Goodbye generational labels: here’s a better way to target customers
By Matt Taylor
Marketing to Millennials. Winning with Boomers. Selling to Gen Zs.
You’ve heard them named and defined countless times. But when you stop to consider them, what do these generational labels really mean?
Yes, there are proven differences in attitudes and behaviours across generations. Each grew up in a different time and experienced unique events, defining moments, and social influences. And as a result, they see the world differently. But that doesn’t mean your business would benefit from targeting generational segments. There’s simply too much variability within each one.
Their labels can’t define them
Imagine three customers walk into your store: two Millennials and a Gen Xer. Which two are most alike?
Before you answer, here’s a bit more information: one is a 29-year-old, first-time parent and the other two are career professionals in their early 40s with teenagers at home. Now, which two are most alike? It <still> depends, but it’s much more likely the early Millennial (age 43) and late Gen X’er (age 44) are more alike than the two Millennials. Why? Because of their common life stage.
Think life stage, then add age
Our life situations play a major role in what we buy. Did you have the same needs, preferences, and buying habits 15 years ago as you do today? In the same way, a student, first-time parent, and mid-career professional can all fall within the same generational range; however, they are each in a distinct life stage with unique needs and motivations.
“Marketing to Millennials,” for example, is an appealing idea, but who cares if the first-time parent in front of you is a Millennial or Gen X? Their age (and not their label) is a factor in their needs, but not the dictator> What matters first are the needs of their situation.
Select your life stages
Whether 20-, 40-, 60-, or 80-year-olds, your customers (and potential customers) have motivations, concerns, and product needs rooted in life stage and then modified by age. By beginning with stage, you can design a plan to attract and serve them much more easily than you can with generic generational labels.
Who will you choose to win with this year? Whether students, young professionals, first-time parents, midlife transitioners, active retirees, or others, it doesn’t need to be just one ... but it helps to make choices. Then the products, merchandising, promotions, and communications can follow.
In the end, marketing and selling requires speaking to groups of people with common needs. So, the next time you see an article promising to unlock the secrets of the <INSERT GENERATION HERE>, approach with extreme caution.