By Ryan Swadley

Everyone knows there are plenty of ways to reach a customer today. But why reach a customer online? Today you either have a website or have no window to the outside world. Consumers of today increasingly don’t read newspapers, watch TV, and have limited attention spans. If you have kids you probably know they are lucky to even know what the yellow pages are. Not having a good web presence today is the modern day equivalent of not having a phone number for your business. How will your customers reach you when they are ready to make a purchase?

More and more customers are starting to look for information online and for good reason.

It’s Convenient - It can be done at your own leisure. Whether consumers are shopping for a better dentist or a better hair salon they can look at other opinions and read reviews.
It’s Fast- It can be done without the hassle of driving around and going from store to store. With gas prices skyrocketing there is no wonder why.
Social- Many consumers today still want to make sure that their friends approve of their purchases.
Trusted in Numbers- Whether it is true or not consumers still tend to think “that if everybody is doing it” or “wearing that brand” “eating at that restaurant” then it has to be good.
According to Business Week, December 17th 2007

69% of Consumers will research a planned purchase online, prior to making a store purchase.

62% of Consumers will seek online peer reviews for planned purchases prior to making store purchases.

So just exactly what is a planned purchase? A planned purchase may be a new car, High Definition television, a plumbing service, new golf clubs, a health membership and the list goes on.

Today’s consumers are increasingly migrating to social network sites and seeking peer feedback for many decisions in their life on places such as: MySpace, Facebook, Ning!, Bebo, Linked In and more. These sites are being used to form the 21st Century’s social gathering places for friends, family members and business professionals to share opinions, gather contacts, create memories watch videos, share digital photos and post their current likes and dislikes.

It is the new marketers challenge to connect into this new wave of consumers on their own turf.

Particularly, with the Millenials the ages born from 1982-2002 as they have more or less grew up around technology their whole lives.

Just how much buying power do these milllennials have?

According to Kelly Mooney President & Chief Experience Offer from Resource Interactive

What is the exponential dollar power of the digital millennials?

$200 billion in annual direct spending power, 15%-17% spent online, and “co-purchasing” influence on the buying decisions of America’s households.

How much do the digital millennials influence household purchases?

81% of clothing and apparel purchases
77% of groceries purchases
76% of movie, video, DVD purchases
69% of video games and systems purchases
68% of computer purchases
66% of cell phone and computer software purchases…

So how does your business tap into this elusive audience?

The answers for doing this are not necessarily so obvious and various ways are being deployed by some of today’s top brand’s in different companies today using wikis, Facebook Applications, Google Gadgets, blogging and more. One thing they all have in common is one goal of creating enough buzz and awareness that they create a campaign that spreads on the Internet like wild-fire.

What is the Exact Formula for Success?

While no one has figured out the exact formula as of now the search is still on for the right way to reach this coveted new demographic. Either way, the message is clear the new customer is here to stay and the more your business continues to adapt to the way these millennials communicate the more likely you are to succeed. The challenge for business owners will not only be to reach the consumer of tomorrow but to turn them into “the new consumer of today.”

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Ryan Swadley is the Chief Executive Officer of Paladin Inc. an award winning digital communications firm specializing in web development and leveraging new media marketing channels. He is also a consecutive top ten finalist in the technology category for the Indy’s Best and Brightest award for Business Executives under the age of 40 in 2006 and 2007. Visit: http://www.paladin3d.com/ to learn more.