Different generations require different marketing approaches

In October 2006, the U.S. population hit 300 million according to the U.S. Census Bureau population clock (www.popclock.com). The more you are able to understand the thoughts, fears, motivations, and expectations of each generation, the better you will be able to market to, as well as service, each group. You see, age matters. The generally accepted generation categories are: Seniors, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Generation Y. Understanding each category is helpful in creating targeted marketing, sales, and customer service programs for each of these segments.

Seniors
This group, typically born prior to 1946, is called by various names—elders, retirees, or the War Generation. They are in their mid-60s and older, and most marketing campaigns usually miss the mark with this generation. Many of today’s agency owners are in this group, and their decisions about marketing and service are influenced by what they want, not what their clients want.

Every younger generation has trouble seeing itself at the age of 65, but the realities of today’s retirees’ lives have turned out to be quite different from the stereotypes kids poked fun at (and feared turning into). Seniors are challenging the notion that those of advanced years are frail, inactive, or unhappy. This generation has a different view of retirement compared with earlier generations. For those who reached their 60s in the 1980s, retirement typically meant a relatively passive period of life. Not today.

My mother in-law is a great example. She will turn 80 this year and has just retired from the insurance agency that her husband founded (and my brother-in-law runs). She lives on her own in a retirement community, travels several times a year, and helps organize trips for the seniors (those older than she!) at the retirement community. Sitting around and playing shuffleboard is not what she wants to do with her time.

This generation is made up of the War Generation (ages 61 to 66), the Depression Generation (ages 67 to 76), and the G.I. Generation (age 77 and up). As medical advances continue to improve, the 85-and-older age group is now the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population. But many insurance companies and agencies don’t view this generation’s marketing value as very high. The conventional wisdom of our youth-obsessed culture—regardless of how inaccurate it is—tells us that marketing to this older demographic isn’t productive. While underwriting problems are real (older drivers), there are opportunities also.

Many of today’s older consumers see their retirement as a time of exploration and reinvention. They’re traveling, volunteering, spending more time with family and friends, and taking up new hobbies. Some even enjoy their work so much that, in part, they view it as another form of recreation; others remain active in the workforce for intellectual stimulation. Without doubt, this generation is doing more than consuming a bland dinner at four in the afternoon and hanging out at shuffleboard courts.

Baby Boomers
Born between 1946 and 1964, this generation grew up in turbulent times—the Cuban Missile Crisis; the Civil Rights movement; the Vietnam War; the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Bobby Kennedy. These events affected how they think and live but despite these events, they are incurable optimists.

Baby Boomers hate being pigeonholed. More than any other generation before them, Boomers are redefining life for the 50-plus crowd. The massive Boomer Generation bucks the norm at every turn, and that matters now more than ever. More than half of the almost 76 million Boomers are 50 years old or older, while the rest crest the hill at the rate of 10,000 a week.

The Boomers have the cash to make that fresh start real. Experts place this generation’s spending power at more than $1 trillion a year, nearly double the spending power of the prior generation. As American life expectancy continues to increase, so have Boomer expectations about how long they want to work. A recent AARP survey found that more than two-thirds of workers between the ages of 45 and 74 plan to continue working in some capacity past retirement. Even the AARP now refers to this life stage as “so-called retirement.” Working longer reflects the Boomer philosophy that work defines who they are, so they “live to work.” Without work what would they do?

One mistake we often make about this group is to assume that it is less tech-wise than younger generations. Having grown up during the tech revolution, most Boomers are well versed in many of the ways that marketers communicate. Technology has been thrust upon them, and while it has been a struggle at times, they have learned how to use it.

Generation X
Generation X, born between 1964 and 1978, is the undefined generation, the unknown, and unpredictable. At least, many Xers think of themselves this way. They are disloyal to brands and skeptical of big business. Boldness, youthful rebellion, and benign anarchy remain the hallmarks of the generation, even as it begins to have families and start businesses.

This generation is the first one that was largely a product of divorce. These are the first latchkey kids, as Boomers worked extended hours in order to “succeed” and were therefore not home when these kids came home from school. As a result, many marry later in life and when they have families they want to spend as much time with them as possible. They view work differently—they “work to live.” This makes some Boomers think they are lazy or unmotivated.

Gen X was the group that made the cell phone take off—a new portable communication device that allowed them to talk anywhere and reach someone who was not tethered to a land line at home. Technology such as cell phones and the Internet has changed the way Generation X and later generations think and act. Because of this technology, this group has high expectations about receiving easy and personalized service when they want it, not just when you are open. Those agencies that are able to deliver on this expectation will be more successful with this group.

Generation Y
Technology for these young adults, born between 1977 and 1994, is transparent. They have always had it and assume others have too. No prior generation had access to and an easy understanding of technology like this generation. As toddlers they watched MTV while sitting on their babysitter’s lap; as children they searched the Internet as they worked on their science projects (and often taught us parents how to do the same); and in their early teens their backpacks had strap pockets for cell phones. By the time they entered junior high, many of them were text messaging under their desks in the same way earlier generations had passed notes. Now, as 18- to 29-year-olds, they are out of the nest making their first major purchasing decisions. Insurance companies and agencies are scrambling to understand what kinds of prospects and clients these new media-soaked, tech-rich people make.

As the children of the Baby Boomers, Generation Y (sometimes called Millennials) was raised on the mantra You are special, and they have retained this self-concept through early adulthood. Sometimes criticized for hypersensitivity—this generation saw dodge ball banned in schools—the “special” mentality has shaped them as consumers. Although young adults are, historically, self-absorbed, Gen Yers have an extra solid sense of their individual identity and they resent it when others suggest that they know them better than they know themselves. This self-awareness can be seen in the soaring success of such offerings as iPods and cell phones with personalized ring tones that tap into this generation’s desire to be in control of their own experience.

What technological savvy, lots of Internet use, and mass communication boils down to is that this generation is in the know—and what it doesn’t know it easily accesses by moving its mouse around and clicking a few times to find out. The sheer volume of content that Gen Y has at its fingertips can be a frightening realization for many. Every time Yers make a purchasing decision, they can easily and thoroughly access their options online—and they do.

What now?
I hope this overview has helped you understand that the expectations of each group are different. Because of these differences, you need to think about how to create at least four different marketing and customer service approaches that reflect the differences in generations. When you are able to customize your marketing message and your customer service approach in ways that reflect how your client wants to be communicated with, then success will follow. One size does not fit all. Subsequent columns will provide some specific ideas on how to target a marketing message and customer services for these generations.

(originally published in Rough Notes Magazine)