Generation Marketing Guide: Reach More Gen X, Gen Y & Gen Z

You must have noticed that the generation before you is different than your generation in its own ways. Same with the generation after you.

Choices, preferences, attitudes, lifestyles, values, and interests of people change as they transition from one generation to another.

A generation is a group of people who fall in the same age group, and their lives are shaped by the same kinds of trends and experiences.

One time I was talking to my friend who is a musician. He told me how his dad loves gospels but he has no interest in those.

On the other hand, he enjoys rock music. When a new generation entered his family in the form of his son, he learned that his son has no interest in rock music but he loves EDM. This showed him how things start changing from one generation to another.

There was a time when we lived without any technology and interacted with our neighbors, read newspapers, watched shows on our TVs, and communicated with the help of snail mails.

Now we interact with our neighbors on social media, our attention span is too low to read an entire newspaper, love binge-watching on Netflix, and communicate through social media channels.

Electronic music is gaining popularity, so is veganism. We are more concerned about our earth than we were ever in our life.

Women are taking vital decisions in the business world than just related to what to cook in the kitchen. We are changing and so should our marketing to respect the newer and improved version of ourselves.

That’s why understanding the differences among various generations and how we can market to them becomes very important for any business owner.

 

 

What is Generational or Generation Marketing?

Generation marketing is the approach of segmenting people based on their generation and then adopting a marketing technique that gets the most response from them. Click To Tweet

In other words, it is an art of understanding how to market a product to a generation so it builds their interest in the product and leads to a better customer-brand relationship.

From the start of human civilization until now, we have come a long way. We are no longer the same ones who started this journey.

Understanding all these differences that differentiate a generation from others helps a business in understanding their target audience and their needs much better.

 

Why is Generational Marketing Important?

generational marketing ads

As a brand, we will be targeting people of different age groups. Even if our product or service is one, the way people perceive it will differ greatly.

One of the factors that contribute significantly to this difference in consumer behavior is generation.

I am sure you yourself must have noticed this. The way you perceive something differs a lot from the way your parents perceive it.

This is the same with the brands that are trying to be heard, be seen, and be loved.

Therefore, generational marketing will help you in sending the right message to the right audience at the right time. 

Apart from that, there are a few other benefits to generational marketing, let’s check it out.

 

Better Targeting of Audience

Not only the market environment but buying behavioral patterns vary greatly in different generations.

For instance, a baby boomer might seek reliability and comfort when he/she is buying a car but a millennial might seek luxury and brand name.

Therefore if you market a luxury car to baby boomers, there are chances that your advertising and marketing efforts are going to fail.

This is where generational marketing comes into the picture. With generational marketing, you will be able to target just the right audience with the right message. 

You will be able to be in a better position to know exactly are the needs, wants, and desires of your target generational audience, and cater to their needs accordingly.

 

More Specific and Effective Campaigns

Once you are able to target the generational audience, understand their behavior and preferences, you will be able to design effective campaigns that will hit them just right. 

This will not only help you in forming a connection with them but will also help your brand take off to the best height there is.

With campaigns tailor-made for them, even the target audience will feel like they are heard and their needs are being put first by your brand.

End result? Amazing conversions.

 

Giving Them a Feel of Personalization

Snowballing from the previous point, when you design effective campaigns tailor-made for each generation, they will feel special.

These campaigns will give them a sense of personal touch with the brand and they will be further able to strengthen their bond with you.

Moreover, with a personalized campaign, you will be able to target a rich quality of generational customers. These customers will understand your brand and your offering, and be able to form a connection with you.

Ultimately, that’s what we want right?

 

What are the Types of Generation?

We have seen 8 generations so far. These are –

  • The lost generation
  • The interbellum generation
  • The greatest generation
  • The silent generation
  • Generation X
  • Baby boomer generation
  • Generation Y or millennials
  • Generation Z

In this article, we are mainly going to concentrate on generation x, generation Y, and generation Z to form a complete generation marketing guide.

 

Generation X Marketing

baby boomers ads

 

What is Generation X?

Gen X is the one who is born between 1965-76. There are almost 49 million of them, making them the smallest generation. It’s generally said that they live in the shadows of baby boomers.

Additionally, they are the first generation to grow in the internet era. To state some facts, 49% of them own smartphones, 11% own tablets and 74% of them like to do online banking.

Gen X Characteristics

Generation X keeps their families above their careers.

They like to research a product before they make a purchase. Not to forget that they bend towards quality rather than quantity.

They are the most educated generation of all and have very good purchasing power.

Millennials vs Baby Boomers

They are less materialistic than the generation before them.

In addition, their focus remains on gaining more experience than acquiring more things.

Last, they are not much influenced by direct marketing as baby boomers are.

Read more here about marketing to millennials and baby boomers.

4 Important Tips For Marketing To Gen X

These are the most efficient tips that we have to include if we want to write a complete generation marketing guide.

 

Tip 1) Scope For Home-related Products

82% of them own a home which makes them a good market for all those businesses that sell home-related products like home improvement, home decoration, and other similar things.

 

Tip 2) Focus More on eCommerce

81% of them like to buy things online. So, if your target audience is generation X and you have not yet established a strong eCommerce presence, then you should better start doing that.

 

Tip 3) Include Facebook Marketing

Can you guess how many of them are on Facebook? A whopping 95% of them. That’s the reason why you see all your uncles, aunts and your distant relatives there. Make sure to make Facebook marketing an integral part of your marketing strategy.

 

Tip 4) Add Humor to Your Ads

Interestingly, they are more receptive to ads that make fun of tradition. They don’t favor much the values, lifestyle, and culture of baby boomers. As a result, they love those ads that don’t take old conventions seriously.

It is important to follow all these tips to get more visibility from a complete generation marketing guide.

 

Generation Y Marketing

millennial advertising

 

What is Generation Y?

Generation Y is also known as millennials and echo boomers. This is the generation that is born between 1977-2000 and there are 83 million of them.

An important point about this generation is that they grew up with technology and this explains why all their life’s decisions are made with the help of it.

They always had mobile phones, computers, iPads, tablets, social media, and other tech devices.

They are influenced by what others are saying about a brand rather than the brand itself. That’s why Instagram shopping has gained popularity with time.

But it is still like looking at just the tip of the iceberg in a complete generation marketing guide.

Gen Y Characteristics

This generation is financially not very strong. They have a high unemployment rate and high debts which leaves them without any savings.

Even though they are not the wealthiest generation like baby boomers or have a good purchasing power like generation X but they are still a good market for many companies because of their large numbers. Currently, their buying power is estimated at $200 billion.

This generation is also the biggest generation of entrepreneurs. They care more about social issues than any other generation ever did.

 

5 Important Tips For Marketing to Gen Y

Tip 1) Focus On Social Media

Generation Y likes engaging with a brand through their social media channels on their phones.

For that reason, it becomes very crucial that all the businesses that are targeting them should have a strong social media presence and robust mobile phone experience.

 

Tip 2) Brand Experience Rather Than Brand Message

They prefer brand experience over anything else including brand messaging.  So, start focusing on digital experience more than you ever did before.

The more engaging you make it for them, the more interested they will become in your product. In addition, they like personal brand experiences which they can easily share with others.

 

Tip 3) Use Technology To Shape Their Experience

Digital technology is a part of their lives and they love the comfort of it. Because of that don’t make them do anything that doesn’t involve the use of technology.

Don’t force them to come to your brick-and-mortar stores when all they want to do is shop online while sitting on their couches.

 

Tip 4) Never Stop Innovating And Updating Your Product

Millennials love exploring and experiencing new things. In view of this, if you are planning to market to them, make sure that there is always something new to keep them engaged.

 

Tip 5) Include Digital Word-of-mouth

They hear what others are saying. They see what others are doing. And this is how they make their decisions.

They love booking their next travel destination based on other people’s Instagram pictures. They read reviews about everything and build the image of a brand based on that.

This makes it vital for a business to include influencer marketing and online reviews management as a part of its digital marketing plan.

 

 

Generation Z Marketinggeneration x ads

What is Gen Z?

The generation born after 2000 is known as generation Z. They can be further categorized into kids, teens, and tweens.

In the US, there are almost 20 million tweens who are in the age group of 8-12. Currently, they are spending over $43billion of their own money purchasing various things. In addition to that, they are also influencing the purchases made by their parents and friends.

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Gen Z Characteristics

They are highly comfortable with digital technology. They live and breathe technology.

Also known as an extremely socially connected group. They are on all the possible social media channels wherever they are allowed to.

Just like generation X, they also like doing research before buying products.

They love shopping online and want up close and personal experiences.

 

7 Important Tips For Marketing to Gen Z

Tip 1) Start Your Marketing Early

Start building brand relationships now as this is something important that is going to affect the purchases of this generation in the future.

 

Tip 2) Pay More Attention to Social Media

As this generation is very active on social media, make sure to include strong social media marketing as a part of your digital marketing plan.

Even though many of them are not allowed on various platforms because of their young age, in the future, social media is going to play an important role in their lives.

 

Tip 3) Create a Strong Digital Strategy

Gen Z shops everything online – books, fashion, music, and even beauty. Consequently, time for you to have a digital store and strong digital marketing to promote that online store.

It is crucial to check all segments of a complete generation marketing guide to get more engagement.

 

Tip 4) Do Sensory Overload

They love bright colors, engaging videos, and similar things. In short, they are looking for a sensory overload kind of experience. Design your digital experience, keeping all this into consideration.

 

Tip 5) Focus On Creativity

They have the shortest attention span, so make sure your marketing techniques especially your digital ads are extremely creative and memorable. The key to attracting them lies in figuring out how to engage them.

 

Tip 6) Learn To Personalize

The digital experience you create for them should be very personalized. You can even give them the opportunity to shape their brand experience themselves and they will love you even more.

 

Tip 7) Market But Responsibly

Remember to market responsibly to them as they are children and are vulnerable to what they see and learn. Make sure that you are following all the privacy laws.

 

 

Key Takeaway: Generation Marketing

Understanding a complete generation marketing will guide you closer to them. It will help you see your target audience as they are which will make them feel comfortable with it. But segmenting only on the basis of generation for marketing is not enough.

It should be just a part of your entire segmentation, targeting, and positioning strategy. If you need help with generational marketing, get in touch with us.

 

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