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Exploring New Territory: Baby Boomers, Foreign Cultures, Digital Influence
Oct 17th
Change is a constant in business today. What worked last month may need a tweak this month. Even though there are core elements to business that remain, change is constant. For example, we have to market our company, service or message to acquire more business–that’s a core element. But some of the things we do in order to market our business are things we didn’t do five years ago. And I’m curious to see what will join the mix in the next five years … because things change.
Replacing Baby Boomers
In “When Big Companies Go Back to School, Will Small Businesses Benefit?” Anita Campbell says:
“Despite widespread unemployment, U.S. companies seeking to hire are complaining of a shortage of qualified workers.”
As the Baby Boomers continue to retire, industry finds there are not enough trained and tenured Generation X and Y (yet) to take their place in certain fields. To address the issue, some corporations are proactive as they encourage “schools and colleges to provide job training for the next generation of employees” Anita says in reference to a Wall Street Journal report on the subject.
Replacing Baby Boomers is new territory because it’s not plug and play. The new generations don’t think the same, don’t stay on jobs as long and are often motivated by different goals and lifestyle choices.
Understanding Foreign Cultures
Foreign is relative. Who is speaking? Where are they from? What is their culture? The ability to recognize and adapt to these distinctions can be new territory for some. In “How Understanding Foreign Cultures Can Help You Advance,” John Mariotti provides “a crash course in culture politics” including the differences from one company to the next.
Being CEO material isn’t enough to succeed in a new environment; you need to understand and respect the culture of the company. John says:
“No matter how competent you are, no matter how experienced you are, until you understand the culture in which you are operating, living or simply participating, you are in many ways, a rank novice.”
Distinctions between businesses, languages, departments and histories change how we see and respond to things. Every time you encounter a culture difference it’s new territory. So before you clear the room by saying the wrong thing, listen and adjust. Learning to maximize these distinctions instead of aggravate them could be good for business.
Paying Attention to Digital Influence
Ivana Taylor says:
“Like it or not, influence indicators matter. Becoming an influencer is no longer reserved for celebrities and powerful political figures. YOU are currently becoming an influencer, or fading into the background, depending on your marketing presence online.”
Social media is here, and the tools to measure its impact are emerging and adapting. Ivana says:
“Reputation and influence rankings are here to stay regardless of what the measuring app or tool is called.”
Social media is a relatively new marketing medium with new measurement tools. It’s new territory. The question is, How do you adapt to change, to new territory, to difference?
Pay attention to the people around you — how they engage, communicate and adjust — and make plans only after you understand what you’re dealing with. But be quick to listen because ignoring the distinctions and the changes can cost you opportunities, relationships and influences.
Exploring New Territory: Baby Boomers, Foreign Cultures, Digital Influence
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
The New Baby Boom Generation: How to Profit From It
Oct 5th
Remember the Baby Boomers – that massive group of people who came of age in the 1960s and set out to change the world? I’m one of them and while we Boomers may not have revolutionized everything we set out to do, we did change the face of marketing as companies watched our every move and figured out how to profit from it.
And while the Boomers are still a force to be reckoned with, there’s a new demographic in town that could prove even more profitable: The Millennials.
The Millennial generation, also known as Generation Y or the “Echo Boomers,” is three times bigger than Generation X and even bigger than the Baby Boom generation. The dates of the Millennial generation are not precisely defined, but depending on what measure you use, their birth dates typically stretch from the late 1980 to 2000.
Barkley (a marketing agency), Service Management Group and The Boston Consulting Group recently released a new study, American Millennials, that sheds some light on this massive generation and its potential to generate massive profits for marketers. Here’s some of what they found.
They’re mobile. No surprise, but Millennials are early adopters of mobile shopping and are more likely than non-Millennials to research products with a mobile device while they’re shopping (50% compared to 21% for non-Millennials).
- Lesson for your business: If you’re not already exploring mobile marketing, you need to be. And even if you’re not targeting Millennials now, keep in mind their familiarity with mobile means this will continue to be a crucial marketing channel as they get older.
They care about causes. Millennials were more likely than other age groups to be aware of cause marketing campaigns such as Gap RED (26 percent compared to 9 percent for other age groups). They typically learn about cause marketing campaigns online through social media or news channels.
- Lesson for your business: If there’s a cause that resonates with Millennials and makes sense for your business, consider getting involved. But be sure it’s something you truly care about, since Millennials can spot inauthenticity a mile away.
They don’t watch much TV—at least, not on TV. Nearly half of non-Millennials watch more than 20 hours of TV a week; by comparison, just 26 percent of Millennials do. That doesn’t mean they don’t watch TV shows—they just watch them on their computers (42 percent), on DVR (40 percent) or On-Demand (26 percent).
- Lesson for your business: Primetime commercials—long the province of big companies—are getting less influential, which means your message has a better chance of breaking through. Online advertising or clever videos that Millennials can share with their friends could be better marketing tools than traditional TV spots. (You Tube is a great way to potentially get your message in front of millions.)
They seek affirmation. I’m not saying they’re sheep, but Millennials are more likely than non-Millennials to shop with friends or family members along. And maybe it’s the fact that they’ve grown up with social media or constant affirmation from their parents, but Millennials are more likely to seek their friends’ input about what to buy, where to eat or how to spend their free time, and prefer it when their peers agree with them.
- Lesson for your business: Get involved in social media that lets customers share opinions about your business, tell their friends what they’re doing (say, by checking in at your store or posting photos of their purchases), and give and get feedback on their choices.
They’re stylish. It’s no surprise that Millennials care about fashionable clothing, but in a case of “do as I do, not as I say” they want your salespeople to walk the walk. If clerks in a clothing store aren’t dressed stylishly, Millennials likely won’t even come in.
- Lesson for your business: This one translates beyond just clothing retailers—make sure your front line employees are living your business’s brand, not just giving it lip service.
Because the Millennial generation is so huge, understanding what they want is imperative for every business. If you hope to continue growing your business as the Millennials grow older, you’d best start paying attention.
The New Baby Boom Generation: How to Profit From It
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
Sugar Baby / Sugar Daddy Dating Is The Latest Craze – Cash In Here
Aug 29th
This guide is flying off the shelves so to speak … or rather, it is flying off the website!!! Conversion rate is 1:26. That means that for every 26 people you send to the site 1 will buy and you Will Get Paid. Offering an unprecedented 75% commission
Sugar Baby / Sugar Daddy Dating Is The Latest Craze – Cash In Here
60 Is the New 40: How Baby Boomers Affect Your Business
Jul 10th
We have been hearing about the baby boomers for decades and we will hear about their impact for decades to come. I remember studying them in high school and college, so I’m guessing that it was on all Generation X and Y curricula. They are still the largest group of babies born in the U.S. at one time and their decisions have and continue to affect business, retirement and your small business bottom line—if you know how to get and keep their attention.
Baby Boomers, Retirement and Education
Anita Campbell, in an article on American Express OPEN Forum titled, “When Big Companies Go Back To School, Will Small Businesses Benefit?“, broaches the idea of replacing the baby boomer in the manufacturing and engineering fields. “In manufacturing, nearly one-fourth of employees are already 55 or over, creating concerns about coming mass retirement,” she writes. In response to this concern, Anita says, “many big employers are asking community colleges to create custom training programs for them.”
The baby boomers are loyal and focused on their work which results in years of skill and know-how. Sounds like the need to fill the gap that retiring baby boomers will create may also change the landscape of education options in some communities.
Working or retired, baby boomers are still making waves.
Marketing to Baby Boomers
Yvonne DiVita, in “How to Market to the Baby Boomer Demographic” on American Express OPEN Forum, speaks from both research and experience as she gives a snapshot of the baby boomer female. Yvonne says,
“These are not the rocking-chair women of the 20th century. They’re vibrant, colorful, energetic, and connected women who love hanging out with their granddaughters. They’re over 50 but act as if they are under 40 – living up to their expectations, not yours.”
As the daughter of two vibrant boomers, I think her take is right on point. Every system that the baby boomers moved through, they have stretched, challenged and altered in some way. Retirement is no different.
Age doesn’t mean the same thing any more. Maybe 60 is the new 40.
Winning Them Back
When marketing to baby boomers, Yvonne makes the point that “grandmoms are everywhere….they have influence. Get to understand that and how to tap into it.”
If you have ignored this group, then today is a good day to pay attention. But if they used to be customers and you managed to lose their business along the way, then consider the advice Ivana Taylor offers in a piece on American Express OPEN Forum titled, “5 Ways to Win Back Lost Customers.” Her tips are not exclusive to baby boomer clients, but they are helpful. According to research by Marketing Metrics that Ivana references in her article, you have up to a 40 percent chance of winning back a former customer, which is double your chances of winning a new one in the first place. So it may be worth the effort.
More power to the baby boomers and to your business as you learn how to take care of them. I know one thing: Don’t underestimate (or ignore) them.
60 Is the New 40: How Baby Boomers Affect Your Business
View full post on Small Business News, Tips, Advice – Small Business Trends
How I Had A Baby When I Was Infertile – 7 Women Share Their Success
Mar 29th
Great Opportunity For Alternative Health Site For Womens Infertility and Endometriosis. Excellent For Conception And Pregnancy And Alternative Health Niches.
How I Had A Baby When I Was Infertile – 7 Women Share Their Success
Egyptian Man Names Baby “Facebook”
Feb 21st
TechCrunch reports on this post-revolutionary phenomenon:
Translation (from the original Arabic article):
A young man in his twenties wanted to express his gratitude about the victories the youth of 25th of January have achieved and chose to express it in the form of naming his firstborn girl “Facebook” Jamal Ibrahim (his name.) The girl’s family, friends, and neighbors in the Ibrahimya region gathered around the new born to express their continuing support for the revolution that started on Facebook. “Facebook” received many gifts from the youth who were overjoyed by her arrival and the new name. A name [Facebook] that shocked the entire world.
There are five million Facebook users in Egypt, more so than any other country in the Middle East/North Africa region. Facebook itself has reported an increase in Egyptian users in the past month, with 32,000 Facebook groups and 14,000 pages created in the two weeks after January 25th.
While the baby girl could just have easily been called “YouTube,” “Twitter” “Google” or even “Cellphone Camera,” it seems like Facebook has become the umbrella symbol for how social media can spread the message of freedom. There are countless manefestation of this, the above graffiti in Cairo, “Thank you Facebook” protest sign, and Wael Ghonim himself personally expressing his gratitude to Mark Zuckerberg on CNN.
Still think social media has nothing to do with revolutions, Malcolm Gladwell?
View full post on Business Pundit
iSoftStone: Bring on the Chinese IPO Bubble, Baby
Dec 14th
Chinese tech companies’ US IPO have been erupting into a storm of money lately. IT services company iSoftStone, which targets the banking, energy, communications, and tech industries with its consulting and services, is the NYSE’s latest wunderkind. From Reuters:
Shares of China-based IT services provider iSoftStone Holdings Ltd ISS.N rose 36.6 percent in early trading Tuesday in their stock market debut as investors again put their money on the Chinese tech sector. The shares were trading at $17.25 at midmorning on the New York Stock Exchange, up from an initial public offering price of $13. They earlier rose as high as $18.77.
Investors recently have had an insatiable demand for Chinese tech stocks. One new issue last week more than doubled in price in its first day of trading. The outsized demand has caused some observers to worry about a bubble, similar to the U.S. tech boom and bust of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
The company said it would use its share of IPO proceeds to repay bank borrowings and for general purposes. Sellers in the IPO include AsiaVest Opportunities Fund and Infotech Entities.
Is it a bubble? Look at recent Chinese dot-com IPO history, from the New York Times:
Last week, shares of Youku, called the YouTube of China, rose 161 percent in the first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. E-commerce China Dangdang, an online retailer heralded as the Chinese Amazon.com, popped 87 percent after its initial public offering the same day. The Internet content provider ChinaCache International Holdings rose 95 percent in the day after its Nasdaq debut in October.
Through these IPOs, Chinese companies get their hands on more capital in US stock markets, and investors bid up a bubble. Everyone’s making money. It’s not a bad thing if you play it right, and don’t assume it will go on forever.
Besides, it’s about time something exciting happens on the stock market.
View full post on Business Pundit
Daily Dose – Social Media Marketing To Baby Boomers
Aug 28th
| Nearly half (47 percent) of internet users ages 50-64 and about one in four (26 percent) users age 65 and older now use social… |
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View full post on Home Wealth Project Riot!
Debbie Mayo-Smith : Baby steps start growing your media presence – Small Business
Jul 18th
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For business, the current conundrum about social media is should we or shouldn’t we? That is the question many are asking – from the large corporate to… |
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View full post on Home Wealth Project Riot!
Nurture not Nature: 4 Reasons Why Social Media is Like Caring For a Baby
Jun 15th
| I did my best to forget all about the social web for nine days but alas it wasn’t to be, and it was while playing a g |
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View full post on Home Wealth Project Riot!
