Look out, golden agers! Make room, boomers! Are you finally getting a handle on the needs of the senior citizen's market? Did you find a niche to target the baby boomers? Well, don't get too comfortable. There's a brand new market coming! It's the post-baby boomers, affectionately called 'Generation X.'
Like every market segment that has ever been found, the X Generation is a whole new ballgame, and its needs are not yet being met. According to Karen Ritchie of McCann-Erickson Worldwide in
Troy, MI , part of the problem in reaching this market is that many of the corporate decision-makers - baby boomer people - still think of themselves as the youthful generation.
This point was dramatically (and somewhat painfully) brought home to me recently by the 24-year-old daughter of a valued client and friend. This friend and I recently established a new company for direct marketing a retail product through television commercials. The product is designed for women aged 18 to 49. We had begun working on the TV commercials when his daughter, who handles the marketing for his firm, commented, 'You're probably right on target for 35 and up, but you better let me handle the approach for the younger buyers. Your way won't get their attention.'
She was absolutely right! People under 30 have grown up in a visually intensive media world, which didn't exist 10 or 15 years earlier. As a result, it takes a much stronger visual impression to catch their attention. With some hindsight I now realize that I have seen this phenomenon frequently at home. My wife and I might see a commercial that we thought was really good, maybe even causing a chuckle. But the only reaction from our daughters is a raised eyebrow and look that asks, 'Are you crazy?'
The reality is that we baby boomers who comprise much of the business management world are facing middle age. So, if we are sincere about wanting to reach the young, we should discover the needs and wants of Generation X and then determine how to reach them with our marketing.
Toss the Old Rules
The first rule to learn is not to make any judgment based on your own experience or lifestyle. Generation X, aside from their tremendous media awareness, is a much more serious and cynical group than the baby boomers. They've watched the economy spiral downward, seen a readjustment of family lifestyles, and have been bombarded with dire news about their environment. They tend to be cynical about the establishment, which is a symbol of the dismal economic and environmental news.
Despite their familiarity with the media, conventional media does not appear to be the right way to reach this market. Most Xers feel that conventional media are making little, if any, attempt to look at issues from their perspective. That will definitely change as the Xers move into media management.
X-Ample
An article in Automotive News provided a dynamic example of how one company made some headway with Generation X.
Ford Motor Company took its sporty, youth-oriented vehicles to local high schools and offered ride-and-drive programs for teenagers. The driving sessions highlighted accident-avoidance techniques, skid control, and proper braking and steering. The vehicles used for the sessions were calculated to interest the students. Tested first at Bob Bondurant's driving school in Phoenix, the program was rolled out nationally as 'Ford Motor Co.'s
Safe
Driving
School with Bob Bondurant.'
Serious about the youth market, Ford also established a National Youth Council of 14 college students who served as market advisors.
Xers and Insurance
On the insurance side, Ritchie makes an important point. 'The X Generation is very worried about the future,' she says. 'Baby boomers trusted the 'system' to take care of them, as did their parents. Xers believe that they will have to take care of themselves.' Marketing insurance to this psychology can be very profitable if done properly.
Start by talking with your younger clients and the children of your older clients. This can be beneficial, if only because many of these children will soon be running the parents' businesses. Take time to get to know them. Ask questions about their concerns. Think of it as a chance to be adventurous and to take a look at things from a younger point of view.
After you get a feel for their 'hot buttons,' think of direct marketing as the primary vehicle to reach them. Target both the message and its recipient. Generation X is an ideal niche for seminars about the insurance industry, and for learning that insurance is a tool to help secure their long- and short-term future, while protecting the assets they are beginning to accumulate.
As you ponder the possibilities, let me leave you with a single question that has been nagging me as the father of three teenage drivers. My own insurance agent has been handed a tremendous opportunity to build and grow relationships with these three drivers, who are currently insured by his agency. Over the past four years, our agent has made no effort to develop a relationship with them. He could be sending them personal letters on the importance of insurance and the services provided by the industry, or he could simply be making a call to talk with them about the responsibilities of driving. Are you cultivating the futures that already exist in your own book of business?