Generational Marketing Articles

By Rieva Lesonsky

When you think of “stressed-out” consumers, do you picture a frazzled CEO rushing from meeting to meeting while answering emails on one smartphone and holding a conversation on another? Well, you might need to refresh your visual to include a stressed-out teenager. That’s right: According to a new study from the American Psychological Association (APA), younger people are more likely than older ones to report high stress levels.

The study, Stress in America, found that while Americans of all ages report higher stress than they think is good for them, Millennials (ages 18 to 33) and Gen Xers (ages 34 to 47) reported the highest average stress levels.

On a 10-point scale where 1 is “little or no stress” and 10 is “a great deal of stress,” both Millennials and Gen Xers report an average stress level of 5.4. That’s much higher than Boomers’ (age 48 to 66) average stress level of 4.7 and Matures’ (age 67-plus) average stress level of 3.7.

Of course, you can’t avoid stress entirely, so the study asked respondents how much stress they felt was healthy, then measured the difference between what they saw as “healthy stress” and what they actually experienced. Younger generations had a bigger gap: The difference between Millennials’ stress levels and their perception of healthy stress was 1.4 points, compared with 1.6 points for Gen X, 1.3 points for Bommers and 0.7 points for Matures.

Stress is on the rise for everyone: Thirty-nine percent of Millennials say their stress has increased in the last year, as do 36 percent of Gen Xers, 33 percent of Boomers and 29 percent of Matures. But what’s stressing us out differs from generation to generation. Not surprisingly, work, money and job stability are the biggest sources of stress for Millennials and Gen Xers, while health issues affecting themselves and family members are the biggest stressors for Boomers and Matures.

In the past five years, a majority of all age groups have tried to reduce their stress, but while Boomers and Matures are succeeding fairly well at doing this, 25 percent of Millennials and Gen Xers admit they are falling short. They’re also more likely to use unhealthy behaviors, such as drinking, smoking or overeating, to manage stress. Interestingly for businesses, 19 percent of Millennials and 13 percent of Gen X said they shop to manage stress.

What does this trend mean to you?

• A marketing message emphasizing how your product or service can lessen stress, help manage stress, or be a well-deserved reward for a stressful day will resonate with all age groups.
• However, be aware of the different types of stress affecting different age groups. Work-related stress is a hot button for younger consumers, while health and wellness are trigger issues for older ones.
• Make sure your customer service creates less, not more, stress for your clients. If buying from you is easy and pleasant, they’ll come back again and again.

Image by Flickr user BLW Photography  (Creative Commons)

By Rieva Lesonsky

Where are Millennial consumers spending their money? Boston Consulting Group recently conducted an in-depth survey of Millennials (age 16-34) and older consumers (age 35-74) to compare their behaviors and attitudes. The study, Millennial Passions: Food, Fashion and Friends, has some valuable insights into how companies need to market to these consumers, particularly restaurant and retail businesses.

Why do you need to care about Millennials? BCG spells it out:

• Millennials are forming strong opinions and are vocal about sharing them, not only with friends and family but with strangers online. As such, they’re influencing the purchasing habits not only of those they actually know, but also of people far outside their social circles.
• Millennial attitudes and preferences about marketing are early indicators of marketing methods that will ultimately take hold among a wider, non-Millennial audience.
• The older Millennials are about to enter their peak earning and spending years—and contrary to popular belief, they like to spend money.

Restaurants

• Eating out ranks above consumer electronics, apparel, footwear, beauty and cosmetic products and accessories in terms of where Millennials like to spend their money. This age group eats out more often than non-Millennials (no matter what their income).
• When it comes to menus, they love fast-casual and takeout restaurants, as well as exotic, organic and Asian foods.
• They also love to eat with friends and coworkers and are more likely than non-Millennials to do so.
• Whether your restaurant is quick-serve or white-tablecloth, you’d better serve up a great experience—Millennials expect no less.

Retail Apparel

• Both Millennial men and women shop for apparel more often than non-Millennials. The difference was especially striking among men (38 percent of Millennial men shop more than twice a month, compared to just 10 percent of non-Millennial men). They also spend more on apparel than non-Millennials.
• When looking for fashion information, they turn to magazines, retailer websites, social media, fashion blogs and store associates.
• When shopping, Millennials like to go in groups and are more likely to consider their friends’ opinions before making a purchase.
• Just as with restaurants, the “experience” is important. Millennials care more about in-store events, store environment and getting personalized help than non-Millennials.
• They expect in-store and online offerings to be integrated to make shopping simple and convenient.

Image by Flickr user Geoff Peters 604 (Creative Commons)