Ready – Aim – Fire!

Tweet

Are you sending the appropriate message to your audience?

In order to understand buyer behavior, you must know how different generations interact within the marketplace. Our current marketplace is composed of four different generations and in order to create a successful marketing campaign, your message must resonate with each of them on an individualized basis.

Each generation has different needs and wants.

Age cohorts are used to classify these generations. Age cohorts are defined as a segment of people from similar geographic locations born roughly around the same time.

Their life experiences can be defined by certain events in their lifetime such as the Great Depression, President Kennedy’s assassination, the Vietnam War, 9-11, etc.

Let’s take a look at four different generations, and define some of the major descriptive qualities of each:

1. Traditionalists (aka The Silent Generation)

·         Born between 1922 and 1946

·         Lived by the motto “Live to work.”

·         Called traditionalists because of their slow adaptation to new technologies and innovations.

·         Experienced the aftermaths of the Great Depression, they are not wasteful and are hard working.

·         To market effectively to traditionalists, you have to show the value of the product, and reward their loyalty to your product.

2.Baby Boomers

·         Born between 1946 and 1964

·         Tend to be workaholics, and are driven by success.

·         They sought stability, and wanted their children to have a better life than they did

·         More and more boomers are holding off retirement because of economic downturn.

·         Many embrace technology.

·         Boomers currently have the largest spending power, and account for 55% of
consumer product goods purchased.

·         Boomers prefer contact through email or phone calls and rarely use texting and social media

3.Generation X

·         Born between 1965 and 1976.

·         They are currently waiting for Baby Boomers to retire.

·         Were brought up in a time of huge layoffs, making them the first generation to be
skeptical of loyalty to companies

·         Divorce rates increased at this time, giving them different views on family makeup.

·         Generation X is more likely than any other generation to research a product or service before they buy it.

·         To gain their trust, offer a money-back guarantee.

·         Grew up with the introduction of new technologies, so they are true digital natives.

·         Overall, this generation is very distrustful of corporations and faceless entities.
This means you must make the experience more personal for them.

4.Millenials (aka Generation Y)

·         Born between 1977 and 1995.

·         This is the fastest growing generation.

·         Tend to “live in the moment” and are the most social of the groups.

·         This generation has embraced more technology than any other.

·         Are delaying adulthood by 3-5 years more than any other generation.

·         Have short attention spans due to being raised with the Internet.

·         Love to challenge the status quo, so they do not trust traditional advertising.

·         heir spending power is just beginning to grow.

Each of these generations is marked by different needs and values, so a word of advice. Know your audience before you pull that trigger!

AccuLink can help you build a successful personalized direct marketing campaign. Please let me know if I can help you.

 

Ed Glaser
Chief Marketing Officer
252.321.5805
ed.glaser@acculink.com
Learn: www.intelimailer.com
Watch: http://youtu.be/He429Ylw3l8
Build: https://storefront.acculink.com/Promo/Login.aspx