Strategies for food ingredient suppliers to engage the new millennial customers

Next Generation

The Changing Customer LandscapeWith the population aging and millennials becoming a more-than-

dominant presence in the workforce, the customer landscape we are all used

to is changing. In 2015, more than one in three American workers were

millennials (Fry, 2015), and, by 2020, they will make up 46%—almost half

of the workforce in the U.S. (“A Millennial Mindset,” 2015). Th e customers

with whom you have 20-year relationships with and whose kids’ names you

know have begun to dwindle and are being replaced with new faces that you

neither know how to communicate with, relate to or recognize. Th e days of

taking your customer on family trips or golf outings or to have drinks with

aft er work are coming to an end and are being replaced with short texts

and unanswered phone calls. Who are these millennials, and how do you

communicate and build business relationships with them?

In our work with ingredient suppliers, we have heard the same thing many

times: that the customers you have done business with and had relationships

with for many years have moved on or retired and have been replaced with

a new customer, oft en a millennial. Th ere is a disconnect between you and

them, due mainly to diff ering communication styles. We have done a great

deal of research to try and fi nd the answer and have found plenty of articles

on millennials—ranging in content from their traits, values and how to retain

them as employees. What we didn’t fi nd was any information on millennials

as a customer/client. So we decided to create this meta-study by doing in-

depth research, discovering correlations and deducing answers and solutions

to this looming problem.

Th is study is meant to be used as a tool by our food ingredient clients to

help them better understand, communicate and build relationships with

their millennial customers. It is important to know millennials’ values

and attributes in order to understand them as business clients. Many of

their personal beliefs and characteristics transfer to their demeanor in the

workplace. Within this study, we will share with you our fi ndings; how this

translates to your relationship with your millennial customer; and how to use

this information to communicate and grow these relationships.

They will make up almost half of the workforce in the U.S.

46% BY 20

20

Who Are Millennials?Millennials are classified as a person born between 1980 and 2000. In 2016,

they range between the ages of 16 to 36. (Egan, 2015). This large age range

makes millennials a very diverse generation. While some are still living at

home and just getting out of school, others are established in their career,

married and have kids. As consumers, millennials are affecting trends as

well as creating them. They grew up with brand choice, meaning they don’t

have that same nostalgia for one brand as past generations did. They tend to

explore a variety of options rather than sticking to one (Klein, 2016). Their

eating preferences, habits and values have especially affected food trends.

They choose to spend their money on unprocessed, organic, all-natural food,

and the direct result can be seen in the rise of health-centric grocery stores

such as Whole Foods, Sprouts and Trader Joe’s (Martin, 2015). While their effect on trends as consumers seems to be the main focal point for many, the less-talked-about effect of millennials is how they are changing the business customer relationship status quo.

1980-2000

Millennials’ Traits and Attributes DecodedWe have all heard the stereotypical millennial traits, whether they are

referencing millennials as consumers, their food trends and choices, what

they are like as an employee or in their personal lives. Common words thrown

around related to millennials are “lazy,” “entitled,” “addicted to technology,”

“parent-dependent” and so on, but what is the truth and what do these mean

for us as we try to build business relationships with them?

of millennials text more than

they talk on their phones.

Technologically SavvyOne of the most prominent traits of millennials is that they are

technologically savvy. “It is a generation of consumers defined by the digital

world that they’ve known since infancy” (Solomon, 2013). They grew up

with technology, they have the newest devices and they use technology as a

tool: to communicate, shop, make reservations, write reviews, find products

and so on. In your business interactions, you should be utilizing the same

technology for communications with your millennial customers, whether it

is through text, email or social media outlets. Millennials tend to be excellent

multitaskers, and this is due to their ability to communicate quickly through

technology.

Limit phone calls and in-person meetings—these are considered “old-fashioned” and decrease productivity.

Online Shopping

of millennials in theU.S. follow a companyor brand on Twitter.66%

Along the same lines as technology is the millennial’s tendency as a consumer to shop online and read

reviews before making purchasing choices. Once again, we see millennials utilizing technology to their

advantage. “Raised on the internet and undeterred by technology, millennials expect their favorite food

companies, retailers and brands to understand and cater to their characteristics and behaviors. Many of their

daily brand interactions occur on smartphones and mobile apps, and they assume brands will have a robust

online and mobile presence” (“Fuel Rewards,” 2016). By shopping online, they are able to make a sometimes

tedious process quick and easy, as well as fi nd out a plethora of information about a product, including how

other people liked or disliked it, before purchasing. As a business, you not only need to have a really great

online presence (including a website, Twitter account, Facebook page and Instagram), but you also need for

your presence to be interactive. Th e same idea should be utilized in your personal life.

As a company, be involved by responding to reviews and tweets that are

interactive by endorsing your millennial customers.

Online SearchesTh e way a millennial client searches for a product has evolved from calling a

sales contact to “googling” it—once again due to technology’s overwhelming

presence in their lives. Why call someone who may not have the specifi c item

you need when you can just type it into the search bar and receive 20 diff erent

options instantaneously? “89% of B2B researchers use the internet during

the B2B research process. 18- to 34-year olds accounted for almost half of all

researchers, in 2014, an increase of 70% from 2012” (Hilal, P. & Snyder, K., 2015).

Make sure your company is leaving a “big footprint” online.

Social MediaSocial media has had a major role in the way millennials communicate.

“Millennials tend to take a brisker approach to business communication—

short and to the point” (Eisenhauer, 2015). Th e most common ways of

communication are texting, email, Facebook messages or posts, direct

message on Twitter and, more recently, Snapchatting. “Th is generation grew

up in a completely digital age. Th ey have the highest social media networking

penetration of any generation and the highest corresponding Facebook and

Twitter user rates. Over half of Twitter users are millennials” (Egan, 2015).

Carefully monitor all of your company’s social media sites, keep content up to date and be concise and to the point.

(Eisenhauer, 2015)

Work-life BalanceWhen it comes to millennials’ work lives, there are several traits that stand

out, and work-life balance is a major one. Millennials want work-life balance.

You may have heard of the phrase “work to live, not live to work.” “Millennials

are less willing than baby boomers to make their work lives an exclusive

priority” (Moritz, 2014). Th is is important for several reasons, and it aff ects

the form and time of communication with your millennial customer. “It

means having more fl exibility with your schedule. With work-life integration

philosophy, companies trust their employees to get their work done,

Utilize written communication. This way your millennial customers can respond easily and when they are available.

regardless of how many hours they log in at the offi ce or where they’re getting

their work done” (“Th e Millennial Shift ,” 2016).

Recognition and FeedbackThe other important work trait is recognition and feedback. This stems from a

personal trait of millennials, which is their tendency to be parent-dependent.

Millennials grew up with helicopter parents, who not only were very involved

in their lives but guided them every step of the way. “Millennials are overly

connected to their parents. As they move through their twenties, they still speak to

their parents frequently and turn to their parents for personal and career advice”

(Klass & Lindenberger). They were given participation awards and some may say

coddled, which is why they crave more frequent recognition and feedback.

“Millennials

Let your client know that you appreciate their business as well as asking if you could be doing anything to better help them. “Feedback is now a two-way street, and the frequency with which feedback is given needs to increase” (Schiefelbein, 2016).

Food TrendsWe can also examine some key food trends and choices that millennials make

that can carry over into their business relationships. The most dominant food

trend group among millennials are the balance seekers, who are considered

to be “social media mavens. Most prone to focus on healthy balance instead

of having a dogmatic attitude about food products and ingredients” (“Why

We Can,” 2016). Offer your millennial client a variety of products instead

of pigeonholing them into one option. They like variety—the more options

the better. This can also be seen in millennials’ need to customize meals. The

“chipotle”-esque food chains are around because of millennials demand for

options. Another top trend is transparency, and we have seen labeling debates

rise in recent years due to this—GMO, organic, all-natural and gluten free, to

name a few. It is not necessarily that millennials only want those categories of

food, but more that they just want to know what is in their food.

Be honest and upfront with your customer. In the end, your millennial client will appreciate your candidness, and your relationship will stay intact.

ValuesThe last trait we are going to touch on is values—millennials’ need for a

company’s values to coincide with their own personal values and the need

to feel valued. For millennials, personal values need to match up with the

company they are working for, doing business with or buying product from.

“Millennials want to work with purpose, and they want their workplace to be

aligned with their values” (Poswolsky, 2015). An easy way to communicate

this with your millennial customer is through the company’s mission

statement. This can be not only placed on the website but can be put on

Facebook and LinkedIn as well. Another opportunity to show company

values is to take pictures and post on social media sites during charitable

events and fundraisers. This will show your values through action and not just

“talk.” Although feeling valued is a generational-wide need, with millennials,

it can mean the difference between keeping or losing a customer. “We want to

feel important to the companies we work for. If we don’t feel valued, we see no

reason to be loyal to a job and may leave relatively quickly” (Hadeed, 2015).

Relating back to recognition and feedback, millennials like to hear that they

are valued and appreciate when their opinion is asked.

If you are not valuing your millennial customer, they

showing them appreciation, make sure you are voicing it to them. Be transparent by keeping them in the loop, and show you value them by asking their opinion.

Millennials on Your Team

We have talked about understanding millennials’ traits and backgrounds in

order to communicate more efficiently with them, build our relationships

with them and the tactics we can use to do this. One tool we haven’t touched

on yet is millennials within your own company. The changing customer

landscape includes not only your customers but also employees at your own

company. Utilize them as spokespeople for your company, learn from them

and set them up for success with the programs and systems you enact. When

Mike Robach from Cargill was asked if he thought having more millennials

working in the food industry would help better reach millennials as

consumers, his response was, “We know that with this millennial generation,

they like to talk amongst themselves. And so it becomes important that we

have spokespeople who understand what the industry is doing, being able to

connect with their peers” (Oliver, 2016).

Use your millennial employees as company ambassadors, in order to reach millennial customers and provide a sense of value to your own millennial employees at the same time.

ConclusionMillennials now outnumber baby boomers, and as the largest living generation,

they are taking over the workforce! Understanding millennials, how to

communicate with them and have relationships with them are key to retaining

and gaining new customers. Chances are you already have millennial customers.

With the tools we have reviewed in this report, you will know how to successfully communicate with and have better relationships with them.

apfoodingredients.com

References

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