Generation “Why-Not” – Do you really understand a currently empowered cardholder?

Have you noticed how many “Baby-Boomers” are beginning to retire?  Well, not so slowly but surely they are. Coming into the work force, right on their heels, are members of Gen Y who are expecting to step into those very jobs the Boomers are leaving behind.  If you tell them they can’t have those big jobs right away, they’ll most likely ask, “Why-Not?” (therefore, Generation Why-Not).  If you tell them they have to work their way up the corporate ladder, you’ll probably hear them ask, “Why Should I?”

Speaking as someone who not only works with people from the Gen Y era, but also as a member of it, I have had the chance to start seeing and recognizing that employers and marketers need to make sure they are creating compelling marketing and employment conversations with my Generation in order to get our attention.

While there has been debate about the actual starting and ending year for this generation, most agree that Gen Y is made up of people born roughly between 1977 and 1992.

Gen Y makes up about 20% of our current population. As a generation, the 70 million strong are larger than the previous title holders—the “Baby-Boomers”.

Now, if that doesn’t get you a little nervous, stop to think about the social and economic impact we are already seeing from Gen Y. Next, multiply that because its members are starting to have more buying power, management influence and political positions as they enter the job market worldwide.

What are the implications for marketers and employers? What causes this generation to be so unique?

According to Bea Fields of startupnation, we have to stop “marketing to” Gen Y because “they don’t really watch TV, and they don’t read that much either.  You can’t target them through MTV anymore, and you certainly can’t just tell Gen Y what is cool.” She explains that because marketing cannot follow the previously tried and true campaigns, there are “Four simple steps to getting Generation Y’s attention (and money) for your products and services:  Provide: 1). Cheap cost 2). Good quality 3). Fast service 4). An “experience.”

Essentially, Fields suggests that to reach Generation “Why-Not”, you have to understand that Gen Y is an “experience” culture.  “They do not want to be told what to like or what to do, she says.  They want to experience the world for themselves and pass their own judgment.”
For employers, there are other issues to contend with. In an article written by Bruce Tulgan of JobDig, he explains the best way to manage Gen Y members is to give them small goals with short deadlines. He says Gen Y members are used to living their pre-work force lives based off of quick deadlines, and managers can use
that to their advantage. Tulgan also suggests managers continually answer the question, “What’s the deal around here?” in order to keep their Gen Y employees overall focus and motivation high.

So what makes Gen Y unique? I like to think of us not as Gen Y, but as Generation Why-Not? We seem to think that nothing is out of our reach, and something can always be possible. This generation wants to make a difference, and wants to accomplish all we can. I believe this is a result of growing up with parents and caregivers who swore to provide or at times, overindulge us in the ways they wish they could have been when they were younger. We have been told time after time that we can be whatever we want to be and not to let others tell us different.

As a result, we have been set up to have a somewhat false sense of security and optimism. We have almost been trained to ask “why not” when things are not the way we want or planned for. Somehow this question has become less aggressive and less inappropriate as generations have shifted, and we are wearing it down to the bone.

Marketing to Generation Y is a task unlike any other. There is no rule-book or pattern to follow in order to grab our attention. One emerging truism for Gen Y consumers is that we want our money to go toward something good. According to the Microsoft Small Business Center, and Joanna Krotz, 91% of today’s Generation Y members value companies and products that support a good cause. And 89% of them are also likely to switch brands and products to be associated with a good cause. 

Our generation has become accustomed to being extremely independent. I think this is partly due to the early and extensive exposure of things such as day care and after school programs, technology, athletics, transportation, divorce and education. I might even argue that my generation is becoming too independent for its own good.

In the end, whether or not you want to market to or employ a member of Gen Y, you will soon find that you do indeed need them for all they are cracked up to be—both good and bad.

The bottom line is that members of Generation “Why-Not” are complex. We excel, demand, create, expect, and innovate all at the same time. Employers and marketers, wake up, because we are here!