As marketers, we fully understand this logic since it is relatively easier to make a sale to an existing customer than to acquire a new one. They are attracted to our product through content marketing and then followed by sequences of emails; we expect them to take the bait and buy from us. It is even more difficult when you are marketing your product to a variety of different clientele—a 50-year-old man who has never been exposed to digital marketing strategies is going to respond very differently to a Facebook ad than a 20-year-old who knows all the ins and outs of digital marketing.
Finally, let me remind you that I am a millennial; thus, I notice that am being targeted online – hi there, lovely branding and slightly sarcastic tone!
But how can brands ensure that they are hit all the Demographics in the right way? How are generations pro-telephone call, or who has the highest propensity for shopping at physical stores, or get addicted because your product is environmentally friendly?
As mentioned earlier in this post we shall explore the various online marketing strategies that are likely to appeal to the three main generational groups. But let me start with the concept definition before proceeding to make my point.
What Is Generational Marketing?
Generational marketing is a marketing technique which incorporates generational positioning in marketing messages. From the information found on the website known as Wikipedia, a generation refers to a group of people born within the similar period of time, with the maximum difference being fifteen years, they have the same age and life cycle and are influenced by the events, trends and development in the particular time span.
Now let’s take a look at the generational marketing techniques:
Marketing to Baby Boomers
Who are Baby Boomers?
The group of people who still use, and receive voice mails. Baby Boomers are people born between 1946 and 1964 during which was the american-dream /white fence era of post Second World War. Just as the boomers have been introduced to how to use gadgets by this generation’s youthful counterparts, this generation is gradually adopting. A survey conducted by Vivipins showed that by the year 2014, about 65% of the adult population within the bracket of 50-64years were active users of social networking sites whereby majority were using the facebook to reactivate cold relationship.
The Boomers are the most likely to get confused by Facebook remarketing ads that clutter up the Newsfeeds yet they are likely to respond positively to direct marketing/sales techniques; they prefer dealing with persons. Originally, as is shown in Figure 1, boomers are the highest value consumer in the market today! They make the largest expenditures on each shopping trip, so if they are planning their retirement, they’ll buy excess items that are not food. Remarkably though, this generation is also the one that spends the most on technology – from the ‘luxury’ of paying for premium cable to the ‘necessity’ of the latest smartphone.
Five Strategies on How to Sell to the Baby Boomers
1. Brand loyalty must be seized since it signifies consumers’ willingness to support familiar brands.
Both my aunts and uncles are Boomers If I have learned anything about the shopping behavior of the Boomer generation it is the concept of loyalty. My uncle one day heard rumors that the company that manufactures his favorite deodorant (Old Spice Original) had changed formula, he went out to buy all that could last him a lifetime. Same thing happens when my aunts find out their preferred Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, or Cabernet Sauvignon, they run to Trader Joe’s as if it is the Apocalypse Now. If you are able to convince everybody that you’re product is of superior quality and that it will be required in the future, probably you will gain some Boomer’s customers.
2. Go for the Up-Sell
A smart way to increase the money that Baby Boomers are spending is to use up-sells. However, the information reveals that this generation is a fan of entertainment, wine and buys the most prescription medicine, literally! They appreciate clear definition of value embraced by a service—what it means to their lives—and this does not come with pressure. What better way to not be pushy than to ask if they’d like to add $10 per month for an extra 100GB of storage? As quoted by Pro salesman Jeffery Gitomer, upselling can also help you foster long-term relationships with customers; it is also far easier to up sell than it is to sell to a completely new customer.
3. Tie in Cash-Back
Cash back is a little bit of a commitment for a person who does not go out to purchase lots of things to earn it. Fortunately, this appeal is good for Boomers because they are used to spending enough at certain places (commitment!) for cash-back programs to be appealing. Credit cards are one of the greatest and most obvious examples of this! An analysis of the market will reveal that 48% of the baby Boomers already use credit cards and would rather spend more than leave money on the table. Many of the Boomers I know are loyal to American express because of the many points they can earn through huge purchases which can then help book a vacation or buy a nutribullet for your niece.
4. There is a adage that goes thus: If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It
It is the generation most likely to become hooked to traditional marketing and sales strategies. Boomers may require to speak to a ‘live agent ‘before they buy something—but not when I am eating my dinner. Any marketing strategems that they feel are intrusive in their day to day life are not acceptable while traditional newspaper and Television advertisements are acceptable. Because according to research, most Boomers use social media to connect with friends and family that they have lost contact with, they are more likely going to report your Facebook Ad as spam.
They are also the least likely to read that long-form blog post; Baby Boomers also said that the articles they preferred were just around 300 words.
It’s also important to note that Boomers are the generation least likely to make a purchase on their smartphone—but there’s no better time to revisit your mobile checkout process. Would your grandmother managing to go through it fluently?
5. Plot Twist: Do not Go for Discounts
The first group, the Baby Boomers, are now retiring or have been retiring for some years now –something they have not ceased to work hard for. We turn to the AARP revealing that US adults with a age of 50 and above afford $3. Invest $ 2 trillion annually and have acquired $15 trillion worth of financial assets, more than the Gross Domestic Product of certain nations such as Italy, Russia, the United Kingdom and France, inclusive.
The aged consumers, especially those above 50 years, contribute to over 50% of the consumer expenditure, and yet we marketers are investing less than 10% on marketing to them. It is about time that marketers take advantage of those additional dollars that Boomers are spending so willingly! Why not attempt retailing to them full price or what is commonly referred to as ‘top shelf’ products? Nobody wished to be sitting around with a $7 glass of wine at the age of 60 or buying second-hand furniture on Craigslist for the new smaller house that one was forced to move to after the last child finally moves out at 25 years. There again, going back to the issue of self-indulgence upon retiring, boomers are more likely going to be okay with that.
