{"id":3995,"date":"2014-05-13T22:52:51","date_gmt":"2014-05-13T22:52:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bbrmarketing.wpengine.com\/?p=3995"},"modified":"2014-05-13T22:52:51","modified_gmt":"2014-05-13T22:52:51","slug":"reaching-out-to-generation-x","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bbrmarketing.com\/reaching-out-to-generation-x\/","title":{"rendered":"Reaching Out to Generation X"},"content":{"rendered":"

 <\/p>\n

by\u00a0Sarah Warlick<\/a>, content director<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Does<\/a>

Does the term, “All skaters, change directions!” mean anything to you? If so, you are probably Gen X.<\/p><\/div>\n

People of every age need professional services. Still, it’s not always easy to connect with the very people who could most benefit from your help.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Boomers and Millennials, Boomers and Millennials. The marketing world seems to talk endlessly about these two power generations, but what of their unloved step-sister, Generation X? They get less attention and they’re fine with that, but your firm might want to take a little time to get inside their heads. After all, they’re in their prime earning years, or so the schedule would indicate. So what do you know about this demographic?<\/p>\n

We didn\u2019t grow up in the carefully cultivated household discipline of the 1950s and \u201860s, nor were we involved in the fun chaos of the late \u201860s. We also didn’t share in the Millennials\u2019 delicately nurtured, thoroughly enriched and emotionally supported child-rearing environment. Instead, we roamed the suburbs and cities at will as our parents embarked on journeys of self-discovery in the wide open ’70s.<\/p>\n

The first latchkey kids, we were raised more by television and our own devices than were most children of other generations. Television talked directly to us though, so we weren’t lonely. Remember Sugar Bear, the pimped out dude offering us a thrilling buzz from a product with the surprisingly honest moniker of Super Sugar Smacks? (Just try it, kid. You\u2019ll love it. The first hit\u2019s free.) And the magnificently psychedelic joys of early Sesame Street? That stuff was awesome but it wouldn\u2019t have gotten by the guardians of either earlier or later generations.<\/p>\n

Our college educations cost us more, relative to the minimum wage and the available financial aid, than our parents’ did. With the growth of student loans to replace money that used to be delivered in the form of grants, many new graduates carried a huge educational debt that will be with us into our 40s…or our 70s, if we didn’t stay on top of it.<\/p>\n

More than any other age group<\/a>, we lost financial ground during the tough economic years from 2008 on. We\u2019d already lost our sense of confidence in jobs as dependable, lifelong support systems, finding that the kind of stability and retirement plan our parents accessed through work wasn\u2019t available to us, even though we often worked longer hours for a wage with far less buying power.<\/p>\n

Trust isn’t automatic with us. Our early memories included the public discussion of war crimes, presidential crimes and the horrific crimes of the \u201cother parent,\u201d since we were the first group raised when divorce was common.<\/p>\n

Still, we don’t spend a lot of time kvetching about our tough lot in life. We know that plenty of folks had and have it harder. We go about our business doing the best we can. We take care of children and parents, and step-relatives and extended family, all set adrift by difficult economic and social times. We manage to put food on the table, even when that means unpleasant jobs below our educational level or multiple jobs that render impossible the normal pleasures of family and recreation.<\/p>\n

And through it all, we somehow manage to be a relatively cheerful group that relishes our individuality and our autonomy. We maintain a strong sense of humor, and we work hard. We\u2019re an accepting bunch, lacking both the whiny slackness of the Millennials and the self-centered sense of entitlement that has been criticized as part and parcel of the Boomer experience.<\/p>\n

So how do you market to the neglected middle child of demographic groups?<\/p>\n

\u2022 Acknowledge that life is actually harder for us than the images of success we grew up with.<\/strong> We have to do more with less and we know it, but we\u2019re determined to succeed anyway.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Recognize that we\u2019re doing the best we can and that doesn\u2019t always look like a Norman Rockwell painting<\/strong>. Our lives, families and goals can be lumpy but they\u2019re important to us.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Respect our more minimal goals (like someday owning a house and being out of debt) as valid and challenging but worth striving for.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2022 Grasp that we\u2019re pulled in a million directions, busy with meeting the needs of everyone around us but aware that we\u2019d better tend to our own futures as well.<\/strong> Anything you can do to help us streamline our lives will make you very popular.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Understand that we\u2019re more used to doing things for ourselves than many who came before or after us.<\/strong>\u00a0Many older generations had humongous skill sets that far outpace ours, of course, but we tended to figure out and fake a lot of things that were more normally approached with the help of professionals. That makes us a little defensive sometimes, but do try to work with it. Early self-reliance makes us hesitant to hand over the reins until we see evidence of good leadership.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Expect to earn any trust you\u2019ll get from us.<\/strong> You\u2019ll have to prove your good intentions, competence and trustworthiness; they won\u2019t be assumed.<\/p>\n

Generation X is old enough to realize we need to get serious about all kinds of things we used to ignore. Now\u2019s your chance to convince us that requesting your help is better than trying to wing it, as we\u2019ve done in so many areas. If you can accomplish that, you’ll have lasting clients, because we’re very loyal to those who have earned our friendship and respect.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  by\u00a0Sarah Warlick, content director People of every age need professional services. Still, it’s not always easy to connect with the very people who could most benefit from your help.\u00a0 Boomers and Millennials, Boomers and Millennials. The marketing world seems to talk endlessly about these two power generations, but what of their unloved step-sister, Generation…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":7254,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[341,1311,23,50],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nReaching Out to Generation X - bbr companies<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bbrmarketing.com\/reaching-out-to-generation-x\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Reaching Out to Generation X - bbr companies\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"  by\u00a0Sarah Warlick, content director People of every age need professional services. 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