6: Snapshot of Generation X
Generation X (GenX) includes individuals born between 1965 and 1979. While they are smaller and numbers than the Boomers before them or the Millenials after, they are still considerable in size: about 60 million consumers.
A number of factors led to the diminutive size of this generation. In addition to a natural leveling-out of the post-war "baby boom" pattern, there were also advances in medical science that made birth control widely available: "the pill" and abortion cut their numbers significantly. The independence of women that began in the 1960's, the change to a more mobile culture, and economic hardship also reduced the number of births during this period.
(EN: Generation X is often portrayed as a small group, but this largely has to do with the time span: both Boomer and Millennial generations have a twenty-year span, whereas GenX has only fifteen. Should the numbers be adjusted to include a twenty-year span, it will have about 80 million members, which would be on par with the other generations.)
Currently in their thirties and forties, this generation is beginning to assume positions of authority in the business and political spheres. They are the children of the Silent Generation, and are the first generation in American history that expected that they would be less prosperous than those who came before them.
The name "Generation X" is taken from a novel by Douglas Coupland (EN: the author forgets that it was also the name of an 80's band, which imn turn took its name from a 1960's cultural study by Jane Deverson), though various other monikers have been tried: Baby Busters, Thirteenth Generation, the MTV Generation, etc.
GenX have been stereotyped as unmotivated, sarcastic, and irreverent. Whiel institutions such as government, church, and business were important sources of authority for previous generations, GenX have regarded them with skepticism. While they have been labeled "slackers" by older generations, their mistrust of institutions has led them to be highly self-reliant: since they do not believe that the state, the church, or their employer cannot be counted upon to consider their best interest, they have a "do it yourself" attitude.
When GenX first reached adulthood, they postponed career and family and spend an extended amount of time in college, or pursuing personal interests that were not financially rewarding. They have since been surpassed by the Millennials in postponing adulthood.
For GenX, college was the place they lingered to avoid adulthood, and they are generally very educated. While the Millennials have surpassed them in terms of degrees earned, Generation X are far more capable in terms of critical reasoning and independent thought. They are resiustant to popular trends, and "can spot a phony a mile away."
Their skepticism and mistrust led them to reject the "American Dream," though they eventually settled into "adult" lifestyles - and have become a dependable, hard-working, and well-educated. However, they still remain aloof and independent of traditional institutions.
Generation X has done much to change business, especially in terms of sales and marketing. In addition to being inherently skeptical and distrusting, they grew up in an age of media "overload" and recognize many of the tricks and ploys traditional marketers have used on previous generations. As a result, many businesses are frustrated by their resistance to pressure and consider them to be un-marketable and sales-proof - but it would be more accurate to consider that they have been exposed to every kind of pitch, promotion, and gimmick in the book and "the book" has not been updated.
Generation X are also active users of the Internet and technology. The fact that the Internet was not well-developed when they were introduced to it, coupled with their distrust of sources of information, makes them more likely to dig for information and seek reliable sources, and they perform more active research when considering product purchases.
This approach has forced retail and sales professionals to be more forthcoming and more honest than they had been in the past: to make available as much information as possible and to provide reliable proof of its accuracy. Given that the GenX consumer is well-informed and skeptical, they often know as much, or even more than, the salesmen, and this "has permanently altered the relationship between salesperson and customer."
Formative Experiences
Through their youth and formative years, Generation X was fed "a steady diet of disappointment" that provided a firm foundation for their cynicism, distrust, and rejection of the culture of preceding generations.
For starters, they witnessed the disingenuous nature of adults: their Silent Generation parents spoke of family values but divorced at the highest rate in American history. Many grew up as "latchkey" kids in single-parent households, or raised by step-parents, and with fewer siblings than any previous generation. They heard much about the "peace and love" of the Boomer generation but saw their self-centeredness, materialism, and superficiality. As such, they learned to mistrust previous generations and became critical and self-reliant.
In terms of traditional institutions of church and state, they grew up after the Watergate crisis, and into an era where politicians became openly beholden to corporations and special-interest groups. They also witnessed repeated scandals in the church, the exposure of perversion and corruption among highly visible religious leaders led them to regard religion as a species of con game.
Regarding the corporate world, they were raised by parents who believed life-long devotion to a single employer, believing they would be cared for in return, but witnessed an ongoing onslaught of massive layoffs even while corporate profit margins continued to increase.
Their outlook for the future was also bleak: they were raised under constant threat of nuclear war, sexually matured during the time of the AIDS epidemic, and went to college during a time of economic upheaval in which they were frequently told that there would be no jobs when they graduated.
On the other side, they grew up during a time at which technology exploded, both in terms of traditional media (cable television expanded the number of channels to less than a dozen, to several doze, to a few hundred) and computerized media (bulletin boards, online services, and eventually the Internet), exposing them to more of American culture, and even some level of International culture, than any previous generation.
As a result, Generation X became truly media-savvy (they were exposed to a lot of media, and had to become selective) and tech-savvy (technology was available, but primitive, requiring them to invest effort in learning to leverage it). While other generations passively consume technology and media, Generation X uses technology and media in a more active and informed manner.
In the present day, Generation X is in its 30's and 40's, advancing in their careers and moving toward leadership positions and will soon become the dominant force in shaping American culture. They have started families, bought big-ticket items, and are more active in saving for retirement than previous generations.
But unlike the generations before them, they advance as a group of individuals, not as a mass: they do not join into the traditional institutions and have not spawned many of their own, so the degree to which the "middle children" of American history will be able to effect a widespread and lasting impact on the culture remains in question.
The author provides a typical laundry-list of formative experiences: Watergate, Iran Contra, and Whitewater; the sexual and financial scandals of politicians, religious leaders, and corporate executives; the recessions of the 1970s and 1980s; the explosion of cable television, particularly MTV; AIDS; the Persian Gulf War and other military conflicts in the Middle East; the VCR and CD player; and the personal computer and the Internet.
(EN: This author, and others, totally misses a very significant event: the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. This was a very significant event, and Generation X was stunned to discover that there might actually be a future. Overlooking this significant shock and the changes that precipitated from it leads to a deficient and severely flawed analysis of the culture - Generation X was deeply changed by these events, and excluding them from consideration is a serious error.)
Why Is Generation X Important?
Generation X is primarily important because they are entering their peak earning and spending years and assuming leadership positions. Over the next two decades, they will make and spend more money than at any point in their lives, and will become the essential consumers in most product categories.
Generation X is also paving the way for online commerce. While the Millennials are the heaviest technology users, they way in which technology is used is discovered, pioneered, and perfected in service of Generation X, and then inherited by the Millennials. While the Boomers still rely heavily on traditional channels, Generation X is fully immersed in technology, and researches or makes more transactions online than the boomers, and makes more high-ticket purchases through the online channel than either Boomers or Millenials.
Generation X also marks a return to a pattern of saving and wealth building. While the boomers live largely on credit and the Millennials on inherited wealth, Generation X builds wealth and plans for financial security in their retirement, and can be expected to retain spending power well into their retirement.
Generation X are tough customers - the very toughest in the present marketplace. They are virtually immune to advertising and sales tactics, demand a lot of specifications, disclosures, and proof and will spend considerable time in researching and deliberating over purchases. But on the other hand, if you can succeed in selling to Generation X, you have been tested by fire. If you have a product and sales process that satisfies Generation X, chances are it will satisfy the most demanding consumers from any other generation, and selling to them will be comparatively easy.
Generation X also tend to be loyal customers. Their willingness to invest time researching a product leads to a loyalty to the company that has won their respect - and so long as it maintains an acceptable level of quality, they are not inclined to go elsewhere. Said another way, while it is hard to win their trust, once you have done so, it is even harder for someone else to win them away.
Consumer Characteristics of Generation X
Far more individualistic and diverse than other generations in the marketplace, Generation X can be a touch sell. The author outlines some of the key characteristics:
Towards salesmen, they have a "prove it or lose it" attitude. They will not believe any claim or slogan until they see it backed up with hard facts. They're heard countless pitches and jingles, and expect disappointment, and are always on the lookout for lies. If you forward an interesting story to a GenX friend, you can be sure he will head straight for snopes.com, Wikipedia, or another trusted source to verify it is true - he will take nothing at face value.
Moreover, they expect "the whole truth" and are familiar to the tactics that are used to cover up unflattering details. They can spot a phony a mile away, and are highly attuned to even the slightest scent of something fishy. They will put the brakes on the sales process and take time to check the facts, and will be extremely disappointed at any attempt to mislead or bamboozle them. In any encounter with a salesman, they assume by default that you are hiding something from them.
Members of Generation X are more educated than any before them, measured by the number of degrees or years in school, but they are also the most adept at critical reasoning and the most resourceful in information gathering. What you have to say about your product and testimonials from other consumers both mean nothing until they have been independently verified.
As such, Generation X takes a longer time to sell, and more "touches" before they will consent to purchase. They stalk their purchases for a longer time than other buyers. But on the other hand, they will strike quickly and decisively once they have done their research and are satisfied with what they know about a product and the provider.
They will use technology extensively in the buying process - but unlike Millennials, they do not have much regard from the chatter of the masses. They will look for objective and verifiable information about a product, look into reviews and recalls, seek out expert opinions from people who are worth listening to. They will visit showrooms multiple times and compare products. They are the opposite of impulse buyers.
Generation X also has a "carpe diem" attitude. They do not trust in the future, and focus on the here-and-now. They understand that companies merge and collapse frequently, and a change in management brings with it a sweeping change in policy. As such, they recognize that the history and tradition of a firm have little to do with the company as it is today, and any promises of what might happen in future are smoke and mirrors.
Generation X also has little regard for authority figures and institutions. They have seen the corruption and dishonesty of institutions and their leadership, and are wholly unimpressed by paid spokesmen and celebrity endorsements. Unlike other generations, they do not grant automatic trust to anyone, and when they reluctantly place their trust in someone, they fully expect that, in time, it will be broken.
As such, Generation X has no heroes - or more aptly, then have a multitude of temporary heroes. There is no single person who is widely or universally admired - each member of Generation X chooses his own role models - and even then, their respect has limits: they admire a person for doing something specific, but do not extend the same admiration to every facet of their lives. They might admire someone for being a talented athlete, musician, or actor, but realize that the same person is less than admirable, and may even be reprehensible, in every other regard.
Generation X is also thoroughly disgusted with the Baby Boomers. They have seen the way this generation has betrayed its own values, and feels the lot of them to be disingenuous and false - and "for all their sound and fury, Boomers actually accomplished very little." To the Generation X mentality, there is no more despicable form of behavior than being a poser and a phony.
Generation X are also highly independent. Many of them were raised in a culture in which parents devoted little time or attention to their children, and the family that was considered "normal" to Generation X would have been labeled as "dysfunctional" by previous generations. As such, they developed a sense of independence and self-reliance from a very early age and tend to view other people as equals and resist the notion of anyone having authority over themselves.
While Generation X may seem like a "prickly bunch," they are not that hard to figure out: they demand the truth, and the whole truth, of others with whom they interact. Meeting this demand, however, has proven to be challenging for businesses, whose traditional marketing tactics reply of showmanship, grandoise claims, and covering up the unsavory facts.