Category: generational Marketing

Research Insights: Gen Y Auto Buyers Want Style, Affordability and Environmental Friendliness

January 11, 2009 by anne

A just released survey from Deloitte, "Connecting with Gen Y: Making Cars Cool Again,” sheds insight into what captures the automotive imagination of Gen Yers.

The majority of respondents felt a vehicle reflects a person's style, status and values, and the factors named most often as among the top three reasons that a vehicle is cool were exterior styling, affordability and being environmentally friendly. Forty four percent said exterior styling was the most important factor in selecting a vehicle, 40 percent said affordability and 35 percent said environmentally friendly. The survey results offer an opportunity for auto manufacturers and suppliers to be creative and turn their new business models into customized programs tailored to reach this diverse market.

The survey also found that roughly 70 percent of this age group would not consider working in the automotive industry, a challenge that automotive employers will need to resolve if they wish to recruit and retain the best Gen Y workers. Source: Deloitte 01/10/09

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Why Marketers Shouldn't Overlook 40-Something Online Women

December 8, 2008 by anne

Women 40-49 were later entrants to online than younger women, but a national poll by SheSpeaks, a social network for women’s insights and word-of-mouth marketing, says that 40-something female web users are highly involved in social networking, often demonstrating a more personal connection to online activities than younger peers.

The survey revealed that 40-49 online women “use the web and social networks in ways that mirror the rest of their lives – from finding out about a product, to shopping or monitoring their children’s activities – while the online focus for women 30 or under is primarily social.”

Not only is the #1 online activity of 40-something women shopping, (versus “connecting with others” for younger women), but they also research products online more than their younger counterparts.

Forty-somethings are more likely than younger generations to post product reviews on shopping web sites (62% vs. 53%) and to purchase products based on e-mails from a company (50% vs. 45%).

While they lag behind their younger peers in terms of using blogs to discuss products, 40-somethings demonstrate an active usage of peer-to-peer tools for sharing product and shopping information.

Source: SheSpeaks.com
PRNewswire 

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Younger Generation of Customers are Less Loyal to Banks

July 23, 2008 by anne

Banks Must Shift Gears to Attract and Retain Gen X and Gen Y

Banks' most loyal customers are their oldest customers, while Gens Y and X are the retail banking customers of the future. They're also the least loyal and hardest to please, according to a recent Maritz(R) Poll. The results revealed more than half of Gen Y (61 percent) and Gen X (53 percent) respondents have considered changing or actually have changed their primary banking institutions in the past two years, compared with 20 percent of Silent Generation and 37 percent of Baby Boomer customers.

"For the most part, the current customer experience model at banks caters to the Silent Generation and Boomers, who more frequently bank in-person at branches. But, younger generation customers are much more mobile and rely more heavily on online interactions," says Thad Peterson, division vice president, sector strategy and solutions for Maritz' financial services sector. "Banks looking to build long-term relationships with Gen Y and Gen X customers need to think about three basic steps:

• Locational convenience has always been the primary tool for attracting new banking customers but Gen X and Gen Y customers also expect online, mobile nd anytime/anywhere banking. Banks need a strategy to attract and retain prospective customers who rarely step into a banking office.
• Identifying and offering products and services that give young people roots at the bank -- like providing incentives for online bill paying services and debit rewards programs.
• Treating them the way they want to be treated. Ensure that the customer experience is appropriate for Gen X and Gen Y, and consistent at all major bank touch points."

In general, the survey results show that younger people can be more impatient, less tolerant and just plain harder to please than their Baby Boomer and Silent Generation cohorts. The survey, which looked at customer satisfaction and loyalty among retail banks, found that younger customers also are more likely than older customers to find fault or have problems with their primary banking institutions:

• 37 percent of Gen Y and 36 percent of Gen X believe they would get better customer service at a different bank, compared with only 24 percent of Boomer and 16 percent of Silent Generation respondents
• 22 percent of Gen Y and 21 percent of Gen X reported being upset in the past year about high fees, whereas only 14 percent of Boomer and six percent of the Silent Generation respondents reported the same.
• 18 percent of Gen Y and 17 percent of Gen X reported being upset about a lack of ATM locations, compared with only 11 percent of Boomer and three percent of Silent Generation respondents.

So How Do You Woo the Gen X and Gen Y Customer?

It is no longer uncommon practice for businesses to reach out via social media in an attempt to attract these younger customers. Even companies like American Express and Bank of America are using social media networks like Facebook to try to connect with Gen Ys. Peterson advises companies against relying too heavily on social media as a way to initially reach younger customers.

"Using Facebook to attract new customers is like standing in a corner passing out business cards at a cocktail party," says Peterson. "If you don't have a genuine relationship with them, all you are going to accomplish is to diminish the value of your brand to that individual."

If social media isn't the way to the "promised land" of Gen X and Y's loyalty, then what is? Peterson has some suggestions:

• Be the source for their first primary debit card - Gen X and Y comprise the debit card generation.
• Highly incent them to migrate to online banking with a significant reward for paying bills online.
• Make sure front-line employees are treating Gen X and Y the way they want to be treated and can solve problems on the spot -- a key to securing lifelong patrons.
• Stay in tune with how younger customers want to connect -- online banking, bill pay and mobile banking are three customer touchpoints that must be state-of-the-art and part of every bank's overall customer experience.

Peterson notes that Washington Mutual is one institution that successfully caters to the needs of younger customers. WaMu no longer requires a signature to open a checking account. The bank simply uses the first signed check as the authorization signature -- incenting new customers to do business with the bank by simplifying the process and eliminating a trip to the bank. It appeals to the Gen X and Y customer desire to just "get it done," says Peterson.

”Banks need to listen to the younger generations," says Peterson. "It's critical for them to stay ahead of the curve and build good relations with younger customers. After all, they're the future of the bank."

Source: Martitz/PRNewsire

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