Talking About My Generation—Crossing The Generation Gap

by Patricia C. Dinslage, IAHBE Staff Writer

Businesses today—whether home-based or major corporation—are facing a situation never before encountered in the history of the world. For the first time, executives and senior workers may find themselves sharing the workplace not only with their children but also with their grandchildren and even great-grandchildren.

Businesses worldwide are discovering that members of four generations are in the workforce at the same time. Each generation perceives the world, business and work differently. Each generation has different traits, sets of values, and goals. They are at different stages of their life cycles. These factors often place the generations at odds with each other.

Generations and business

With employees ranging from 65 years down to 20 years old, businesses find themselves in the position of trying to retain senior workers, with valuable knowledge and experience, and at the same time, attract the younger workers who represent business's future success. As workers at a company, the generations each have a different work ethic, prefer different management styles, and view jobs and careers from differing points of view.

Workers from each of the four generations have much different outlooks on purchasing—both in terms of what products and services they want and what will motivate them to buy. As consumers, each generation has different levels of expectations for those products and services and the companies that produce them. Companies are scrambling to develop new and cutting-edge products and services to appeal to the younger generation. At the same time, they cannot afford to discontinue their traditional and still-profitable products and alienate or disregard their long-term customers from the older generation.

Marketing to the Generations

The wide range of ages of consumers in the marketplace has resulted in marketing and advertising decisions becoming even more difficult and complex. With limited marketing dollars, businesses struggle to stretch advertising dollars across four generations of consumers or make the choice to focus on a specific generation.

Home-based business owners face the same challenges, though on a smaller scale. Whether writing a sales letter or developing a complex marketing campaign, the problem lies in the fact that marketing a product or service to someone born in 1935 versus to someone born in 1980 requires a significantly different approach. A sales letter targeted to people in their 60's, for example, would emphasize different key points than a letter targeted to people in their 20's.

As businesses re-examine employee benefits, compensation, work environment, schedules, and dress codes, they must also re-examine traditional methods of advertising and getting their message to consumers. Home-based business owners also should become aware of how to direct their advertising and promotions to each of the four generations of potential customers. The first step in deciding how to market your product or service in today's multigenerational marketplace is to understand the differences and commonalities between the generations.

What's in a generation?

Following is a brief description of each of the four generations in the workplace and marketplace today—some milestone events, traits, values, and viewpoints about work, life, family, etc. An important point to remember, however, is that these descriptions are generalizations about a group of people whose birth dates generally span 20 years or more. The descriptions are not meant to be hard-and-fast characterizations of every member of a particular generation, or to dictate anyone's style. Factors including personal experience, culture, etc. have a strong influence on work and consumer behavior.

The Traditionalists - 1922-1943

Milestones for this generation included The Great Depression, The New Deal, World War II, the beginning of Social Security, and the G.I. Bill. This generation tends to be patriotic, loyal, paternalistic and family-oriented, with stay-at-home moms. They have faith in their government, corporations, and institutions. They believe the keys to success are conformity and loyalty to their country and company.

The Traditionalists value thriftiness, hard work, responsibility, and commitment. They respect authority and believe in being very careful with money. In the corporate world, they are interested in retirement and benefit compensation packages, as well as salary. They generally prefer to do one thing really well, rather than multi-task or learn several skills superficially.

As consumers, they most likely are interested in products and services that will save money or make better use of their money, in retirement or leisure products and services, or in timesaving devices. They prefer saving up for something and then paying cash for it. Promotions and advertising aimed at this generation should emphasize product points that are in line with their values of fiscal conservativeness, thrift, family values, conformity, and responsibility.

The Baby Boomers - 1944-1964

The largest of the generations, the Baby Boomers' experiences include the Vietnam War, Civil Rights, Women's Liberation, Watergate, Woodstock, Haight-Ashbury, and John F. Kennedy. These are the flower children—idealistic, and communally oriented. Although anti-authority and disillusioned with government, they respect experience.

Members of this generation believe in and value spiritual growth, personal space, teamwork, and learning by doing. They want career stability, and believe that long hours, hard work, and "paying your dues" are what it takes to reach the upper-income levels. Boomers believe in dressing up for work, and that work is work—not play or fun.

The Baby Boomers are conspicuous consumers, with a 'buy-now, pay-later" mentality. As consumers, they are interested in products and services that will enhance the inner person, as well as the outer person. Appealing to this generation involves emphasis on ideals, the "greater good," spirituality and spiritual growth, interdependence and teamwork, and career and status. Advertising also may focus on how purchasing the product or service can make the world a better place and enhance their personal and work lives. Idealistic and emotional appeals also could work well with this generation.

Generation X - 1965-1979

"Sesame Street," MTV, computers, latchkey kids, television violence, AIDS, soaring divorce rates, and acceptance of drug use are the experiences of this generation. They are technologically savvy, independent, and culturally diverse. This generation also is cynical and self-centered, with a short attention span and a sense of entitlement. They defy authority and reject "the voice of experience."

Generation X values the sharing of information, working independently, innovation, individuality, feedback, mentoring, and training. At work, they prefer to work on projects they can see through to the end. This generation appreciates directness, but is generally skeptical and prefers being in control and wants things "their way." However, they crave the respect of others, even the older generations with whom they are at odds.

Generation Xers want to have fun at work, to dress casually and to have work/life flexibility. They don't "live to work," but will work hard for a short time. They expect to be financially rewarded for any and all efforts, are impatient to make big salaries or incomes, and don't believe they have to "pay their dues" first.

Marketing to this generation can emphasize innovation, being on the cutting edge, technology, and gaining respect and status. Advertising should be direct and to the point, emphasizing what the product and service can do for them to improve their life, work, or income.

The Millenniums/Generation Y - 1980-2000

The Millennium generation has seen the fall of the Berlin Wall, the explosion of technology, Columbine, the Internet, hip hop, increasing drugs and violence, a return to virtue and traditional values, women as leaders, and multi-million-dollar salaries.

They are independent thinkers, "Cyber literate," and health conscious but often lack social graces and skills. Generally, this generation is globally concerned, but locally apathetic. Members of this generation tend to be optimistic, have a positive, "can-do" attitude, dress more conservatively, and are comfortable with parents and older generations and in organizations. Millenniums expect to be treated well and to get what they want. This is a generation of entrepreneurs, whether in business for themselves or working for someone else.

The values of this generation include loyalty to the group, teamwork, mentoring/training, diversity in work and friendships, tolerance of differences, and a family orientation. The Millenniums value authenticity and work/life flexibility, as well as guidance, feedback, mentoring and training. They expect to have a life outside of work and to have personal time off from work. They like to have fun, but prefer fun with a purpose to it.

This generation tends to be independent spenders as well as thinkers. This group often is interested in investments, desiring large, quick investment gains, and like the previous generation, is impatient to reach the high income levels. Products or services that will help them get closer to their goals or achieve these gains are a natural fit for this generation. This generation values and respects experience and authority, which can be a selling point of any marketing efforts aimed at members of this group. Other products or services of interest to this generation could be in the areas of education and training, community and family values, technology, and enhancements to personal and work life.

Conclusion

As you can tell from the above descriptions, marketing and promotional efforts can be aimed at more than one generation, although a "scattergun" approach aimed at appealing to all four generations may be somewhat ineffective. For instance, advertising that appeals to rebellious, anti-authority traits could be aimed at both the Baby Boomers and the Generation Xers. Products and services that are technologically innovative could easily appeal to both Generation X and the Millenniums.

The challenges of selling your home-based business product or service to potential customers from four generations may easily be outweighed by the opportunities presented by today's generationally diverse marketplace.

REFERENCES:

Frankel, Barbara. "Achieving Inter-Generational Harmony." DiversityInc.com, April 6, 2001. Practice Development Counsel: http://www.pdcounsel.com/nextgen.html

Haserot, Phyllis Weiss. "Getting Prepared for Generation & & X: General Characteristics" Practice Development Counsel, http://www.pdcounsel.com/XY.html

Haserot, Phyllis Weiss. "Resolving Intergenerational Tensions in the Workplace." Of Counsel, August 2001. Practice Development Counsel: http://www.pdcounsel.com/nextgen.html

King, Dan. "Defining a Generation: Tips for Uniting Our Multi-Generational Workforce." Date unknown. Career Planning and Management Inc.: http://222.careerpmi.com/generations.htm

Lahiri, Indra. "Five tips for multigenerational inclusion." The GilDeane Group, Diversity Central, June 15, 2001. Workforce Development Group: http://www.workforcedevelopmentgroup.com/news_twenty.html

Lahiri, Indra. "Understanding and addressing intergenerational conflict." The GilDeane Group, Diversity Central, May 15, 2001. Workforce Development Group: http://www.workforcedevelopmentgroup.com/news_nineteen.html

Mooney, Donna H., RN, MBA. "Generational Issues and How They Affect the Discipline Process." Presentation at the 2004 CLEAR Annual Conference, Kansas City, Missouri

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
© 2004 Patricia C. Dinslage. All rights reserved worldwide.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Patricia C. Dinslage is a freelance writer and staff writer for IAHBE. She has BA degree in Economics, BS degree in journalism and is currently working on a Master's degree in career counseling. She has worked in business, government, agriculture and media, including a stint as a business reporter for a daily newspaper.