Sunday, January 1, 2012

It’s Who They Are and What They Do. Not How Old They Are.

Can’t believe it’s the beginning of 2012. Last year at this time, everyone (including Gen-Sights) was getting all excited about the first Baby Boomers turning 65.

But if anything, this past year has once again reinforced for us that our culture’s fixation with age is very misplaced. As Boomer experts (and Boomers themselves) have been saying forever—or so it seems—let’s get past the obsession with demographics like 18-34, etc. and focus on what should really matter to marketers: who people are and what they do.

So resolve to change your thinking. What need does your product or service fulfill? How do people really use what you offer? How does it help them live better? What are the stories that satisfied users tell about your product or service? (Also, what are the stories that any dissatisfied customer might tell?) If you don’t know the answers to these questions, you’re never going to find your target audience’s “sweet spot” — let alone know how to genuinely connect with them.

In early December, when Talbots became the target of a takeover bid, The Boston Globe asked a cross section of fashion industry experts to suggest how the retailer should go about reinvigorating its brand. Interestingly, only one used that tired old cliché about targeting a younger audience with more “body conscious silhouettes”. The others urged the company to become more tuned into who their customers are and what they really want beyond the career clothes that Talbots is known for. In other words, search out their stories.

Communications consultant Thelar Pekar gave a lecture at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications entitled, "Why Story Matters”. Though her talk was targeted to young people just beginning their careers in business communications, what she had to say should resonate with marketers of any age – trying to connect with customers of any age:

“Businesses are starting to understand that in a complex market, dealing with complex topics and complex people, story elicitation results in greater and deeper insights. Whether you are working to communicate a message to customers or the needs of customers to your future bosses, consider applying story as a tool for conveying complex emotions and truth.”

Those “greater and deeper insights” that you can gain through sharing and listening to your customers’ stories can form the basis for communications that truly resonate and inspire. And if you do that, you may find out that you don’t need a younger audience to grow your business, you just need a better story.

Happy New Year!

– written by Lynn Schweikart

-posted by Laura Willis

Labels: Baby Boomers, customer stories, insights, grow your business

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