The voice of the customer is more important than the age of the customer

We wrote about “baby” Baby Boomers and how you cannot talk to an entire generation that spans ~17 years the same way.  Let’s face it, 55 is not the same as 72. But other generations cannot be shoved into a shoebox either.

While it is true that different generations develop different approaches when it comes to online shopping, social media and general brand engagement, generalizations about (any) age are dangerous. What one 45 year old might want is not what another 45 year old might want.  Because one 45 year old might have a kid in college and another might have a 4 year old and, increasing, others have both or none. We’re all different.

Age really does not define us.

As a result, brands can often make assumptions about their customers that don’t accurately reflect their actual demographics.  This is particularly true if they build stereotypical customer personas based on age. The voice of the customer is far more important than the age of the customer.

For instance, much has been said about the preferences of millennials who, in 2018, are currently between 22 and 36. Millennials may be avocado toast munching coffee drinkers but, hey, avocado on toast was invented by Australian Baby Boomers as were Flat Whites.  Their breakfast fare does not define them.

Here are some myths about millennials:

• They don’t care about privacy. They do. They might like to take selfies and post their breakfast on Instagram but that does not mean they like brands to engage in privacy encroaching behavior.  In fact they care more about that aspect of brand engagement than boomers do.

• They are digital only. They might be digital first but they are not digital only. 85% of all shoppers say they shop in stores because they want to “touch and feel” items before they buy. So in person experiences are important to millennials as well.  This explain the clicks to bricks trend among direct to consumer brands such as Warby Parker.

• They are all about causes.  Not true.  While 58 percent of millennials say it’s important for brands to invest in social causes, 51 percent of baby boomers think the same.  So not a big difference.  Not enough to define a generation.

Remember, what your customers say is more important than how old they are. So when you develop your customer personas, treat age with caution.