Is Generational Relatability An Issue?

Is Generational Relatability An Issue?

by | Apr 19, 2022 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, Really? The Personal ScLoHo, ScLoHo's Collective Wisdom, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo

We’re going to talk about generational differences today and how they impact our relationships with others that are older or younger than us.

Last month, Mediapost shared a Quick Refresher on Demographics and that was part of the inspiration for this along with some stuff going on in my own life.

First, I’ll reveal me:

Baby Boomer, graduated from high school in the late 70’s.  I was alive when JFK was shot but have no memory of it because I was a toddler.  During most of the 60’s, I was not aware of the political turmoil or cultural revolutions that were going on.  I was just a kid.

Watergate was the first time I really noticed much about political stuff.  When Nixon resigned, I was becoming a teen and was more into teen stuff like girls and music than adult stuff.  Musically I was into Top 40 and those songs from the mid 70’s to mid 80’s were the foundation for a couple of reasons.  1st, was listening to the radio as a kid and then I was a teenage disc-jockey from age 16 to 25 on the radio for a decade before moving to the advertising side of broadcasting in Detroit in the late 80’s.

My wife is 8 years older than me and most of her friends are around her age, not mine.  We’ve been married for a couple of decades and I would tease her about stuff that happened “before I was born”.  Yet as we get older, we’ve realized that those 8 years are not as significant compared to other generations.

Our 5 kids (from our first marriages) were all born in the 80’s and most of them have kids so there’s another generation in our family now.

I recall 20 years ago when I took a break from media and marketing and learned how to run a thermoformer in a plastics plant that the people working for me were closer to my kids age than mine and that was one of the motivating factors to return to radio and get out of the very physically demanding factory world.

Now at the broadcasting company I work for, we are hiring people that are 10 years younger than my kids.  While it kind of makes me feel old at times, I’ve also enjoyed the role I play as a leader, mentor, and coach.  Plus I can still out perform many of the advertising account executives in our company, but that is not my focus.

So as you and I move forward in 2022 and the years ahead, it’s important to understand some of the differences in generational relatability that I’m about to share.  A dozen years ago I was a guest speaker on personal branding to a group of Huntington University students and realized that an example I used of TV personality Larry King was unrelatable, so the following year I updated my presentation to fix that.

Here’s the Mediapost story:

In 2018, the Pew Research Center determined that 1997 was the starting date for Generation Z. Anyone born from 1981 to 1996 is deemed a millennial, and anyone born since 1997 is a Gen-Zer.

At this point, the oldest Gen-Zers are turning 25 this year and the rest are teens or younger. (The cutoff for Gen Z births appears to be 2012.)

Among the differences between Gen Z and millennials (also called Gen Y) are:

–       Most Gen-Zers have little or no memory of 9/11. Instead, they grew up with lines clearly drawn between the political parties after the event.

–       Generation Z is the most ethnically diverse generation in U.S. history. The next most-diverse generation is millennials. Some 52% of Gen Z is white, 25% is Hispanic, and 4% is Asian, again according to Pew.

–       The iPhone launched in 2007, when the oldest Gen-Zers were 10. They came of age as social media, mobile computing and constant connectivity were part of the landscape.

–       According to a 2021 survey, the top brands for Gen Z were Google, Apple and Amazon. Netflix, Chick-Fil-A and Vans came in after that. But that survey is far from definitive. Others have put Nike at No.1, Netflix at No. 2 and YouTube at No. 3.

For millennials, the top brands were Apple, Nike and Amazon, according to marketing firm Moosylvania. Google was No. 8.

In other words, there doesn’t yet appear to be a deep divide between Gen Y and Gen Z.  That contrasts with the divide between Gen X and Baby Boomers, which was driven by some big differences. Baby boomers currently comprise 70 million people, versus 65.2 million for Gen X, according to Insider Intelligence. That doesn’t seem like a huge difference, but Gen X was marked by a “baby bust” mentality that sported attitudes of cynicism and skepticism after the euphoria of boomers.

Baby boomers also had a clear starting point (the end of World War II) and ending (1964, when the birth rate began falling). Since then, the delineations between generations seems somewhat arbitrary. As a result, those expecting a huge chasm between Gen Y and Gen Z may come up short.

Some additional insight as you consider all of this is to not make broad assumptions about someone because of the generation they were born into.  I am much more active than my son when it comes to online behavior.  I was also an early adopter compared to folks 10 to 20 years younger than me.  I had to push and pull some of my former co-workers to move forward with certain things that they thought were just a fad, but clearly were much bigger and longer lasting.  Twitter is the example that comes to mind.

Want to know more or do you have some insights to share?  Contact me.

Happiness is an Inside Job

Happiness is an Inside Job

by | Mar 2, 2022 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, Sound ADvice

Let’s be honest, compared to years gone by and even before COVID, fewer employees bring their smiles to work on a regular basis. Depending upon which source you want to believe, 50-70% of the American workforce is disengaged and/or unhappy. 

There was a time when being positive, upbeat, and happy was a given. As an employer, offering them a job was enough. In today’s “me” world, it’s not enough! The challenging question is… is it worth the price and effort to intentionally create a happy work environment.

Here are some fascinating, yet not surprising, facts that prove having happy employees will reap great rewards. Companies with happy employees…

  • Have 50% fewer workplace accidents
  • Happy employees have 37% less absenteeism
  • Companies with happy employees outperform their competition by 21%
  • 69% of employees said they would work harder if they were better appreciated
  • Employees who like their job are 10 times more likely to deliver good service

The statistics of happy vs unhappy employees are startling.  

As owners and managers, it’s easy to zero in on those things that employees do wrong, and we take for granted the things they do right. 

Psychologists will tell you, “Behaviors that get rewarded get repeated”.  If you want your staff to exhibit more customer-friendly behaviors, you need to recognize those behaviors. 

If you aren’t intentionally creating a work environment that breeds happy employees, start doing so today. 

When it comes to creating a culture of happiness, start at the beginning. Tip #1 in the Twelve Ways to Create Happy Employees is “Hire Based on Attitude, Effort, and Honesty”.  Attitude will win over skill nearly every time. Skills can be taught; attitudes are hard to change.  Effort nearly always follows attitude one way or the other, and you can never go wrong with hiring based on honesty.

The rewards of happy employees will pay huge dividends!  

To improve morale and productivity in your company, click here and read the Twelve Ways to Create Happy Employees.  

Advertising Extra’s

Advertising Extra’s

by | Feb 22, 2022 | Marketing and Advertising Insights

Regardless of the advertising vehicle you choose to use, you have a preconceived expectation about what your investment should yield. You refer to it as ROI, Return on Investment. 

When you invest money in advertising, depending upon what you are trying to accomplish, the results may vary.  If you are running a special event, you should expect that your advertising will drive potential customers towards your products or service immediately.  If you are running a Branding Campaign, the results are spread out over time and you may not see or feel the immediate impact.

However, businesses that advertise, especially on traditional intrusive media like TV, radio, and billboards will have a unique and distinct advantage over businesses that do not advertise, and it has nothing to do with customers calling or coming through your doors.  There are “Hidden Benefits” to advertising that are rarely taken into consideration when calculating your ROI.

Hidden Benefit #1 is Improved Closing Ratio. It’s much easier for your salespeople to sell a product that has created a pre-need awareness and preference.  If you were selling vacuum cleaners door to door or even online, would you rather try to sell a well-known brand like Hoover or a brand that no one has ever heard of?

Hidden Benefit #7 is Recruit Higher Quality People. The best quality people prefer and aspire to work for a business that they have heard of and trust and has created a well-known name through advertising.

Smart business owners understand the hidden benefits of advertising.  This, along with knowing your non-advertising competitors don’t have this advantage, can set you well on your way to owning your category.

If you would like to see all 9 Hidden Benefits of Traditional Media, click here.

And contact me directly if you need more customers or to hire more people.

Wanted: Unhappy Customers

Wanted: Unhappy Customers

by | Jan 25, 2022 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, Sound ADvice

Who in their right mind would ever “want” unhappy customers? The truth is…no one. But an ever-bigger truth is… if you run a business that deals with customers, you will have unhappy customers. 

“Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning” –Bill Gates

The key is, how do you deal with unhappy customers?

When it comes to handling problems or unhappy customers, using this philosophy can help you look at the situation in a better light: “It’s never a problem. It’s an opportunity to create a solution to a certain situation”.

Handling customer complaints IS an opportunity to turn an unhappy customer into one of your biggest fans!  A study done by Ford Motor Company revealed that an unhappy customer who is turned into a happy customer is twenty times more loyal than a customer who has never been unhappy.

In the pre-digital world, studies proved that an unhappy customer would tell at least twelve other people about their poor or unpleasant experience, and a happy customer would tell one or two. In today’s digital world this quote is apropos, “A happy customer tells a friend; an unhappy customer tells the world.” 

Ask yourself this:

• Is your staff trained and empowered to turn unhappy customers into happy customers? 

• Do you regularly survey your customer satisfaction levels intending to improve the customer experience at your business?

One of the most important things a business owner can do to achieve high customer satisfaction is to look for and talk to the unhappy customers. Whenever possible, even if it costs you some money and pride, make it right. It will prove to be a good ROI!

We know you will get a higher return on every customer our advertising generates if you can keep them happy spreading word of mouth and keep them coming back for more.

To receive a copy of the Eleven Commandments of Customer Satisfaction, click here. 

The reality of this that I’ve seen over and over again as a customer and as a business person is that when things are always going “just fine”, the customer’s emotional connection with the business is often neutral.  However those emotions flare when something goes wrong.  When  customer emotions are highly negative, you can flip it around and create a raving fan and turn those into highly positive emotions about you and your business.

Adjusting To New Realities In The Workforce

Adjusting To New Realities In The Workforce

by | Jan 11, 2022 | Marketing and Advertising Insights

The saying that we are in a new reality was one that many of us didn’t want to hear last year.

But it’s true and the quicker we see what is happening, the sooner we can adjust.

At the end of the year, I read the Monday Morning Memo from Roy H. Williams that talked about 3 realities we are facing today:

  1. Inflation
  2. Covid
  3. Employee Shortages

I’m not an expert on any of these, but I deal with them just like you do.

The first two are out of our individual hands, we are powerless as individuals to solve the increase in prices of goods and services because many of us we are needing to also raise the prices to pass along the costs that inflation has had on our goods and services.  Covid, well that has turned into a political football that I’m not about to address, and like you, we have limited power to fix.

What Roy mentioned in his Monday Morning Memo was a concept that I’m going to pass along to you to solve the Employee Shortage reality of 2022.

The staffing shortage was entirely predictable.  In the United States of America, the birthrate has been declining for decades.

“For years many demographers have been warning of a permanent worker shortage in the coming decades. It may just be that the pandemic brought the shortage earlier.”

“An important concept in demographics is the ‘replacement birth rate’. This is the birth rate needed to replace deaths and keep the population unchanged. If the actual birth rate is higher than the replacement rate, then the population increases. Demographers estimate the replacement birth rate is 2.1 children per woman. If the birth rate is lower than this replacement rate, then the population decreases. In the case of the latter, a declining population will eventually result in a declining labor force.”

“Statistics show the US birth rate has been steadily declining and is below the replacement rate. The latest birth rate for 2020 is 1.6, well below the replacement rate of 2.1. This means that, based on domestic births alone, the nation’s population would be declining. So far, immigration has prevented this, but there’s no assurance this will continue in the future…”

The specific idea that Roy Williams shares is for a company to offer free private daycare to employees on-site (or close to) the companies location where parents can drop off their young ones with the assurance that they will be taken care of while Mom and Dad are taking care of business.

That idea might actually work for some companies, but it’s not a universal solution right now.

So what is a universal solution?

I have a two part answer:

1st off, you need to become a company that people want to work for. In the past few years, the company I am with has undergone a specific plan to access our company culture and then improve it.  The ideas come from those who are already here.  We looked at those ideas, and found a few that could be implemented and then measured again and asked again.  It’s an ongoing process at Federated Media.

We realize that not everyone who works for us is going to stay forever. Many will leave for many different reasons, but what we want to do is keep the best and hire others that will contribute both to our mission and also our company culture. As a result, I have coworkers who have been here for years, even decades, not because they have to work here, but because they want to.

Personally the real reason I left most of the jobs I had were due to something in the culture.  The real people problem was not that we couldn’t hire enough, but we hired the wrong people at other places I worked. The answer to this for you and your company is to take that same evaluation and find out why people work for you and what can make it even better.  That is what you need to promote in your recruitment messages and ads.

Here’s the 2nd part of my solution to the labor shortage: Change the number of employees you need to run your business.

The reality is there are less people available to be hired as I mentioned at the beginning and so your business model needs to change.

Business models have been evolving and the side effects of the pandemic shut-down just accelerated some of what was going on already.  Several fast food restaurants closed their dining rooms and some are not planning on opening them up.  Instead they have become drive-thru only establishments.  I’ve seen this in my area for nearly two decades as multiple Pizza Huts created this style of restaurant. I’m sure there are others in your area that are undergoing a similar transformation.  Plus ordering online has really taken off.  Last year I went inside to place an order for chicken and was told that I had to either use the app or drive thru.

Grocery stores and other retailers are relying on self serve check out lanes more than ever.  Now instead of a cashier ringing up one customer at a time, it’s common to see one employee overseeing 6 to 10 self serve checkouts.

I’ve got a third bonus tip for you that I almost forgot because I’ve been doing it for so long and our company has been doing it even longer, at least in the Fort Wayne division of Federated Media.  Flexible work life is what we call it, but here’s how it really works…

The advertising salespeople do not have a dedicated workspace at our office.  Instead, there are a couple of hours each week that they come to the office for meetings with their manager.  Where are they the rest of the time?  Working from home, client meetings, working from their favorite internet cafe a.k.a. coffee shop, who knows?  They might be running their kid to the dentist during the middle of the day, or grabbing lunch with a friend.

This sounds like the Covid inspired Work From Home business model, but we’ve been doing it this way for many, many years.  As a General Sales Manager, I have my own office at our Fort Wayne office that I work from nearly every day.  But those on my sales team are given the freedom to do what works best for them.  We have particular items that need done daily, weekly or monthly but the ultimate measure of their success is the revenue they are responsible for with their individual budgets.  Their success is not measured with punches on a time clock.

Yes we have guidelines and Key Performance Indicators that when followed will create individual successes, but reporting to the office just because it’s always been that way, 5 days a week… We abandoned that years ago to focus on productivity.  In other departments, there are similar flexible work arrangements too.  This has become an important part of our culture.

By the way, I am always looking for qualified candidates to join my advertising sales team at WOWO radio in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  We just hired a new team member and I have at least one more opening to fill.  However, I’m going to keep that position open until I find the person that fits us best.  Perhaps that is something you should do with your company too, be picky with who you hire to protect the culture you have in place.

And one last note, if you would like to learn more about the opening I have, here’s a link to the job posting. https://www.wowo.com/wanted-sales-hunter/