By now, most of us in PR/marketing have studied thoroughly the generations whose names we are all very familiar with –Baby Boomers, Gen X and Millenials. For those who’ve not already done so, it’s time now to turn attention to the up-and-coming generation, Generation K. That is, those born in 1995-2002. This new generation, named for “Katniss,” the determined heroine of the “Hunger Games” book trilogy, already has begun to set itself apart from previous generations. 

According to professor and author Noreena Hertz, who researched extensively Gen K, among the things that make Gen K’ers content are creating, connectedness and caring.

For them, to feel really connected, this group wants to be noticed, spoken to (figuratively and literally) and heard. For them, personalization is where it’s at.

Members of Gen K gobble up the attention given by such creative PR tactics as loyalty programs, particularly when those programs offer very me-focused content and offers. That’s something previous generations typically have shied away from as they generally are more concerned about too much “Big Brother” when marketing approaches get, as they believe, too personal. 

But given the new mindset of Gen K, driven by personalization, the doors are wide open for companies to now carry out strategic programs to “get personal,” especially with their younger customers.   

According to a recent study published this month in SmartBrief, personalization influences customer loyalty with all generations, but more so with the younger generations.

Generation K – 54%

Millennials – 52%

Generation X – 48%

Baby boomers – 40%

Personalization means tailored content and specific, targeted offers. Of course acquiring quality personal data may not be inexpensive, but consider what you reap from this – true customer loyalty. That means repeat customers and, most often, customers willing to “talk” about your company online and offline with others. Priceless.

Does your company have a loyalty program in place? If so, have you assessed recently its success in drawing loyal customers? Have you scrutinized it in terms of its level of personalization? And if you don’t have a loyalty program, why not? Is it time to develop one?  

Sometimes companies put loyalty programs in place because they think they have to just to be like everyone else, then they simply go through the motions to continue the same-old-same-old, effective or not.

Our challenge to you is to look critically at your loyalty program. See what it’s done for you, for your customers, and consider what it will take to start or improve on what’s already in place. Just give us a call or email us, and we can put our experience to work for you in helping to answer these questions for you and critically analyze where your company is and where it needs to be. You can reach us at 770-645-4545 and http://rountreegroup.wpengine.com/.