Strategies for Generation "X" Leaders

Most ISP business leaders and decision makers are around 30 years old, part of the so-called generation "X." How well do you know your peers? Here are some suggestions on how to sell your services to different age groups.

by Christopher Knight [August 8, 2000]

The majority of today's ISPs are being run by either Generation-Xers (those born after 1961) or Baby Boomers who were born before 1961. The generation you grew up with has a big impact on the way you do business as an ISP. Since Generation-X folks are making more of the key decisions in today's ISPs, we're going to take a look at ISP sales and marketing strategies where Generation-Xers can get a generational gap advantage.

In marketing, value perceived is value achieved. When planning sales and marketing strategies for your ISP, you must break your generational biases to achieve sales in markets that have different value systems. For example, you might value speed as your highest Internet access value, but not convenience or newbie-level technical support.

If you base your marketing plan on addressing what you believe are the greatest needs in the marketplace and you fail to consider alternative value systems (baby boomers' needs for a strong set of ideals or family orientation), you may miss an opportunity to attract sales that could make up a significant part of your revenue stream.

The generations that make up your market
In November 1996, a Colorado College class project of Economics 210 did an in-depth study and report titled "The Deficit, Debt and Generation X". Below you will find many of their discoveries from the various generations that they discovered from their research along with how they apply to your ISP marketing strategy.

Millennial generation
They are currently age 14 and younger. They are very materialistic, selfish, disrespectful, aware of the world, and technologically literate. They are trying to grow up too fast and don't have good role models to look up to, possibly because of the selfish and self-centered nature of their Generation-X parents.

If you don't believe that kids under 14 years old have serious buying power and influence on which ISP they want to use, just do a count as to how many young kids are shown in the next AOL commercial you see on television.

To speak to this generation, show them how much fun they will have connecting with their friends using instant messaging, e-mail, live chat, and more. Speak to their desires, fantasies and dreams of self-reliance with information they can obtain through the Web, not to mention shopping opportunities. Prove to them that your ISP will help give them confidence or help them grow up faster, and you will capture their interest.

This generation's technological savvy-ness removes any need to be cautious with technical jargon or complex installation procedures. Example: Plug-ins and any service that requires additional software installation or an additional step that older generations might reject, is fair game for this generation. They will spend the time to get an additional benefit online, even if it means going into unknown or uncomfortable territory.

The materialistic needs of this generation can also be used to your advantage via co-branded promotions with brands that they know and trust. You might want to consider partnering or license brands such as Viacom/Time Warner/Marvel that appeal to kids or you can take this to an extreme and create a virtual ISP or a division of your business that caters specifically to this market.

Remember the Kix cereal tag line "kid tested, mother approved"? In almost all cases the parents will be paying for the Internet services the millennial generation wants and you must press their buttons or help the kids to press the right buttons with their parents. We know those buttons to be largely to help with their school work, give their kids a competitive advantage in the marketplace and the desire to know their kids will have a safe surfing experience.

Generation-X
They are 15 to 35 years old, selfish, cynical, live in the present (though they may use the past or future as excuses for why they don't have what they want in life yet), like to experiment, look for fast and immediate results and may still depend a lot on their parents. They question authority and feel like they carry the burden of previous generations. Some have called this generation slackers, disloyal, independent, money hungry, selfish, transient, and disrespectful.

To sell this generation on your ISP's services, show them how they can get instant setup, support, access, and answers to their questions faster than the other guy could do for them.

Many have called this the "me, me, me" generation, so speak to their selfish desires, specifically how they can get what they want most through your ISP, whether it be shopping, instant access to work, or weather or any other information that is important to them. This generation is also very technologically savvy, and you do not need to treat its members as if they are all newbies, but you do have to deliver speed and fast Internet access, or many will leave you faster than you know what hit you.

This is the best generation to upsell or cross sell your ISP services, because this generation is also known for their impulse buying patterns. Make sure you never take a dialup order without offering them an additional product or service that can benefit them, their business, or their career.

Boom generation
They are the 36- to 53-year-olds. They have a strong set of ideals and traditions, are very family-oriented, fearful of the future, politically conservative, and fairly socially liberal.

They have money because many are in the prime of their earning years, and that means members of this generation will be interested in how they can use their Internet service to manage their finances and investment portfolios.

Speak to their family values with "family-friendly" features: Their children can have the technology advantage they never had growing up without being exposed to pornography or other sensitive information they don't want their kids to see.

While speaking to their family values and need for protecting their children, remember to be sensitive to other family members who may wish to be able to turn off the "family-friendly" features so they can access an unrestricted Internet experience for themselves.

This is the generation for which you want to make the Internet experience easy and provide or guarantee fast human technical support at hours when they want it most. Sell them on your professionalism, and that you speak their language with friendly human technical support that does not "talk down" to them.

Goto Page 2: Silent generation