The Millennium Generation, the Internet Generation, the Echo Boomers. Generation-Y has many names, but the facts are consistent. Members of Gen Y were born between the years 1979 and 1994. They are a force of approximately 70 million and are the highest per capita spenders in the United States. One of Gen-Y's nicknames that particularly attract marketers is ?Generation Y Not??
Gen-Y consumers are much more willing to try something new than Baby Boomers and members of Generation-X. With open minds and strong buying power, businesses are hitting a ?marketing jackpot? when successfully targeting campaign messages toward Gen-Y. So what's keeping every business from taking advantage of this strategy? Many obstacles including saturated advertising mediums and ever evolving trends stand in the way between businesses and this attractive market. What can businesses do to overcome these obstacles? Research is always the first answer, but after that, try promotional products!
?Technology makes it easy to avoid mass advertising,? says Joyce Claterbos, marketing professor at the University of Kansas. ?The people in Generation-Y have many choices of things to do, so to identify two to three prime ways to contact them can sometimes be difficult.?
?Trend-watching? is one way marketers can find information to better understand the minds of Gen-Yers. One thing's for sure, Gen-Y loves technology. They obtain more product and service information from the Internet than anywhere else and prefer e-mail addresses over phone numbers. That should be a huge red flag for businesses to launch a Web site if they don't already have one, or advance current Web sites by creating a visual identity and marketing the Web address at every opportunity. This strategy will help fuel the opportunity for viral marketing, a phenomenon that stimulates and encourages people to pass along marketing messages through the Internet. A simple Web address that is easy to remember works best.
Gen-Yers also enjoy instant gratification. They have a short attention span. In other words, be where they are and deliver your message quickly, but efficiently. Support events that they attend such as concerts, sporting events or school functions. Better yet, pass out promotional products or conduct contest giveaways at these events to maximize brand exposure. Because they've grown up in an environment where media is so saturated by advertisements, Gen-Yers can easily become skeptical of ads or promotions that seem to leave out pertinent information. Stealth marketing won't work for this bunch. Instead, be prepared to deliver the facts, but be sure not to talk down to them. Gen-Yers like to feel they are more knowledgeable than the average consumer.
?Businesses must first become technically adept in order to understand how Generation-Y uses technology, and then learn how to reach that audience,? says Claterbos. ?Secondly, businesses should not judge and make assumptions about those people.?
With a generation that is so into itself, some marketers might make the mistake of thinking every campaign should revolve around the consumer. Members of Gen-Y are actually quite aware of the concerns of society. Market research has shown that Gen-Y is responsive to cause marketing. So, if your business is considering going Green or thinking Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness, make sure you let Gen-Y consumers know that you are taking this step in corporate social responsibility. Promotional products can act as the promotional vehicle that delivers your message and help break through the Gen-Y barrier.
Baby Boomer Generation Y
It was long feared that the aging of the baby boomer generation would bring about a healthcare crisis in the United States, and our nation's politicians have planned accordingly. Cuts to Medicare and Medicaid benefits have been implemented several times over the last decade, and congress has recently proposed a package that would reduce benefits 40% over the next 9 years, while raising premiums 20%. Still, every cloud seems to indeed have a silver lining, as one positive to result from the increased burden to the health care system can be seen in the number of health industry jobs projected to become available over the next ten years. In the next ten years, the single fastest growing employment sector in the U.S. will be in gerontology and senior healthcare.
Still, a new problem emerges when considering the supply of trained healthcare workers vs. the number of adults whose aging is expected to increase the population of the 55 to 65 year old category over the next decade. Worker shortages for the healthcare industry are inevitable, which means career opportunities will be not only plentiful, but more lucrative overall as a result.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, healthcare related jobs are expected to grow faster than the national average for all other industries through 2014 and likely beyond. The nursing field, in particular, is the second fastest-growing occupation for job growth over the next decade. The number of current nursing professionals approaching retirement is growing far faster than the number of nursing program graduates, and recruitment efforts by healthcare organizations are already underway. Nursing salaries have risen substantially over the last several years, and increases are expected as competition for workers becomes more prevalent. Sign on bonuses that were once unheard of are now commonplace, and those entering the field have more options than ever in terms of the type of facility they wish to work in.
Home health care aid positions are expected to rise as well, with more and more Americans choosing to forgo assisted living options and instead remain independent. Jobs on the administrative end of the healthcare industry are also on the rise as insurance companies brace for the tide of health claims expected to hit the industry. As with all employment sectors that have a limited supply of qualified personnel and an increasing demand for them, wages and salaries will continue to rise until positions are filled.
Those entering college or technical school programs can find increased salary potential and job security in the healthcare sector. While the price of health care is rising, so are the potential employment opportunities in an industry that will struggle to meet the demands of the current aging population.
Both Thanh Do & Search For Classes are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Thanh Do has sinced written about articles on various topics from Marketing, Promotional Advertising. Thanh Do is a student in the William Allen White school of jounalism at the University of Kansas. She is also a member of Absorbent, Ink.'s marketing team.
