Mike Brooks to address how to reach Millennials

Almost 84 million Millennials are now at the age where their spending can make a huge difference to the economy.

Those born between 1980 and 2000 outnumber the big-spending Baby Boomers by more than 9 million.

The older Millennials are now purchasing homes, furniture, cars and more tangible goods that keeps cash registers and online services tingling.

They are, however, an interesting group and marketing to them isn’t “business as usual.” This group is anything but usual and as the first group to have grown up in the digital world, unlike the Boomers who had to learn how to adapt, it’s not easy to reach them via the traditional channels the older Boomers may still prefer.

They’re also a wary lot. They’re less inclined to believe advertising claims than their friends. They rely heavily on the online “word of mouth” found in the various social media outlets. Proven brand names are important to them, although if given a bad friend review, they will drop them immediately. They’re engaged more with their online friends than the person sitting beside them. They are so tech savvy, there’s never a hesitation to try a new techy product.

The challenge for brick and mortar businesses will be to sway them from online shopping to their stores. Understanding this critical marketing segment will be the subject of the engaging presentation by Mike Brooks, president of Mission30.org based in Reno. Brooks is a Gen X’er — the forgotten generation — and is a consultant to corporate executives to train them to work with “the newest generation of market drivers.”

With more than 20 years of executive and management experience, Brooks believes, “instead of continuing to kick the can down the road,” businesses must deal with our issues now to continue to be successful.

Brooks will be the featured presenter at the Carson City Chamber Soup’s On! luncheon open to the public on April 27 at the Gold Dust West. Tickets are $16 in advance by calling the Carson City Chamber at 882-1565 or online at www.carsoncitychamber.com. After April 25, tickets will be $20 per person.