Generational Cohorts and Buying Behaviors - Article Example

Generational Cohorts and Buying Behaviors People in a generational cohort share experiences, goals and values. Schuman and Scott identified seven different generational cohorts in 1985. According to these, I belong to the Generation X cohort which comprises of people born between 1965 and 1980. An elder uncle of mine belongs to The Post World War II cohort (1928 to 1945) where people are most likely to be attracted to nostalgic products. The buying behaviors of our cohorts differ to a great extent.

My elder uncle is more likely to prefer the conventional desktop computer that he has in his mind, something he is familiar with. He is not likely to accept radical changes happening in technology every day. This shows the conservatism and conformity of this particular cohort. On the other hand, I would prefer buying a computer that is handy, portable, light weight to carry around and one that offers all new functionalities. A possible choice could be a Netbook which provides the best of performance and entertainment and is capable of running contemporary digital media.

For buying an outfit to wear to a party, uncle would probably prefer one that closely matches his personality, something that is more moderate and less flashy. A “zoot suit” from the late 1930s is an excellent example to think of. In comparison, my preference towards getting a party outfit would be of something that is more fashionable and one which reflects my age. It would probably be a two button classic Armani suit. Use of Generational Cohorts Knowledge by Firms for Effective Marketing Firms spent enormous sums of money to reach consumers with no guarantees that anyone wanted to buy them (shotgun approach).

Today, they can use their knowledge on generational cohorts to identify population characteristics so that they can determine their potential customers. They can also develop new products in order to meet the unmet and new needs of people belonging to cohort(s) and reposition their brand in the minds of their consumers, just according to their needs. They can establish campaigns that create appeal to the cohort’s values at an emotional level. Moreover, they can also use media (song tracks/music, images and personalities) corresponding to a cohort to tap their feelings of nostalgia.

This allows them to connect with people again and at a very personal level and market their products better. Organizational Culture at a Trading Company Organizational culture depicts the shared values and perceptions between the members of an organization. An organization can have any type of an organizational structure. The culture for an equipment trading company is “normative”. In a normative culture, focus is on doing things properly from an ethical or procedural perspective. This culture is similar to the “process oriented” culture where emphasis is on repeating known methods.

If a B2B salesperson understands this organization’s culture, he would have an in-depth understanding of the organization’s needs and their norms and would know the exact person to talk to. This way, the salesperson can communicate what he needs to and sell his product in the right manner. They will be able to build an appeal in their communication methods and deal according to the organization’s culture. The salesperson can offer the equipment trading organization to cater to their logistics function.

Since this organization follows a normative/process oriented culture mix, they would naturally be worried about the delivery of their equipment. A specific requirement would be attaining fast and safe deliveries to their customers. The salesperson can understand this requirement of the trading company by studying their culture beforehand and then targeting this “opportunity” in just the right manner so that he can sign off a successful deal with them. This can be done by making the organization believe that the salesperson clearly understands them and their culture.

This knowledge can therefore always benefit in B2B marketing. Marketers can work hard on this key point and earn great benefits when making deals with different organizations.