In the ever-evolving American social landscape, a significant shift has occurred. For the first time, a large portion of older citizens have substantial discretionary income. Meanwhile, among younger families, dual-income households have become the norm, leaving many with limited discretionary income. This change in demographics and financial dynamics necessitates a shift in how we communicate with different groups.
It's crucial to understand that you can't communicate with Generation X and senior citizens in the same manner. This approach is doomed to fail due to the differing value structures and attitudes between these groups. Moreover, their responses to stimuli vary significantly.
Most purchasing decisions are made based on emotions, which are later rationalized with logic. On a website, the emotional response that triggers the buying decision is often elicited by the sales presentation. This underscores the importance of knowing your audience intimately, understanding their values, attitudes, goals, and what motivates them to make a purchase.
Consider the different voices used in various genres of literature - a Western novel, a thriller, a mystery, or a romance. Authors often grapple with finding the right voice for their work.
The term 'voice' encompasses style, imagery, emotional triggers that resonate with the reader, vocabulary selection, and even sentence length. Essentially, anything that helps convey a specific tone or feeling is part of the voice.
As previously mentioned, the voice that resonates with Generation X may not be suitable for seniors, and vice versa.
Feedback from off-target visitors can be misleading. If you receive enough of this type of input, you might be tempted to introduce a new product to capitalize on the perceived interest. However, this broadens your focus instead of narrowing it, which is a strategic misstep.
Moreover, the off-target product may seem out of place to your targeted visitors, potentially driving them away. If you discover something that appeals to a significant off-target group, consider creating a separate site entirely dedicated to this newly identified demographic.
Let's say you've decided to target senior citizens and have a good understanding of their beliefs and motivations. You can communicate with them effectively using an appropriate voice. However, it can be beneficial to further narrow down your target audience.
For instance, among seniors, there are college graduates, self-educated individuals, business owners, managers, employees, and those who never held high-paying jobs. Many women in this demographic may prioritize family above all else.
If you can identify a subset within the senior demographic, the appropriate voice may differ significantly from what's needed for another subset. Adjust your communication style accordingly.
While the senior market may be more profitable, if you're a member of Generation X, it might be best to focus on a subset of your own generation. This is because you inherently understand their values and attitudes, making it easier for you to find the right voice to connect with them. Seniors, on the other hand, may disregard your message unless you can adopt their values, attitudes, and an appropriate voice.
Ensure that your newsletters, site content, and sales presentations are as specific as possible to your target audience. Continually strive to narrow down this target even further. While off-target visitors may make purchases, this doesn't suggest that you should broaden your target audience or change your voice to accommodate them.
Never, Ever Release Any Of Your Rights To Anyone
One of the grandest scams on the Web, which goes largelyunnoticed, is for a web-based bookseller or publisher to requiresome rights to your work in exchange for the service to beprovided. Many demand the electronic rights, for example.
The Hits That Matter Most
So you know what hits mean. Unique hits or user sessions,I mean. And you know what CR means. Right? If so, you're ingreat shape, for many people don't. They think they do. But they've got it wrong.
Customer Personality Types: Does It Matter?
Marketing types are fond of classifying people intocategories. Here are four which I took from "Differentiate OrDie," by Jack Trout with Steve Rivkin. (John Wiley & Sons, NewYork, 2000, p15.) Only the first few words of each are includedhere.
