Editor’s note: Lisa Boughton is director of market research firm Angelfish, Cheltenham, U.K. This is an edited version of a post that originally appeared here under the title, “Speaking to Millennials in their language – the struggle is real!”
We’re surrounded by new phrases, words, and ideas that reflect the Millennial culture. Whether you’re hearing them on TV, in advertising or from your own kids, you know what the language of Millennials sounds like – but do you know what it means? To effectively conduct qualitative market research in today’s world, it’s important to know what the Millennial generation is saying and what they mean. So check out the cheat sheet below to learn more about how Millennials express themselves and what it means to your research.
Millennials and qualitative market research
This influential group of young people boasts spending power that, according to Accenture, will reach £1 trillion before 2020, so needless to say brands are extremely eager to reach them. But qualitative market research agencies aren’t completely sure how to communicate with them, as they have proved to be an elusive group in market research.
As they are so digitally empowered the effective development of market research online communities will certainly be key in communicating with them and encouraging them to engage more with market research studies. Mobile ethnography is also a method that can appeal to this generation’s desire to use digital technology as a part of their everyday lives.
How Millennials talk – and why
While most people in the Millennial generation are perfectly capable of speaking like anybody else, many of them have also adopted a new kind of language. It came with the advent of social media and texting, where messages tend to be written quickly, in short bursts.
That’s why Millennials began communicating with a mix of shorthand, conjoined words and abbreviations that better allowed them to get their meaning across in fewer words. Linguistic creativity and cultural references are hallmarks of this language, where some phrases have even been born simply due to a popular meme or a mistake on social media that people found funny and co-opted.
Learning their language
The Millennial language is constantly evolving, and if you want to reach them, you will have to make an effort to understand how they communicate, what they respond to and to keep up the changes. They also tend to be suspicious of obvious “sales-y” tactics and prefer to be approached in a more casual way. Clever, entertaining messaging with a sense of humor can make a big impact and encourage them to share with their friends.
This demographic are the perfect participants for market research online communities due to their experience with technological advancements.