Making News
(Mar. 13, 2007)
INSIGHT FROM A GEN Y-ER
If You’re Ignoring Us….Stop!
If you think you’re a marketing genius because you’re heavily targeting the Baby Boomers and Generation Jones, you may want to step outside the box and take a look at the younger generations that are permeating the population pool. Those of you in the home industry who are only marketing to the older generations may be missing out on a large group of potential clientele with ever-expanding buying power.
Who are the younger generations?
Gen X-ers are classified as anyone born between 1961 and 1981 while Gen Y-ers are born after 1982. The stereotypical Gen X-er is described as diverse, fun, informative, self-reliant, pragmatic, risk-takers, skeptical, family-oriented, bossy, and focused on their careers, while Gen Y-ers are optimistic, tenacious, confident, sociable, diverse and posses “street smarts.” These two generations were brought up in the information-age and live in a time when information and technology is at their fingertips.
What are they like?
According to a recent article in Building Products magazine, Baby Boomers may be better able to drive sales in the immediate but, it is imperative to market to the younger demographic who are the future buying power force. Marketing to this tech savvy, highly educated group will need to go beyond the traditional forms of advertising and marketing.
Gen X and Y are technologically advanced, growing up with computers, text and instant messaging, cell phones, Tivo/DVR and satellite radio among other things. Multi-tasking is a necessity and “multiminding” has become the new catch phrase to describe my generation. At any one time we are working on a lap top with our iPods, cell phone/Black Berry and a multitude of magazines - always devouring information.
How do they feel about their homes?
Unlike previous generations, we are waiting to get married and yet we are not waiting to purchase a home. We do not want to throw our money away renting and are interested in increasing our investments so with home sales at an all time high; we are jumping into the home buying market. We’re not afraid of being in debt because we are confident that as our salaries increase we will be able to pay it off. We are ready to invest in our future and all that entails… buying a home, developing our careers and accomplishing our individual goals.
My generation is buying their first homes at a much younger age and not necessarily planning to live there forever. Gen X and Y are traveling around the world for their careers, changing cities and continuing to strive toward bigger and better lives. We are looking for innovative and unique products that are going to make our homes diverse. We will not settle for the ordinary and we may not be willing to spend a ton of money on quality products. We want what’s new, hot and what’s going to look good in our homes. We don’t care what other people think or have, the desirability lies strictly on what we see is best for ourselves.
How do you reach us?
To reach us, you’re going to have to go beyond the ordinary modes of marketing. So what does this mean for your company? It means that your way of thinking needs to change. It means search engine optimization, podcasting, streaming video, enhanced Web sites that are easy to navigate, editorial spreads in a multitude of different magazines, blogs, awards, etc. Think technology, what’s hot and what’s new.
We want information. Home resale values (what’s going to give me the best return on my investment?), who to seek council from and tips on design and décor give us the insight that will actually enhance our knowledge about your services and products. This goes a lot farther than just showing us a pretty picture.
We have become accustomed to getting exactly what we want when we want it, which has led to a generation that will accepts nothing less than instant gratification. We are highly educated and perform a majority of the research online or call friends and ask colleagues for advice. We’ll ask others what they think of the situation, do the research, then take the chance.
We want education and career development from the companies we work for. How does this translate into marketing? We expect the companies we are going to buy from to educate and council us. We don’t want an ad telling us what to buy, we want an education about your products and what it can do for us, our homes, and how it’s going to benefit our lives.
The future is upon us
The future is now. Gen X & Y can no longer be ignored. If you want to develop a relationship with us in the future, then it is time to start working on one now. Give us a reason to research your company, products and services. We will not wait for companies to get the hint. In fact, we’re probably glad we’re not so inundated with pointless information. We’ll find what we’re looking for and those companies that do market to us will see a significant increase in sales over the next couple of years. Think about it!
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