The Battle for Millennials is like the War Of 1812

May 3, 2012
Categories: Customer Service

This is the 200th Anniversary of the War of 1812. (If you don’t believe me, ask your calculator.) You know the War of 1812 right? Of course. Quick Quiz – what was it about? (Jeopardy theme)…You really have no idea, right? Full disclosure, neither do I. I’m sure 9 out of 10 Americans have heard of it, but have no idea what it was for. Well, after sitting in on Bryan O’Rourke’s webinar for Gold’s Gym Franchise Association (GGFA) yesterday on the subject of Millennials, I can tell you, you may have a War of 1812 on your hands.

No, I don’t mean “a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire where the Americans declared war for several reasons, including trade restrictions brought about by Britain’s ongoing war with France, the impressment of American merchant sailors into the Royal Navy, British support of American Indian tribes against American expansion, outrage over insults to national honour after humiliations on the high seas and possible American desire to annex Canada.” (Thank you Wikipedia!)

And if a military conflict is a problem in your gym, you have WAAAAY bigger concerns than online scheduling!

What I mean is, you’ve heard of Millennials. You know when they happened (around the Millennium vs. 1812) and you know they are people (vs a War), and you can guess a lot about them based on general facts you know about what’s going on in the world at this time (post-American revolution versus the online revolution).

But are you digging deep into who and what they are? How they like to engage with brands and businesses? Because they are the next 10 years of your gym!

According to O’Rourke’s presentation, The New Consumer – How Millennials Will Impact the Fitness Industry What YOU Need to Know About This Growing & Influential Group, Millennials aren’t college age, they go up to 37! They weren’t just born from a vacuum, they are the offspring of the Baby Boomers. Most are younger than the existence of the home computer! Think about it, most Millennials don’t know what it’s like to have all of your TV options cut off by a State of the Union address! They don’t remember when the only way to get free music was tape songs off the radio on your boombox.

I don’t have time to give you answers here about this group but I can give you a warning. You will NOT win the next 5 -10 years without understanding how they live their lives and what you need to do to Get, Keep, and Know them.

If you are a member of the GGFA, I recommend you reach out to Ginger & Deborah’s team to learn more about the presentation. If not, reach out to Bryan O’Rourke to learn more about his breakdown of reaching this group.

But understand them. Don’t just know they exist, understand them and why they are a vital part of how you will succeed in the next 5-10 years, as important as someone understanding American frustrations with Britain in 1811.