18 Key Insights/Findings And Stats From ‘Generational Shifts In Marketing Preferences' - Consumer Research Report:
Advertisers have responded to the rise of technology and the introduction of a variety of new marketing channels and methods during the last decade. The behaviors of Baby Boomers (1946-64) and Gen X (1965-80) were regarded as "the standard" at the time when the digital innovation floodgates opened for marketers, while Millennials (1981-96) were called "digitally savvy," and Gen Z (1997-2012) wasn't even on the radar.
In 2021, the generational waves have hung in the balance. Baby Boomers are spending less when they retire, Gen X is more financially strong than ever, Millennials are starting professions and families and have a lot more money, and Gen Z is the trendsetter. Purchasing behavior has become even more differentiated as a result of these shifting dynamics. Given that each generation's buying patterns differ greatly, properly interacting with shoppers has never been more difficult from a marketer's perspective.
Moreover, each generation wants to be marketed in a unique way - through different channels, with different messaging, and with varying levels of personalization. As a result, more advertisers are turning to direct-to-consumer (D2C) strategies to understand more about their customers, what makes them tick, and how to engage with them in order to build long-term connections.
Here are the 18 Key Insights/Findings and Stats from Data Axle's 11 Page ‘Generational Shifts in Marketing Preferences Consumer Research Report' that helps Business Brands or Companies to engage with various generation consumers to build relationships, serve consumer or customer needs on their desired platforms and strive to retain and build their loyalty:
Study Design: Survey of more than 1,000 consumers (all aged 18 years or older and living in the United States), that provides new insights into how today’s Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomer consumers prefer to interact with business brands and what motivates their brand loyalty.
Direct-to-consumer (also known as D2C or DTC) is all about how companies or brands are connecting with their targeted audiences.
1. 96% of consumers feel loyal to a brand, and 84% engage with advertising from brands they are loyal to when they receive communications from them.
2. Email is the No. 1 channel for all generations except Gen Z, which prefers social media.
3. 81% of all consumers want to receive personalized communications from brands they buy from.
4. When asked what industry they want personalized ads in, interestingly their number one category was food and beverage.
5. 84% of all respondents said that they tend to be engaged when they see an ad from a brand they are loyal to.
6. 81% of consumers want to see personalized advertising from a brand they are already loyal to.
7. Boomers, Gen X, and Millennials all ranked the Food and Beverage industry as their No. 1 pick. Meanwhile, 57% of Gen Z choose Entertainment as their No. 1, with F&B as a close second.
8. Millennials like email the most – with 64% saying it’s their preferred channel. Gen Z likes email the least, but over 1 in 2 ranks it as their most preferred channel.
9. 63% of Gen Zers want you to connect with them over social media. They are closely followed by Millennials – almost half want to hear from brands over social media.
10. Less than 1 in 5 Boomers want to engage in social.
11. 40% of Boomers want advertisers in their living rooms. While the rise of CTV means there’s opportunities for brands to reach younger audience, tailoring direct response TV ads for an older audience is a good bet.
12. Gen X is also willing to engage with television advertisers, with over 1 in 3 selecting the channel as their preferred way to hear from brands.
13. 84% of Boomers said a quality product would earn their trust, only 69% of Gen Z said the same.
14. Gen X is most responsive to loyalty programs, with Millennials close behind. Surprisingly, Boomers place the least importance on these programs.
15. 65% of Gen Z respondents said that deals and sales were important to earning their trust. Boomers and Millennials were the least likely to respond to deals, but more than 50% still said this was important to them.
16. 58% of consumers across all generations said that excellent customer support is key to earning their trust.
17. 59% of all consumers say they sign up for email newsletters to see sales, deals and offers.
18. All generations chose getting exclusive deals and offers in real-time as the No. 1 reason why they follow a brand on social media.
Key takeaways from Consumer Research Report:
E-mail is the most popular way for people of all generations to communicate.
Placing product quality at the core of a business brand’s mission statement is a good way to keep customers happy.
The more information a business brand or company has about its customers, the more it can personalize conversations and interactions with them, making them feel understood and assisting them in promptly resolving their issues or problems.
Business Brands need to have the right programs based on Social Media to make their customers feel valued enough to want to support brands. Make sure to post-sales to their social media channels.
Sales, deals, and offers were the major motivators for signing up for an email newsletter across all generations.
Business Brands should not neglect existing loyal customers. It’s more cost-effective to keep an existing customer than acquire a new one.
Conclusion:
The more information Business Brands have about their customers, the more they will be able to tailor their marketing strategies to match their demands and keep their loyalty.
All the best....
By the way, if you are interested in reading the full report on the above, you may access it here.
Just to mention, if you are serious about learning such insights and stats from various business and marketing domains, you can find them here in the most recent form.
P.S: If you think this blog post will benefit you or others in your network/community, please share it, so that those in need can benefit from your tiny efforts! Also, don’t forget to see other value-packed blog posts from this blog that might help you/your business.