My name is David and I am a baby boomer. I am one of 76-78 million Americans born in the post World War II period from 1946 through 1964.
As we became adults over the course of the last few decades, we spent a lot of our time learning, earning and building. We were the first generation in the country's history where a college education was expected. We control vast amounts of wealth and we have been diligent in building control into all of our environments. While we are a highly sought-after prize for financial planners, the spotlight is beginning to move to new actors.
Nowhere was this more evident than during the recent Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Having celebrated a birthday during these games, I guess I was more attuned to age-related thoughts than usual. Of course, I -- and all of my boomer buddies -- are not only too old to compete, we are also older than most of the coaches.
As if that is not disconcerting enough, there are those strange new events like freestyle skiing -- with aerials and moguls no less. These events are fascinating to watch and I am all for the Olympics keeping up with current trends. But where, oh where, did anyone decide that hurtling into the air and doing gymnastics while wearing skis was a great idea?
Reaching Gen-Y
But I digress. It was while watching Shaun White, also known as "The Flying Tomato" (for his flaming red hair), that I started to think about marketing and the challenges before us. If you missed his performance in the snowboarding finals of the halfpipe event (no boomers, not a "half pipe"), you should find the video online. White performed tricks he invented (the Double Cork and the gravity-defying Double McTwist 1260). He is at once part athlete and part showman, and his finals performance was amazing.
During that final, one of the TV commentators mentioned that Shaun, a member of the American "team," trained on his own in a secret Colorado halfpipe built to his specifications by one of his sponsors. That doesn't sound very "team-oriented" and White is not the first Olympic athlete to go that route. Skiers Bode Miller, who formed his own Team America and Lindsey Vonn, who was coached by her husband, are other exemplars of this trend. Speed skaters Shani Davis and Apolo Ohno also have similar, unconventional arrangements.
Some of this is attributable to the fact that unlike athletes from other nations, these competitors and their teams are not financed by the U.S. government. In the practical sense, that is the key driver. Yet, looking at the mindset and habits of this generation of athletes, one senses that there is more to the story, which can provide insight that will be valuable to those who want to market to this very un-boomer-like generation.
A recent study by Information Research, Inc. (IRI) focused on women in this younger demographic, but the tendencies and insights are instructive regardless of gender. In the report, "Winning With Millennial Women Shoppers" they learned that this cohort shops less, buys more during each trip, and frequents supercenters and Wal-Mart. Successful sales to Generation Y will require fewer, more tightly focused sales calls and the pitch must be centered on value.
Unlike the Gen X-ers (who followed the boomers), these Gen Y-ers' thinking is less brand-centric, so smaller firms marketing non-household name products may represent a sweet spot. Name brand companies may not get a chance with this market segment, since they perceive store brands to be of "excellent quality." According to IRI, this is in direct opposition to the widely held belief that brand acceptance grows over time. So much for the argument about habits formed by placing Coke or Pepsi machines in the high school cafeterias. Old line companies with names that resonated with the boomers will likely have a more challenging time capturing these buyers.
According to IRI's senior vice president of Thought Leadership, Sean Seitzinger, "They may be time and money compressed, but they live in this 24-hour 'on' lifestyle, and so, for most Millennials, it's more about getting it done than getting the best deal. They are asking, 'Hey, do I have enough to get what I need to get right now, and if so, I'm just going to do it.'" I can't think of a benefits company that has the infrastructure needed to sell to the younger generation, yet they are the buyers of the (near) future.
Seitzinger says, "The same old, same old is probably not going to create a lot of success." So how then do you market to this group of 71 million that spends more than $200 billion a year? Don't market to them. That's the advice of Bea Fields, executive coach, Generation Y expert, and president of Bea Fields Companies, Inc. A boomer herself, Fields suggests that it is important to remember that these youngsters believe that they can do or be anything. They are relentlessly optimistic and "refuse to work a job that does not bring them a sense of joy."
iTunes had it right
So, which companies have been successful at reaching this group? Apple, Jet Blue, Trader Joes, Jones Soda, Mountain Dew and Red Bull all resonate with the four key areas that Fields says are most important to these buyers: Cheap cost; good quality; fast service; and an "experience."
"When Apple created the 99-cent download that took eight seconds to transact, they hit the nail on the head with Gen Y" Fields says. "Music is an experience, the quality is stellar, the cost is low and the purchase happens instantly."
The part of this equation that may require the biggest change among our home offices, wholesalers and retailers is far beyond the mindset traditionally held in the health and benefits arena. Fields asks, "What did Apple do right? They spoke directly to Gen Y and asked the question: What do you want?" They understood that you reach these buyers by understanding that they get their information from each other. This is good news for traditional marketers -- the art of getting referrals will be a key component of making sales to this group.
The final element Fields identifies will make it very difficult, however, for those who sell solely on price. You have to earn respect when talking with Gen Y and that requires authenticity. "They don't waste time on people or companies that are not being real with them," says Fields.
Just like The Flying Tomato, the benefits industry and those who practice in it will have to create and execute some very new tricks indeed.
David Saltzman, RHU, DIA, is a past president of NAHU and has been a health, disability, life and employee benefits broker for more than 25 years. He is the president of D.A. Saltzman & Associates.
