Over the last few years the talk in the garden centers trades has been all about how to attract generations X and Y. They don't seem to want to garden and we need to learn how to communicate with them. Apparently the only people who can achieve this are fellow generation X and Y's. Anyone older than this just doesn't "get it". I was pointed to an article at Socialtimes.com by Steve Cissel. It concerns how online marketers need to get ready for the Baby Boomers. Yup, right when you thought all you had to do was figure out the younger generations you now have to pay attention to the older generations. I love this paragraph from the article, "simply put, this is a terrifying thought for Gen X and Y marketers, who are more accustomed to talking to their own generations. The implications reach well past marketing, of course, to product development and user experience – not to mention the ol’ fashioned art of closing the deal (now called 'driving conversions')."
We have been talking about this here since 2007, which is why your here! Even back then we could see that, "wouldn’t a display aimed at Generation Y appeal to Baby Boomers looking for what’s new and hip. How about a display aimed at Baby Boomers that appeal to Gen Y that is looking for something they think of as retro? A modern, colorful, well thought out display should have good crossover appeal to every generation."
So now the article we read today say's Generation X and Y marketers are scared to death of this growing online demographic of Baby Boomer's. Oh how the tables have turned. I have to laugh at the poor Gen X and Y marketers trying to figure out how to appeal and market to Baby Boomer's. Maybe what those firms need to do is hire Baby Boomer's to help with their marketing efforts. "Sorry, you application is great but your too young, we are looking for a older demographic that understands online marketing". Ouch!