Generation ‘V’ to shape business and society, says Gartner
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‘Generation V’ – the generation familiar with the virtual world – will make most of its purchasing decisions based on virtual digital experience, and manufacturers need to change practices to target them.
So says analyst Gartner, explaining that, “by 2015, more money will be spent marketing and selling to multiple anonymous online personas than marketing and selling offline.”
Generation X and later Y were conceived as a way to understand emergent generations beyond the baby boomers. But as ageing baby boomers move online and also participate and communicate in the virtual Web 2.0 environment, the generational distinctions break down, says Gartner.
“For Generation V, the virtual environment provides many aspects of a level playing field, where age, gender, class and income of individuals are less important and less rewarded than competence, motivation and effort,” says Adam Sarner, principal analyst at Gartner.
“For example, an 11-year old individual can be the leading ‘go to’ person for advice on how to upgrade or hack a digital video recorder for more recording space. An unpopular office worker can be a highly revered, accomplished 40th-level half-elf in World of Warcraft. The opportunity for reputation, prestige, influence and personal growth provides a powerful social draw for the masses to spend more time in a virtual world.”
For manufacturers, that means access to the emerging market requires strategic change. Gartner suggests that by 2030 there will be twice as many people over 65 in the US with 70 times the real median income of their corresponding age group in 1990. “They will be spending more time online engaging as Generation V members. Companies will have new reach – and access to their growing discretionary income – that they could not get before.”
Gartner’s advice: “Companies will need to shift from collecting personal data about individual customers toward collecting more complete and more relevant data around online customer behaviour and influence on others,” says Sarner.
It advices organisations to start targeting Generation V: “Companies should organise their products and services around multiple online personas… Create virtual environments as a way to orchestrate customer exploration toward purchases… Develop and retain or outsource new skills to attract, connect, contribute and gain insight from Generation V and its virtual environment.
