They have been called many things: Millennials, Generation Y, Echo Boomers, Born Digitals, and even Trophy Kids. Nearly 80 million strong, they were born starting roughly a quarter-century ago, grew up on the Internet, iPhones, and TIVO, and will be sending the Certified Wedding Planner a Twitter query about your services tomorrow. Will you be ready with the right answer? Will you even get the message?

As the children of Baby Boomers reach marriage age, they represent challenges in both an increase in the number of weddings to be planned and a change in how we market to and service a new generation of brides and grooms. Last month, The Knot Wedding Network held a webinar for their advertisers titled: The Echo Boomer Bride and How to Market to Her. The following are highlights from the webinar put together by Alan Berg of the Wedding Marketing Insider:

Things you need to market to the Echo Boomer bride.

1.      Be personal. They care what is in it for them and not you. Welcome to the Me Generation.

2.      Know where they live. Online, message boards, MySpace, Facebook, etc. Over 97% of The Knot brides spend 5.1 hours a week on the site while they are at work.

3.      Your marketing has to be the best it can be because they have grown up in the age of exceptional advertising.

4.      If you want their attention you are going to have to work hard for it.

5.      Content is king on your website not flash or gimmicks.

6.      Keep your website updated with links that all work.

7.      If you don’t like something about someone else’s site don’t do it on your site.

8.      She doesn’t want her mother’s wedding.

9.      Direct mail still works; most vendors just stopped using it. No spam filters on their mailbox.

10.  Wedding magazines is still fastest growing magazine category.

11.  Today’s bride is as comfortable communicating with email as you are talking on the phone.

12.  Keep emails professional; proof read and spell check.

13.  She is going to shop around, so get over it and don’t pressure her to make a decision today. You’re not selling a used car. You’re helping someone plan a wedding.

14.  Don’t use auto responders to answer questions. Make it personal.

The Millennial Bride is very much used to getting what she wants, when she wants it. Recent surveys show Echo Boomer prospects are more optimistic and more demanding than previous generations. To achieve success working with the next generation of prospective clients, you will need to meet their expectations and communicate on their terms.