Five Reasons the Bubble Generation Won't Buy From You

It's the sweet spot of the new economy.  40 million US customers, ample disposable income (and highly leveraged when you factor in their parents).  They are the workforce of the future, the long tail of your product life-cycle.  But, as attractive a target as they are, chances are you won't win them over.  That is the paradox of the Bubble Generation: they are easy to find but impossible to reach.   

Successful strategies for breaking through and winning the hearts, minds and wallets of the 15- to 29-year old consumers will be the subject of future blogs.  Today, I want to discuss further why you will likely fail in your attempt to sell to them.  Consider it a dose of tough love.

1.  They won't hear you.  First, young connected consumers don't watch much TV, don't listen to commercial radio, never read a newspaper (on paper anyway), and in order to cope with the barrage of ads they are confronted with in life, have learned to tune you out.  So, traditional media is a waste of money.

2.  They won't know you.  Bubble Gen consumers see shopping as a social experience and for this reason are best influenced friend-to-friend.  Since they are unaffected by traditional media, they rely on cues from each other.  Chances are, your imposition or interruption ads won't come from a trusted our admired source and they will ignore you. 

3.  They won't be engaged.  With the overwhelming choices they have and the scarcity of attention they must contend with, it is likely that you won't say the right things to stimulate them.  They don't want to be bothered by ads in the first place; ads that miss the mark are white noise.  Few marketers understand the new science of behavioral ads and most don't deploy the type of ads that break through the clutter. 

4.  They won't trust you.  Trust is, must be, everything in the world of Web 2.0.  As I have argued before, trust is the new money, it is the coin of the realm, the currency of social media.  If you started today, you might be a trusted source for products and services by this time next year.

5. They won't enlist.  Because you won't ask them.  And that's the rub, the new consumer is a joiner--of communities and networks and brands.  You want a drive by transaction, they want to be part of something bigger (I will explain why later).  So, you won't make a call to action and they won't enlist with you.  Simple as that.

Clearly, winning over the new connected consumers is going to be a work-out.  But, it will be worth it.  Their worldview--sense, sensibilities, values and ethos--will soon shape the entire market.  Better get to understand the new rules now, before the game gets away from you.

Comments

[RC]

This is nonsense. The 15-29 generation wants to buy stuff like any generation wanted before. They need food, cars, housing and clothes to.

Without food you simple die etcetera.

Buyers and sellers will find each other, like they always do. They need each other.

Remember the staple market in 17d century Amsterdam!

[Papatinato]

Sois unos capullos arrogantes que no teneis ni pajotera idea de lo que hablais. Id a chuparsela al vecino de al lado. Que os aproveche.
Idiotas

[virgolds]

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