
Ensure you have a strong digital presence
Millennials are the first generation to be digitally native. This means that they grew up into adulthood with the Internet in their lives. They are comfortable in this space and are more likely than previous generations to make purchases online.
You may not be selling directly online with an eCommerce site, but make sure your website looks good, is easily navigable, and gives prospective clients all the information they need to sign up with you.
Performance-driven websites
Our results-focused websites for accountants are designed to attract your ideal clients, turn visitors into leads and enable your firm to measure your return on investment.
Have and communicate a corporate social responsibility policy
Millennials tend to put a higher premium on the values and current actions of brands than their history and tradition. And to be influenced more by social and environmental causes. Indeed, according to one survey, 57% of millennial women say that purchase decisions are driven by a brand’s values.
So getting behind some good causes yourself and promoting your actions will help to connect with this generation. When doing this it is, of course, essential to be authentic.
Give your millennial employees a voice
Forbes observes that millennials favour their own instincts or follow recommendations given by peers. They are wary of parental advice and that of professionals.
With that in mind and knowing the value that your firm delivers in a professional advisory capacity, you might consider that one way to bridge this gap is to give your millennial employees a platform to engage with the market. This could be through blog authorship attribution, webinars and (when permitted) at networking events.
Create a client centric experience
While millennials are influenced heavily by values, they tend to be loyal to those companies which give them a good experience. You may achieve this by having a well-functioning website, tailoring packages to suit their businesses, being responsive, and engaging regularly with them through good content, for instance.
Win more millennial clients with PracticeWeb
With our industry insight and decades of experience in marketing for accountants, we are perfectly placed to help you position your firm to the significant demographic of millennials.
Get in touch to see how we can help you build your lead generation funnel and win more millennial clients.
