How do you view millennials? Do you see them as a generation to embrace or do you tend to balk at them?
According to a survey done by The Boston Consulting Group, non-millennials view the millennial generation as spoiled, lazy, or entitled. But when describing themselves, millennials perceive themselves as hard working, open minded, and social.
This difference in perceptions can hinder a law firm from fully understanding and addressing this large group of consumers. Organizations that understand this generation, and aren’t blinded by stereotypes and misconceptions will be able to market to this growing population; they will be the ones that establish brand relationships and stick around.
One way to market to millennials is through cause marketing. Cause marketing, or cause- related marketing, is marketing of a for-profit product or business, which benefits a nonprofit charity or supports a social cause in some way.
You’ve seen this type of marketing if you’ve ever seen a yellow Nike Livestrong bracelet, bought Warby Parker glasses or purchased a pair of TOM’s shoes. When you purchase one of these items, you give back to a cause at the same time. If you haven’t done so already, it is time to take note and think about how to integrate cause marketing into your strategy.
According to a Cone Cause Evolution Survey, the number of consumers who say they would switch from one brand to another if the other brand were associated with a good cause has drastically increased by 87 percent. This rapid shift is likely due to the increase in purchasing power as the millennial generation has grown older.
Millennials, according to The Boston Consulting Group survey, believe that working for causes is an integral part of their lives. They are more likely to integrate their causes into daily life by buying products that support their principles; they are more likely to purchase items associated with a particular cause.
Not only that, but when they purchase, they are more likely (60 percent vs. 46 percent of non-millennials) to use a review or rating mechanism to evaluate their experience with the product or service.
Yes, you’re reading this right. The largest generation, the ones who have more and more of the purchasing power each day, are more likely to purchase services that support causes AND review them afterward.
As a law firm, you, of course, want to grow your number of clients, and if you’ve read any of our articles on the subject, you also know it is important to grow your number of online reviews. By focusing on integrating cause marketing into your strategy, you could further optimize for this generation.
HOW CAN YOUR LAW FIRM UTILIZE CAUSE MARKETING TO REACH MILLENNIALS?
Law firms are going to integrate different cause marketing strategies than big product based brands like Nike and Wal-Mart, but the principles remain the same. Here are a few ways your law firm can implement cause marketing:
1. If you already give back, communicate it clearly on your website.
You might be thinking, “Duh, of course, I’d communicate that I give back on my website,” but you’d be surprised by the high volume of law firms that come to us during our branding process with tons of community involvement activities to speak to, but listed on their website.
This is low hanging fruit and it is important to take advantage of it. If you participate in a 5k walk every year, or sponsor a local charity, blog about it and blast it on social media. Create a community involvement section on your site and highlight it somewhere on the menu or homepage. Put it in your individual attorney bios if you each individually contribute to specific causes. While someone might not read it all, by seeing it there, you convey that community advocacy.
2. If you don’t give back, it is time to start.
When we work with law firms and develop their marketing strategy, we help them come up with many ideas of how to get involved in their community. We do research about their area and find different opportunities for them to sponsor or get involved in like fun runs, clothing drives, scholarships, etc. A plus, of course, is if this opportunity also provides high-quality backlinks to their website.
For a majority of the law firms we work with, we recommend that they provide a scholarship to students in their area. This is not only an efficient way to build high-quality backlinks to their website, increase organic traffic, and improve rankings, but it is also a way to integrate cause marketing into their strategy with little to no additional work for their team.
If you have questions about how to best integrate cause marketing into your law firm’s strategy, call your Strategy Account Manager at GNGF.