Before we get into the reasons why HENRYs are the most important subset of millennials, you might be asking yourself what millennial HENRYs are and why you should care.

It's safe to say most people are familiar with the millennial generation, as they have been a hot topic for the past 10 years. The intensity of interest in them is growing as their purchasing power increases, soon to surpass that of the Baby Boomers. Tons of articles are published every day about how to engage with millennials, or how to incorporate them into your marketing strategy. Many companies have identified a need to connect with the millennial generation. A handful have defined an actual strategy around targeting and engaging them.

The intensity comes from a reasonable place — a desire to tap into a segment of the American population with both a high disposable income and a lifetime value to a brand that could span decades. But there's a problem — targeting a loosely defined group of 80 million people doesn't exactly classify as a marketing strategy. The truth is — from top to bottom — millennials are the most diverse generation of economic significance in the US today. So we need to stop treating them all the same.

Within the diverse mix of college co-eds and minivan driving parents the secret to effectively leveraging this generation of consumers can be found by targeting one specific group known as the HENRYs. If you want to develop a successful marketing strategy, or develop a strong loyalty strategy, millennials are not your target. Millennial HENRYs are your target.

HENRY stands for High Earner Not Rich Yet. A HENRY is defined as: a household under 55 years old with an annual income between $100K and $250K, but that has not amassed investable assets of $1M. And while demographics for the term HENRY technically span 3 generations, the Millennial HENRYs are where brands need to focus for two core reasons:

1. They have a significantly higher budget for discretionary spending than Gen X or Baby Boomer HENRYs.

2. Young HENRYs are the most likely to become the brand's most valuable customers both in terms of money spent & influence given over their lifetimes

So, how do you engage with this segment of consumers? What are their spending habits like? Download our white paper: Millennials are Not Your Target to learn more and gain strategies for engaging with this group.