Despite all the jokes about younger generations not being able to afford homes because of their love of avocado toast, the National Association of Realtors is reporting that millennials now represent 43% of homebuyers — the highest share of any generation.

What’s more, young homeowners are more likely to spend on their home, with 65% planning on spending some of their discretionary income on home improvement compared to just 45% of older generations, according to Lowe’s 2022 State of the Pro report. Likewise, they’re expected to undertake nearly twice as many home improvement projects (3.8) as their older counterparts (2) this year.

Unsurprisingly, these home improvement projects can add up. As such, it makes sense that 83% of young homeowners say one of the most important factors they look for when hiring a home improvement professional is the ability to get financing. And younger generations especially fancy “buy now, pay later” (BNPL) options. In fact, nearly half of all Gen Z and millennials plan to use BNPL this holiday season.

What this means is that even if Gen Z and millennial homeowners aren’t your target demographic right now, it’s clear you can’t ignore them forever, or you could miss out on an entire subset of customers who are willing to spend money on your services. Below, we’ll share some tips on how to market your business to younger audiences — plus some bonus pointers on how to specifically talk about financing with them.

Marketing your services to younger generations

While you likely won’t need to adjust your core offering, you may need to adjust how you approach these younger customers, as each generation has different values. Here are a few simple ways to ensure your service appeals to younger homeowners:

• Make sure they can find you: Even if you’re the best in your field, customers won’t give you their business if they can’t find you. As such, it’s important to advertise your services where these generations like to consume content. Don’t worry, this doesn’t limit you to social media — but it does mean you should have an online presence, as 68% prefer digital channels over traditional ones.
• Communicate: Like older homeowners, Gen Z and millennials appreciate being kept in the loop, with almost half saying better communication would sway them to choose one professional over another, according to the Lowes report. Good communication can be as simple as answering questions thoroughly and promptly, but it can also mean implementing new technology, like interactive project trackers, so customers always know the status of their project.
• Have customers vouch for you: Young adults love doing research before they buy, with 41% of Gen Z and millennials naming strong references as one of their top deciding factors when comparing professionals. After a successful project, see if your customers will review you on a site like Yelp or give you a quote to feature on your site.
• Showcase your values: Young people are very values-driven, and they want to ensure they’re supporting businesses that align with their beliefs. If you’re committed to giving back to the community or donating a percentage of profits to charity, don’t be afraid to share about these initiatives — just don’t make false claims, or else you’ll likely face backlash when people find out it was a hoax.
• Be human: Gen Z and millennials crave authentic interactions, so make sure you’re not all business all the time. They may be younger, but they are still human.

Promoting consumer financing

Given that financing options are very important to young homeowners, it’s critical to ensure potential customers know it’s available — especially if you offer consumer-friendly options such as financing from Wisetack. Here are a few pointers on how to promote financing:

• Emphasize that getting financing is quick and easy: Gen Z and millennials are used to being able to do everything at the click of a button — and they’d expect nothing less of their financing experience. If you offer financing through Wisetack, make sure customers know they could apply and qualify for a loan in less than a minute.
• Be transparent: For millennials, transparency isn’t just a nice-to-have — it’s a must. When it comes to financing, this means breaking down what their monthly payment will be, showing how much interest they’ll pay in total, and — this one’s a big one — not sneaking in hidden fees. Fortunately, with Wisetack, you and your customers can rest assured that they’ll see all their options upfront and will never be charged hidden or misleading fees. 
• Make it easy for customers to learn about their financing options: For example, add a financing section at the top of your website, and make sure that webpage is easy to understand. Graphics, payment calculators, and links to more information can all help set future customers up for success.
• Offer it to everyone proactively: To make sure you get the most out of your financing program, make sure you offer it to all customers proactively — you never know who will want or need it. Take a page out of Astoria Lighting Co’s book and start to offer it on every job, in a way that won’t offend anybody. (We’ve also got more tips on how to talk about financing to customers here.)

Bottom line

Today, millennials are the most valuable group of consumers — with Gen Z not far behind. Don’t leave money on the table by not focusing on these homeowners who are clearly willing to spend.

At Wisetack, we not only offer fast, consumer-friendly financing, but we also make it easy to tell customers about it. Want to learn more or get more tips on how to talk about financing with customers? Reach out, and we’d love to chat.

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