1. Fall, 2016 Volume 1, Issue 1 www.mysunny1045.com www.espn1073.com
Page 1
It’s always the
‘younger’ generation
Page 2
Salespeople essen-
tial to buying expe-
rience
Page 3
Interactive Market-
ing--One Byte at a
Time
Generations
Some things never change
But wait! Our largest generation is
Baby Boomers, right? No longer,
according to Pew Research. Their
studies show more than 75 million
Americans were aged 18-34 (Pew’s
definition of Millennial) in 2015,
compared to 74.9 million who were
aged 51-69 (Baby Boomers). No
wonder marketers, retailers and em-
ployers are trying desperately to get
a handle on this perplexing ‘younger
generation.’
New research is peeling away our
assumptions about Millennials, re-
vealing a generation that is simulta-
neously very different from and very
similar to other generations of U.S.
consumers. A March 2016 J.D. Power
Report released some eye-opening
conclusions about Millennials.
• They’re not as fickle or anti-estab-
lishment as we assume. Overall, Mil-
lennials are generally more satisfied
consumers than Boomers. Across 15
industries studied, they particularly
tend to be more satisfied in three
areas: utility service, healthcare and
telecom service.
• Customer Service is critical in
establishing Millennial loyalty. Mil-
lennials have the lowest tolerance
for errors and delays of any other
generation. They simply expect
things to work. However, when their
complaints are fully resolved, they’re
“The children now love luxury. They
have bad manners, contempt for
authority; they show disrespect for
elders and love chatter in place of
exercise.” Socrates said this about the
younger generation more than 2500
years ago. But it may as well have
been yesterday. We hear and say sim-
ilar things about America’s largest
generation–Millennials–every day.
much more likely than Boomers to
reuse a product or service.
• Value is the secret to Millennial
satisfaction. Millennials are less like-
ly to buy things based on status, im-
age or brand loyalty, instead making
purchase decisions based on value for
money.
• Millennials are more willing to
have their information collected.
They accept the erosion of privacy
as inevitable will generally fork over
information if it comes with benefits
such as targeted offer and personal-
ized services.
IN THIS
Issue
Continued on page 4
Mid-Missouri Media, Inc.

2. By Kerri Glensky
It’s finally happening. Our last little
bird is leaving the nest, bound for col-
lege this fall. In the market for a suit-
able college laptop, my husband and
I make our first stop a well branded
electronics box store. We’re primed
and ready to buy. Only one problem.
A sales associate saunters by and sees
us looking over the wide selection.
He gives us the head nod and says,
“Doin’ ok?”
Not really. We’d like a little guidance.
But our response is automatic. “Yes.”
“Let me know if you need anything,”
he says over his shoulder.
Enter sales associate number two.
“How’s it going?” he asks, barely
pausing to hear the answer.
“Great.” Except we still haven’t been
helped.
Then along comes Jacob. “Can I help
you find a laptop?”
“Kid going to college. What do you
recommend?” my husband asks, hov-
ering over a nice selection of laptops.
“Maybe a 2-in-1 . . . .”
Jacob reaches across the display
and, without hesitation, points to a
model a couple hundred over our
budget (which he hasn’t even asked
yet). “This one. It’s on sale, and we
have a special program for students
that will give you an additional $150
off.” For the next 15 minutes he pa-
tiently walks us through the process
of claiming the additional discount
in the store. We leave feeling good
about our purchase and wondering if
the store appreciates what they have
in Jacob.
Our experience reaffirms the con-
clusion reached in a recent Mindtree
study: Sales associates are pivotal in
the shopper purchase journey. The
study shatters the myth that most
retail shoppers don’t like to be dis-
turbed by sales associates. According
to Mindtree, a leading digital trans-
formation and technology services
company, it also highlights the “. . .
highly positive influence sales asso-
ciates have on influencing shopper
purchases.”
In working with local businesses and
their marketing, I often hear com-
plaints about the Internet and how on-
line shopping is garnering an increas-
ing share of business. The Mindtree
survey offers insight into why shop-
pers turn to online, rather than in-
store purchasing. Many shoppers rely
on interaction with sales associates
to make purchasing decisions. This
is especially true with product cate-
gories like consumer electronics and
home improvement. When consumers
receive help, they tend to spend more
and give the store repeat business.
However, 40% of shoppers report
they can’t find sales associates when
they have a question. The negative
experience means shoppers move to
a different store or take their search
online.
What’s the solution? “Conventional
thinking in the retail industry is that
most shoppers want to be left alone,
and that sales associates too often an-
noy shoppers by trying to offer assis-
tance,” says Sunil Oberoi, Senior Vice
President and Head, Retail, CPG and
Manufacturing Mindtree. “Shoppers
respond positively when they receive
helpful guidance from an associate. A
timely assistance in store can lead to
an 80% increase in transaction value.”
Gaurav Johri, Senior Vice President
and head, Platforms & Solutions
Group, Mindtree continues, “A key
part of successful omnichannel retail-
Associates can make—or break—the sale
Continued on page 4
2

3. Interactive Marketing
One byte at a time!
By Alex Lamy
A man walked into a Target out-
side of Minneapolis and demanded
to see the manager. In his fist, he
clutched several mailers sent to his
high school aged daughter. When the
manager arrived, the man, obviously
upset, asked why Target was sending
his teenage daughter advertisements
for baby clothes and cribs. “Are you
trying to encourage my teen daughter
to get pregnant?” he asked. Little did
he know, his daughter was already
pregnant.
Target had begun using an interactive
marketing system that could accu-
rately predict, among other things,
when a consumer might be pregnant
based on her buying habits. For ex-
ample, many pregnant women begin
buying unscented lotion in larger
quantities around the beginning of
their second trimester. Using twen-
ty-five different product markers,
Target knew this man’s daughter was
pregnant before he did.
It’s no secret. Businesses attempt
to collect as much data on their
customers as possible, but interac-
tive marketing is much more than a
mailing list full of customer informa-
tion. It’s a conversation between the
business and its consumer. Robert
Blattenberg and John Deighton write
in their article, “Interactive Market-
ing: Exploiting the Age of Address-
ability,” “To appreciate the power of
a customer database, one must see
it not merely as a mailing list, but as
the memory of the customer relation-
ship: a record of every message and
response between the firm and each
address.”
In Target’s case, each customer is
given a unique customer ID number
attached to their name and credit
card information. Using this ID, all
a particular customers purchases can
be tracked. Many grocery stores
have implemented loyalty cards
which serve the same function. The
beauty of these systems is adver-
tisers can target specific subsets of
the customer database. Now, “…
each coupon is not haphazard but a
precisely targeted tool in the process
of forging a personal bond. . . . the
customer speaks through purchas-
es, and the manufacturer employs
artificial intelli-gence to reply,” say
Blattenberg and Deighton. Coke for
example could target those custom-
ers who specifically buy Pepsi with
coupons to try Coke. In this way,
Coke drastically cuts down on their
advertising cost as more traditional
methods simply blast a message to
all consumers including those who
already drink Coke.
Not only can advertisers target a spe-
cific subset of customers but they can
also time coupons to
correspond with other
purchases. For example,
Johnson & Johnson
wanted to promote their
new disposable contact
brand, Acuvue. They
targeted a subset of
their customers who
went to an op-tometrist
who stocked Acuvue
and who also respond-
ed to disposable lens
advertising the past.
They coordinated ap-
pointment making with
collateral sales material
and finally the send-
ing of coupons to try the new brand.
Blattenberg and Deighton explain,
“What appeared to the custom-er as a
seamlessly integrated flow of commu-
nications was, in fact, the product of
a number of quite distinct communi-
cation disciplines - print advertising,
direct mail, telemarketing, and sales
promotion.”
One of the best ways to collect data
quickly on your customer base is to
run contests where you offer your
service or product for free to a win-
ner or two in exchange for survey
information. These types of contests,
done correctly, are extremely effective
on social media platforms where one
can reach a large number of people
at once. In any case, the modern age
of advertising is quickly shifting to a
more targeted type of ad.
To learn how your business can bene-
fit from interactive contesting, email
kerri@midmomedia.com for more
information.
3
Fall, 2016 Volume 1, Issue 1 www.mysunny1045.com www.espn1073.com

4. Marketing Matters is a quarterly
newsletter for customers—and future
customers—of Mid-Missouri Media,
Inc. It is intended to provide a forum
for trading information about local
business trends, business assistance,
resources and ideas for marketing and
promoting your business.
When possible, we refer you to relat-
ed websites and publications so you
Generations . . . . from page 1
• Millennials are much more opti-
mistic about the economy and their
own personal financial outlook. This
in spite of having lower accumulated
wealth, less income and higher debt
than other generations.
“Our studies indicate that Millennials
are different from previous genera-
tions; however, it’s really the nuances
of the customer experience that set
them apart from the rest,” concludes
Keith Webster, senior vice presi-
dent and general manager, service
industries Americas at J.D. Power.
“And it’s those nuances that are so
critical for business leaders to know
right now as they wrestle with the
challenge of anticipating customer
demand in an incredibly fast-moving
marketplace where getting it wrong
can have catastrophic effects.”
Mid-Missouri Media, Inc.
1051 Kingshighway, Suite #6
Rolla MO 65401
573.308.1045
ing is all about delivering timely and
helpful recommendations to shoppers
that help them feel more confident in
making a purchase.”
Translation? Sales associates can
make or break your store. Well
Associates . . . . from page 2 trained, engaged associates will close
business for you and ensure that po-
tential customers don’t turn to the
Internet when they purchase.
(Source: Impact of Sales Associates
on the Shopper’s Purchase Journey,
a survey conducted by independent
market research firm Grail Research,
June 2016)
4
can follow up on information of inter-
est to you and your business. We also
share our experience as consumers.
Please send ideas and suggestions
to Editor Kerri Glensky, 1051 King-
shighway, Suite #6, Rolla MO 65401.
Or call 573-465-4579. Email: kerri@
midmomedia.com.
A newsletter for you . . . .