As marketers and business owners we are always looking for ways that can increase the effectiveness of our marketing messages.
In a crowded inbox or phone, we want our messages to be the ones consistently opened, clicked and of course our call to action followed.
There are a number of ways to impact this, but one of the most effective is personalised messages. Savvy consumer know that you know plenty about them and want some of that reflected back.
In hospitality particularly, we are privy to a lot of information about consumers and their consumption. Some of that information could be sensitive and should be used with caution. Also we know that consumer behaviour in hospitality is very occasion based. That means that just because I ate steak and drank tap beer last time with my footy crowd doesn’t mean when I dine with my family I will eat and drink the same items.
So how do we increase personalisation of our current marketing, particularly when what we might know about a consumer is limited?
The answer might be in their age. Although based on generalisations, the large volume of data about preferences, life stage and behaviours about the generations could be helpful for marketing. If your TalkBox database doesn’t have a high percentage of contacts with DOB, check out our helpful hints for creating an Update Details campaign.
Using McCrindle Research’s definitions and dates we have identified the following generations that can easily be added as filters into your TalkBox account.
- Builders + Boomers (1925-1945 / 1946-1964)
- Gen X (1965-1979)
- Gen Y (1980-1994)
- Gen Z (1995-2009)
- Alphas (2010-2024)
So how does splitting your database into generations help with your marketing?
Well let’s focus on a key element; life stage. Here are some of the traits that might be relevant when marketing to your business around life stage.
- Builders + Boomers – are in retirement, have milestone birthdays from 60, possibly have more time during the day, are looking to stay connected and active. Does your business/venue/brand resonate with this group? Perhaps you should be marketing lunch specials, day time music events and your Seniors meals.
- Generation X – coming closer to the end of school fees and perhaps with some equity in their mortgage they might finally have some more time for social gatherings. As the first generation that spend most of their work life with a computer they have seen enormous change and are quite nostalgic for the 80’s. Sounds like the Trivia Night Crew of the tribute band you are promoting have found their audience.
- Generation Y – many of them are deep in mortgage stress and raising kids. Perhaps ‘Kid’s Eat Free’ might be the thing that attracts their attention or free delivery of your family value packs.
- Generation Z – they are our first digital natives, not great consumers of alcohol and put smashed avo on the map. If your venue is known for authentic local produce, Zebra striping and eclectic experiences, this might be your key audience.
- The Alphas – this group are still in school and are showing us the way with new ways to engage with social media and the internet. They have a whole different language and will have influence over the consumption patterns of the family.
Now that you are thinking of aligning your message to the different generations, you can segment your audience by using the Generations Filters or contacting support@impactdata.com.au.
When sending your message select Filter is or Filter is not any of Builders + Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y, Generation Z or Alphas.
Tailoring your message to the appropriate audience and breaking up your broadcast communications is an important step in improving your communication engagement.
One last TalkBox Tip, when you look more deeply into your database and understand the distribution across the generations, you may realise that your venue or brand doesn’t overly appeal to one of more of these groups.
This may mean that you don’t actively market to them of you reconsider what you need to do to attract them.