How Should You Market To The Me Generation?

Being a customer is generally pretty great these days. You have a ton of options from places to shop, how you shop, instant access to review and rating, and a lot of businesses trying to earn your business. On the flip side being a marketer right now is more complex that it has ever been. Website development companies are in the same boat as a lot of businesses as we all try and understand how should you market to the Me Generation, which is now the largest demographic out there.

From a digital standpoint the market is already crowded and getting more crowded every month. So how can you stand out from that crowd and get the attention of the Me Generation? What will it take to convert this tech and social media savvy segment of the population?

Understanding the Me Generation

So who are these people? Much like prior generational groups Baby Boomers or Gen X, this group is defined by the things that have taken place during their lifetime. The creation of smart phones, the rise of social media, instant internet access, and a ridiculous amount of information available in seconds has helped mold them.

Generally speaking the Me Generation are comprised by a lot of millennials which means people between 20 and 35. They are highly tech savvy compared to prior generations, they spend a lot of time online, they have very short attention spans, are prone to flash fads and have concerns over jobs and the future. They are also very “Me-centric” in that a lot of what they focus on has to do with their wants and needs of which instant gratification is commonly in the mix.

But, the Me Generation isn’t just millennials, although that is the largest component of the group. No, the Me Generation also includes people from Gen X and Baby Boomers because more and more of our population are focusing on “Me” versus everyone else. Not to say this is bad or good – it just is – and that needs to be understood as part of your focus when marketing.

How exactly can you appeal to people who spend the majority of their time thinking and focused on themselves?

Marketing to the Me Generation

Here are some key considerations about the Me Generation in relation to marketing efforts:

• Everyone is online – Millennials, Gen X, Baby Boomers and anyone not attached to a general moniker are online and not in a small way. The average adult in the U.S. is online about 25% of the entire day using a mobile device a little over half the time. That is a lot of time connected to some form of device and explains why from a marketing perspective the digital playground is much bigger than other mediums including television.
• Best for Me – Rather than defaulting to specific brands, the Me Generation is more prone to seeking out the best option for themselves at that given time. Just because someone has used an iPhone for the past 5 years does not mean they won’t jump to an Android device if that meets their needs. While it is important to try and foster brand loyalty, we need to recognize that brand loyalty now sits firmly behind Me loyalty.
• Personalization for Me – In the past few years’ quite a few big brands experimented, quite successfully, with personalization within product lines. Coca-Cola is the most recognizable example with coke bottles that had people’s names on them to go with the #ShareACoke campaign. Offering a level of personalization that another brand or competitor can’t provide will appeal with many people within the Me Generation. Even if there is not a massive increase in sales or conversions, plenty of engagement can happen with existing customers to help keep your brand fresh and exciting.
• Relevancy for Me – Google has been leading the charge with relevancy and because of this everyone else must follow suit. The simple reason is that once the majority of people expect something they tend to be irritated when they don’t get it. It’s like getting a glass of water at a restaurant; when people stopped offering it or tried to charge there was instant outrage. Google is hyper-focused and tracks multiple data points to provide as much personalization and relevancy with search results as possible. That idea needs to spread to all of your business and marketing efforts from how you go about emailing people to what types of special offers you might give them. It needs to be personal, timely and relevant for them or it will not be effective. That means really taking the time to understand the wants and needs of your customers and then meeting them with what will help them in those areas.

The bottom line is that the Me Generation is growing. Many of us in business from owners to marketers are part of this generation ourselves. How you should market to the Me Generation follows much like how you like to be marketed to; with what is best for you at that time to solve the problem, want or need you are facing in a highly personalized environment.

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