The first rule of sales is “Know Thy Audience.” Anyone who deals with sales and marketing probably knows at least a little about the various generations living today. For business purposes, there are currently six generations or audiences alive today. The frugal Silent Generation, born from 1929 to 1945 and now in their 70s and 80s, grew up during the Great Depression and World War II. The free-spirited Baby Boomers (born from 1946 to 1964), who grew up during the Civil Rights movement and the Cold War, are now beginning to retire and are redefining what that means. The GenXers or Boomlets (born 1965 to 1981) were the latch key kids who grew up during the race to Space and the Vietnam War. Theirs was the first generation to transition from an analog to a digital world. Generation Y — the now much discussed Millennials (born between 1982 and 1999) — were the first generation to grow up as technology natives and watched terrorism become a global threat. They are currently the biggest generation living. But there are two more generations emerging. Meet the iGens and the Alphas.
The iGeneration, also known as Generation Z or Post-Millennials, are those born after 2000 who are not just technology natives but also social media natives. This generation is comprised of those born roughly between 2000 and 2012. The oldest of this generation are about to become adults and the youngest are in Kindergaarten. While most iGens haven’t begun to work yet, they benefit a lot from and have access to their parents’ considerable spending power. And right on the heels of Generation Z, the next generation is already emerging. Dubbed the Alpha Generation, they are comprised of today’s babies and preschoolers. Most haven’t even been born yet. While this generation has absolutely no buying power and has hardly had time to be shaped or affected by the world around them, some things can already be gleaned about them. Here’s more about the two newest generations that will be shaping our collective future. Continue reading