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Developing a successful marketing strategy can be quite challenging for a startup or entrepreneur. The goal is to reach as many people as possible in your target market without breaking the bank. Since small businesses do not have the same resources as large corporations, every marketing dollar must be used wisely.
Today, we find ourselves in an era where multiple generations coexist in the marketplace, each with unique preferences and behaviors. For some brands, this presents a significant challenge for marketers who must navigate an increasingly fragmented landscape to reach their target audience.
There are seven main generations in the market today – the Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, Generation Z and Generation Alpha. Given that these generations span nearly a century, it should come as no surprise that marketing practices to reach each generation will be different. The good news is that there are some consistent practices that can be used to reach most of these audiences simultaneously without significant effort. Understanding how to build a cohesive marketing strategy is critical for entrepreneurs and small business marketers.
Related: 3 Ways to Effectively Market to Different Generations
Why is each generation so different?
Each generation is completely different when it comes to finding products, interacting with brands and shopping. A key driver is the impact of technology on each of these groups. It is important to remember that older generations did not have the same access to technology as younger generations today, resulting in different levels of trust, acceptance and access to information and advertising.
The Silent Generation (born 1928-1945) and Baby Boomers (born 1946-1964) grew up in the pre-internet era. Most of the advertising they were exposed to and still respond to today includes traditional media such as television commercials and print ads. This group is most likely to rely on recommendations from close friends and family.
The earliest exposure to technology includes Generation X (born 1965-1980) and Millennials (born 1981-1996). These two generations had access to the early stages of the internet as children or young adults. These groups are more tech-savvy and comfortable with both digital and traditional advertising messages. Generation X is a bit more skeptical of marketing, while Millennials are more likely to gravitate toward brands that align with their personal values.
The youngest generations, Gen Z (born 1997-2012) and Alpha (born 2013-2025) never experienced the pre-internet world. They are often called “digital natives” who rely heavily on social media, mobile devices and video content.
Development of a unified marketing strategy
To effectively reach a multigenerational audience, entrepreneurs must carefully craft a marketing strategy that incorporates a number of different techniques. There are three key elements that every multi-generational marketing strategy must include to be successful – data-driven insights, personalization and multi-channel outreach.
Related: 4 Unconventional Ways to Market to Gen Z
1. Concepts based on data
Marketing to a broad demographic can present challenges when it comes to measuring the performance of your campaigns. By using data analytics tools, marketers gain valuable insights into consumer behavior and identify which generations are responding to their marketing messages. This information can help business owners monitor the effectiveness of campaigns and change their strategies over time if one or more groups do not respond well to a campaign.
2. Personalized marketing
Marketing tools today have a wide range of customization options that allow companies to tailor unique marketing messages to individuals based on their behavior and online activities, preferences, and recent interactions with the brand. According to a McKinsey study, three-quarters of all consumers admit that they are more likely to buy from a brand after receiving personalized marketing. Many of these tools are powered by artificial intelligence, allowing businesses to create personalized campaigns for each generation without the need for a massive marketing or content creation team.
3. Multi-channel marketing
Each generation gathers in successive corners of the internet. For example, Baby Boomers are more likely to spend their time on Facebook, while Gen Z prefers platforms like TikTok. Creating engaging content is a good first step to any digital marketing strategy. However, to reach a multi-generational audience, you need to make your content multi-channel.
The good news is that most content can be recycled across multiple platforms with little effort. For example, a full podcast video can be posted on YouTube, while short clips of the same recording can be uploaded to TikTok. To take things even further, video content can be quickly turned into an official article and uploaded to Facebook. Using strategies like these is the best way to create multi-channel content without creating new content for each platform separately.
Related: Boomers: The Affluent Customer Group You Can’t Ignore — Here’s the Best Way to Market to Them.
Whether you want to increase your sales or expand to new target audiences, understanding the unique characteristics of each generation and implementing a comprehensive marketing strategy is the key to success. Entrepreneurs and small businesses that can connect across generations are likely to avoid limiting their marketing opportunities.