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Home » Building Success Stories » The Generation Game – Baby Boomers, Gen Z, etc. – How They Matter (or Don’t) to Your Business (Episode 21)

The Generation Game – Baby Boomers, Gen Z, etc. – How They Matter (or Don’t) to Your Business (Episode 21)

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The Generation Game - Baby Boomers, Gen Z, etc. - How They Matter (or Don't) To Your Business, Episode 21 of Building Success Stories Podcast

In this episode of Building Success Stories, Producer Seth and I discuss the classifications and labels used for generations, age groups, etc., and how they are relevant or not to a business.

You see many articles about marketing to a specific generation or age group, but are these labels relevant to your business?

To learn more about the generations and how to use the information to develop more business:

Get more insights!!! Listen to this episode in the player above or search for “Building Success Stories with Ann Donnelly” on your favorite podcast platform. Click here for a list of podcast apps where you can listen to our podcast.

Read on for more tips and resources.

Marketing Based on Generations and Age Ranges

I’ve been having a bit of an identity crisis lately. When I turned 60 last year, I thought I had moved from “middle-aged” to “older adult,” but according to Wikipedia, I am (happily) middle-aged for a couple more years.

I then saw a meme that used the 1985 movie The Breakfast Club to illustrate the characteristics of Gen X. I thought I was part of the Breakfast Club generation, but I am a “Boomer” and not part of Gen X, right?!

Most of the people I deal with in real life relate to only a few of the cliched characteristics of these classifications and do not give them much weight.

When I got into the studio to record this week’s podcast episode and introduced this topic to my producer, Seth Cooper, I asked him what generation he was. He had to look it up. That’s how relevant being Gen Z is to him. My children’s ages are within the range of Gen Z, but they don’t fit many of the characteristics you read related to that generation. Life experiences, education, and parents’ ages are all factors in these cases.

How helpful are these labels when identifying various segments of your target audience, and how can you use this information to engage and win them over as customers?

Social Generations
(Range of Year of Birth*)

  • The Greatest Generation or the GI Generation (1901-1927)
  • The Silent Generation (1928-1945)
  • Baby Boomers (1946 – 1964)
  • Generation X (1965 – 1980)
  • Xennials (some use this classification for those on the cusp of Millenials and Gen Z) (late 1970s – early 1980s)
  • Millennials or Generation Y (1981-1996)
  • Millennials or Zennials (some use this classification for those on the cusp of Millenials and Gen Z) (early 1990s – early 2000s)
  • Generation Z (1997 – 2012)
  • Generation Alpha (post 2012)

Life Stages
(Age Range*)

  • Infancy (up to 1½)
  • Early Childhood or Toddlerhood (1½-3)
  • Play Age or Pre-school (3-5)
  • Middle Childhood (6-8)
  • Late Childhood or Early Adolescence (9 – 13)
  • Mid Adolescence (13 – 15)
  • Late Adolescence (15 – 18)
  • Early Adulthood or Young Adult (19-39)
  • Middle Adulthood or Middle Age (40 – 64)
  • Old Age (65+)

*Source: Wikipedia 

Ways To Use Social Generation and Life Stage Classifications for Your Business

  • The Age Range of a segment of your audience is an important starting point for Target Audience Research. You can identify likely traits of some of your audience based on age, but be careful not to make too many assumptions. An individual’s characteristics, needs, and wants will vary depending on additional factors, including geographic, economic, physical, emotional, psychological, etc.
  • People were more likely to adhere to societal norms in the past, but now, people are less likely to be “pigeon-holed” based on their physical age or the year they were born. Perhaps your business’s offerings are suited to these outliers, giving you an ideal niche market to target. What are these individuals’ specific traits? What language are they likely to use? What are their needs and wants, especially those relevant to your business?
  • The traits and labels may vary depending on location, especially outside the USA. To target an audience in other regions, you must do additional research specific to that region.
  • Carefully determine what language (mainly when referring to these labels) and imagery to use in your communications with your target audience. They may not appreciate being called Baby Boomers just because they may fit the Baby Boomer mold.
  • Using the identified characteristics in paid advertising, targeted based on the audience’s age, can be very effective if accurate. Inaccurate or cliched targeting can make you look out of touch or insensitive to your audience.
  • Tastes change, people evolve, and pandemics happen. Review your strategy periodically and whenever any significant events occur, and modify it as needed.

Here are some articles with advice on targeting by generation. These are primarily based on generalizations and cliches but are a good starting point.

Why You Can’t Target Everyone With The Same Messaging

  • If your messaging is general to suit a general audience, it is less likely to “click” with them. You may get some results targeting everyone with the same message, but…
  • A message specific to your audience is more likely to reach, engage, and sell to that audience, so…
  • Break your overall audience into relevant segments and determine the strategy and messaging for each.
  • Too much work? Prioritize these segments and work on the strategy for each based on priority.
  • How Do You Know What’s Working? Check your analytics! 

I’ve discussed target audience research in detail in the podcast series How to Get in Front of the Right People. To get more information, start with “WHO” https://anndonnellysuccessstories.com/ep2/.

Final Point on Generations and Age Ranges

These points are even more important when speaking directly to prospects and clients. Ensure that in all forms of communications, you and those who work with you ensure clarity, understanding, and relevance to your audience, regardless of your industry, age, etc.

In this podcast episode, I also discuss a recent meeting in which I didn’t understand much of the jargon some other participants used. Because these others were several years younger than me, I first thought, “Am I getting too old to be relevant?” Then I remembered that one of my biggest competitive advantages over the years (in an industry where many use jargon and tech speak) has been my ability to communicate clearly in a language that clients understand.

I chose to stop working with that group because I knew I could find a resource with whom I could communicate more effectively — or build my own!

Go to the player at the top of this page and listen to Episode 21 of the Building Success Stories Podcast, “The Generation Game – Baby Boomers, Gen Z, etc. – How They Matter (or Don’t) To Your Business.”

Take Action!

📍Identify one of the generations relevant to a segment of your target audience.

📍Determine how you will use this information in your sales and marketing.

📍Reply to this email, tell me your strategy, and get a quick evaluation! 

If you enjoyed this episode and found the information useful:

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Have a chat with me to see how I can help you increase sales and grow your business:

Click here to visit AnnDonnelly.com and book a call.

Ann Donnelly Fractional COO