Customer Expectations Based on Age Group

The age of your customers does play a factor in making business decisions. Understanding how each group thinks plays directly into how they will spend their money. If you can communicate with a personal approach, this will pay dividends to your customer base. Below, we share our insight into how you can make business decisions to appeal to different age groups and their expectations.

Digital and Technological Advances

Although businesses are developing technology to adapt to the times, human interaction will never go out of style. When it comes to customer service, all age groups prefer having a discussion with a person. Yes, even the younger generation. Given that age groups 45 and older didn’t grow up with as much technology, it’s no surprise they are more comfortable with human interaction. They prefer to speak with a customer representative in person or over the phone to avoid making mistakes. It’s true, they’re less likely to be inclined to use a touch screen to order food or use delivery apps for food. But even the younger generations yearn for a human touch in a digital world. However, they are likelier to adapt to a digital format quickly. This is an important piece of information to know when understanding how to market your business. Technology is here to stay, so having opportunities for the younger generations is helpful, but never forget to keep the human element around. There is room for both!

What Each Age Group Expects

Generational gaps exist outside of technology. The quality of service also varies. Older customers are more likely to appreciate quality service from in person employees. They also value the product/service to be delivered efficiently and competently, having questions answered should they come up. Younger customers tend to be a little different. This age group expects a location to do more to earn their business. Having an app, website, social media, or even a loyalty program could be ways to get their attention and retain them. Patience also differs among age groups. The younger groups expect instant results. They are likely to pay more to have something delivered overnight, whereas older customers are likelier to wait for something if it means saving money. Both subsets of ages want something similar, but the ways they go about it can be very different. It’s important to be adaptable and have outlets that will satisfy both groups. This will help your business appeal to a larger audience.

The Presentation of Your Message

All ages will want marketing that does certain things the same way. Understanding the buyer’s preferences and creating engaging marketing are both points that businesses should understand. However, the age groups will prefer the message presented in a different way. Older generations are likely to prefer consistency as a method of marketing. They’ll want their business to be warranted by the quality of the product, whereas younger generations enjoy a customer-first dynamic. Being amiable to their preferences and the wave of change taking place is an important feature of their purchasing power. Having an idealistic outlook and a sense of feeling cared for is important to them. Lingo and sentence phrasing could be adjusted based on who the product is being presented to. Know your audience and know who is buying your product!