Working for a digital marketing agency that specializes in visual content, I’ve learned that different consumer segments have different preferences in terms of design, brand voice and platform. Usually, our clients use a style guide that already suits their target audience. Unfortunately, not all clients are in-tune of their demographic’s preferences or how to capitalize their shopping behaviors to maximize their content's impact. So we decided to do our own digging not only in the area of infographics but also in the behavior of consumers towards other touch points — from email to landing pages. Here’s what we found out:
Consumer Generations of Today
For the past few years, millennials have been under a microscope, and rightfully so. They spend $600 billion a year or around $85 per day. That’s 28% of the total daily per-person consumer spending. As the biggest consumer generation to date, the business world thoroughly dissected everything from their preferred channels to spending habits.
Millennials lived through a period of rapid change, both economically and technologically. As a result, their shopping patterns have also changed dramatically from the previous generation. For example, they aren’t as impressed with branded content in traditional formats, unlike Generation X before them. Thanks to a phenomenon called “banner blindness,” they prefer recommendations from social media connections over ads.
That’s why companies that target millennials want their content optimized for social media shareability — be it an Instagram picture quote or data visualizations on SlideShare.
Generation X: Maximizing Value
Businesses find it difficult to categorize or approach Gen X from a marketing standpoint. They are among the most sophisticated and educated consumers today. In the U.S., 35% of Gen Xers hold degrees, whereas only 19% of millennials do. They understand the meaning of value and are more likely to stay loyal to a specific brand.
- Ramp up your newsletters (digital and physical). Be sure to take advantage of direct mail to make your brand messages stand out, as opposed to being crammed together with hundreds of others in an email inbox. However, avoid putting them off with a thick wall of text. To maximize engagement, incorporate visuals to address their pain points and summarize key takeaways. You can also offer coupons to provide even further incentives.
- Prove value through practicality. Gen Xers appreciate straightforward messaging that stresses the need for a product. The faster you deliver this information, the more likely you are to close conversions, which is why most infographics are designed to condense in-depth data into a more digestible, readable and actionable. Remember, these are people already support children and their retired parents. Leverage cost and efficiency comparisons between similar brands to make your brand offerings more appealing. For example, you can develop a side-by-side comparison checklist or a Venn diagram to illustrate the advantages of your product over more expensive competitors. Highlight the cost differences at the end to emphasize the value they can get out of your brand.
Millennials: Experience Is Key
Just like Gen Xers, millennials also want value. But I have found that they lean towards the experience and authenticity rather than relationships.
- Invest in content marketing. Content marketing can help build up the need for your product and shorten the sales cycle by conveying your selling points early. However, you need to ensure you provide value by tackling topics that matter to your audience. For this, you can use a content research tool like BuzzStream to find trending ideas based on keywords in your niche.
- Become omnichannel. Millennials are omnichannel shoppers who like to explore and compare different deals. The good news is, certain e-commerce platforms like BigCommerce can help offer a consistent experience by consolidating channel management in one place. It supports major touchpoints like eBay, Amazon, Google and social networks.
- Offer great customer service. Regardless of niche, customer service is crucial to the shopping experience. Desk by Salesforce is a one-stop customer service platform you can use to accommodate inquiries across channels that are relevant to millennials. This includes email, phone, discussion boards and live chat. A universally-used messaging app such as Facebook’s Messenger should also work. Not only will it help you connect with your audience on a more personal level, it can also be integrated with a chatbot to automate customer service. Just make sure you use a conversational and approachable tone to improve their experience and encourage them to contact you again whenever they need to.
Generation Z: Mobile and Social
Finally, I've found that Gen Z shares many similarities with millennials like tech-savviness and affinity with social media. These traits, however, are more permeated in all walks of life — and with increasingly smaller displays. Remember, most Gen Zers owned a mobile device for most of their lives. Mobile internet, apps and social media are all but second nature to them.
- Give them the tools for interaction. For social media, I've found that simply sharing content will not generate the engagement you need from Gen Zers. You need to get them into the conversation by asking questions, running polls and responding to comments. A great way to do so is to promote a hashtag that they can use to voice out their concerns. You can also utilize free platforms like Google Forms to engage them in an interactive survey.
- Connect with their influencers. While Gen Xers have their celebrities, Gen Zers have social media stars to influence their purchase decisions. Getting ahold of them might be challenging, but it’ll put your brand front and center of your Gen Z customers. Fortunately, there is a slew of tools you can use to discover as well as engage relevant influencers. This includes TweetDeck, FollowerWonk and Social Crawlytics.
Having to cater to a whole new generation of consumers is an ordeal, but it’s an opportunity for any business to reinvent their brand. After all, where there is growth, there was once change. To resist the times would be to put a cap on your potential.
