This is a time of enormous change and tremendous opportunity for the home industry. And millennials, as the largest generation in the United States, exert considerable influence. But do your company’s social values and mission align with theirs?

Compared to older generations, millennials care more about social values and often take the time to learn about a company’s mission. In fact, these aspects can be the difference between missing the boat or earning a customer for life. But how do social values and company missions affect purchasing decisions, and how do these decisions impact the home and building category?

Shared social values help build brand loyalty.

Engaging consumers is one piece of reaching your audience. Changing their hearts, minds and financial decisions is another.

To understand your audience (What makes them tick? What makes them buy?), you must also understand their values and the causes they’re passionate about. A majority of younger consumers consider a brand’s support of social causes a top priority and prefer to buy from brands that share their values (5WPR). Consider millennial homebuyers, many of whom have young children or are planning their family. These buyers tend to seriously consider how a brand’s values play into the home where they will raise their children and the products they will use every day.

On the flip side, it’s also critical to be aware of the reality of brand boycotts. While millennials support brands that share their values, they will also quickly abandon a brand if they are at odds with its public stance on an issue that is important to them (5WPR).

Understanding your audience’s values and your own brand values is essential to reaching the millennial audience. Having a clear company mission will communicate this position and ensure your audience understands the social values you stand for.

Your company’s mission can have a direct impact on purchase decisions.

Companies that stand for something bigger than what they sell and demonstrate commitment to the purpose they support are more likely to foster brand loyalty and drive purchases (5WPR).

Millennials want to support a cause they care about, and many of them actively seek out brands that emphasize a mission that means something to them. Often, they look to a company’s mission statement when considering whether or not they will make a purchase.

But proving you care takes more than simply responding to or voicing an opinion on current events and issues in the news. Savvy millennials want you to demonstrate a meaningful commitment to changemaking (5WPR). The secret here? Start with authenticity, and build trust from there.

For the building industry, for example, this could mean bringing sustainable practices to the industry.

Sustainability is more than a trend. It’s a lifestyle.

Millennials, as a whole, are passionate about the environment and prefer to buy from brands that clearly communicate their care for the environment. Home improvement professionals and manufacturers alike have a unique opportunity to be agents of positive change, bringing sustainable practices to the building industry and the world.

When asked about the most important aspects of home, millennials ranked healthy home, smart-home technology and sustainable products at the top of the list. Millennial homebuyers are searching for homes that pay increased attention to indoor air quality and sustainable technologies while allowing them to connect with nature and have plenty of space.

Though COVID-19 did not start the sustainability revolution, it heightened it. Now, more than ever, companies are focused on proclaiming their devotion to sustainability. But millennials aren’t fooled by noise: They desire authenticity, and they expect brands to live and breathe the claims they make.

Connecting with millennials begins with a commitment to change. Email me to talk about how we can change the world — and your bottom line — together.