The $5.99 Question: Being Age Neutral
The Connected Generation Podcast: The $5.99 Question: Being Age Neutral, Episode 50
In our second episode of the $5.99 questions series on the podcast, Lisa and I discuss the relevance of age when making purchasing decisions. The first question posed: “Does the Connected Generation prefer to buy products or services from their peers?”
While answering that question we talked about how age can be used as an indicator of shared values among groups. As consumers, we tend to seek out our twinsumer in every step of the purchase process and age (or the target age) can weigh heavily in our initial assessment of a salesperson, product/service or brand. Of course there are several other factors such as gender, style, and location that contribute to our first impression, however age is highly influential in industries where young people are forging the most change and adopting earlier and faster than other age segments.
For example, if I’m looking to book a backpacking vacation in Peru and I have the option to buy from someone closer to my age, I would probably choose them because I would assume that he/she would better understand my needs and goals as a 23-year-old woman.
To get in my brain for a second, here are the immediate assumptions I make about the salesperson, let’s call her Sarah, based on age in this scenario:
- Sarah probably has gone on a similar trip and/or has friends that have been on an adventure that is close to what I’m looking for.
- She understands that saving money is a high priority and will not only find me great deals for airfare and hotels/hostels, but may also have some insider information on where and how I should spend my time and money.
- She knows that I want to have an exciting experience and will suggest less conventional activities to try.
- She will recommend websites, books and people to access to prepare for my journey and completely maximize my experience while I’m abroad.
I realize those are a lot of assumptions to be made about Sarah, my imaginary travel agent, solely based on her age. However, I would be just as likely to purchase from someone older if they were able to communicate similar values and experiences through their style, marketing, communication processes, etc.
Some key areas that I tend to be attracted to and more influenced by ‘younger’-focused brands or salespersons are:
- Education/Career
- Entertainment
- Fashion
- Food
- Technology
- Travel
- Volunteering
I seek out younger brands or salespersons when I feel like a lot of value will come from them understanding my lifestyle, desires and goals. However, I am more likely to buy from established brands or more experienced professionals when the highest value comes from experience, high-level information or expertise in a certain area.
Some key areas I tend to be attracted to and more influenced by more established brands or experienced salespersons are:
- Auto
- Financial Services
- Health Care
- Insurance
- Legal
- News Publications
- Real Estate
We ended the podcast with the question, “Is it possible to retool your brand to hit a younger demographic without alienating your older market?” To answer that we looked at gender-neutral ways to add value to people of all generations.
Although above I listed the areas where I tend to lean toward a certain ‘age’ of a person or brand, the brands/salespersons that understand and share the values of the Connected Generation can add value through age-neutral activities to trump the competition and make age less relevant and apparent.
Some key values of the Connected Generation—something defined less by age and more by a shared worldview and technology-driven skill-set and lifestyle—are:
- Community
- Content and information in multiple formats and easily accessed
- Customer service through multiple channels (in-person, e-mail, IM, phone)
- Education on products and services
- Passion expressed by the brand and employees for the category/product/service
- Relevant partnerships
- Time-saving systems and filters
- Twinsumers
This post was written by Cassie Pruett
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