Most people in business today understand there are four generations in the workplace, and this state of affairs can be challenging from both a customer and employee standpoint.
Cam Marston, an author and expert on the generations with Generational Insights, shared background information and tips for landscape and lawn care businesses owners during “Four Generations: Workplace & Marketplace” when he spoke at the Professional Landcare Network’s (PLANET’s) Great Escape in Anaheim, Calif., late last month.
The conversation skewed toward the marketplace, as Marston clued attendees in to selling to the different generations in the U.S.
Why are generational considerations important in sales? Marston explained: “Customers tend to do business with people they like and with people who they think are like them,” he said. “To become likeable to customers, you must understand how they view the world. Their generation has a lot to do with how they view the world.”
There are a slew of adjectives and attributes experts assign to each generation. Here are Marston’s definitions of the generations and a few words describing each of them:
• Matures (69 years old and older): dedicated, respectful, team-oriented.
• Baby boomers (50 to 68 years old): competitive, defined by their work, optimistic.
• Generation X (35 to 49 years old): cynical, cautious and conservative, wary of experts.
• Millennials/Generation Y (14 to 34 years old): ambitious, group-oriented, entitled.
The youngest members of the U.S. population, 13 years old and younger, are classified as iGen, Marston said, though they’re not yet in the workplace or marketplace.
Of course, there are always exceptions to the rule. He named the following types of people as likely outliers: oldest children, military men and women, people raised on farms and immigrants from non-Western nations (and sometimes their children). There are also variations in people who fall on the cusps of two generations–aka “tweeners.”
It’s important to appeal to all groups on promotional materials and websites, Marston said. For example, the older generations (matures and baby boomers) value information about an organization’s history, brand strength, tenure in the marketplace and quality (historical and perceived).
Conversely, Gen X and the millennials are ego-driven, so they’re drawn to information about outcomes: how products/services will affect their lives, make them distinct or improve their future.
Beware this customer type
There is one group, in particular, all businesses should train their salespeople to be careful of, Marston said. The Gen X female.
“She has a huge influence over purchasing decisions,” he said, listing all of the people this segment of the population purchases for or touches with its recommendations or criticisms: children, husbands, parents, in-laws, friends, etc.
“She is your greatest advocate or your greatest upset,” Marston said. “She’s also an information sponge.”
He explained that Gen X women (and men) are wary of anything too promotional, they don’t like to make decisions on the spot and they love data.
“More is better,” he said. “Let them think about it and do their research.”
Image: publicdomainphotos.net/Karen Arnold
