Generation X. You know them, even if you can’t picture them as easy as a ‘Baby Boomer’ or ‘Millennial.’ They are squeezed between those generations at home and in the workforce, and they are a massive market composed of business-owning, tech-using, money-making people with little time and careful trust.
The bottom line is, Generation X affects your insurance agency as an independent agent’s largest target market. They need to be able to work with you authentically and efficiently in order to earn and keep their business.
What we Know About Generation X
They are sometimes referred to as the ‘Sandwich Generation’ because they’re squeezed between two generations at home. Gen X are the ones making life and healthcare decisions for elderly parents, while also raising their own families. Oh, and likely owning and running a business.
Not to be overshadowed by Baby Boomers and Millennials, they deserve notice in their own right. Marketers of all kinds of products, from financial planning to makeup, see them as a hot market segment. And as business owners, they’re prime candidates for commercial insurance.
How Generation X Could Affect Your Agency
There are plenty of reasons for independent insurance agencies to appeal to Generation X.
Size
There are 82 million of them in the U.S. That’s more than the aging Boomers (76 million).
Longevity
At 40-55 (in 2020), Gen X-ers have plenty of business-owning years ahead of them. They are also seeking long-term solutions and partnerships when it comes to business.
Financial status
— Gen Xers outspend all other generations.
— They earn 31 percent of all US income.
— They’re projected to hold 31 percent of US net wealth by the end of this decade.
Business
These are America’s small business owners and entrepreneurs. If you’re looking for decision-makers in the construction industry, financial services or real estate (among other entrepreneurial niches), you’ll find them in Generation X.
In short, these previously “invisible” go-getters have buying power and are decision-makers for their businesses. They have insurance needs that you can fill and they want to work with agents who will provide them resources that last years in the future.
How to Engage with Generation X
If you think these middle-aged business owners are tech-averse, you couldn’t be more wrong. This generation are heavy tech users and early adopters. Remember, they’re the ones who first used personal computers and invented and shaped crucial technologies (e.g., the internet).
At the same time, they grew up in a pre-digital world, and they have not turned away from these roots. You can expect them to move fluidly between traditional media, digital devices, and apps.
Here are some marketing insights to keep in mind as you plan your Gen X client outreach and retention strategies.
Where to Reach Them?
Online: They live online, on their mobile phones and handheld devices.
Social media: They’re obsessed with it—especially Facebook.
Videos: Not surprisingly, the ‘MTV’ generation watch a lot of videos. Primarily using YouTube and Facebook but increasingly watch TV shows and movies on their mobile devices.
Traditional Media: Members of this generation still consume non-digital media. They read newspapers and magazines, and listen to the radio.
What’s Important to Them?
Information: They demand it, and do research both offline and online. If your website doesn’t deliver, they’ll click away and never look back.
Values: They’re all about work/life balance and family, family, family.
Authenticity: It’s the number one thing they respond to. They have enough business experience to know when something doesn’t ring true. So keep things real—and personal!
Personal Focus: See Values and Authenticity, above. Also, Gen Xers love stories. Show them how your service will improve their life and business. Real-world narratives/case studies work well.
Loyalty: They’ll reward you with it. Unlike their more skeptical and brand-agnostic kids, Generation X does not flit from brand to brand. They do research up front, including review reading and writing. Once you sign them and deliver value, they’re not likely to stray.
Maintaining humanity in a tech-driven world: The word humanity bubbles up in many articles about Generation X. They’re seen as the keepers of what was (and still is) good about connecting non-digitally and keeping tech-driven communication genuine and caring.
The world reminds us that even when tech-enhanced, insurance is by nature a relationship business. Remember that personal touch, and know that success today means meeting your clients where they live (online) and making it easy and convenient for them to do business with you. Generation X expects and deserves no less.
Are You Ready for Their Business?
As you can see, doing business with these busy, big-spenders requires a solid InsurTech foundation. It also requires sensitivity to their reality and their unique values. Gen X-ers are juggling high-pressure work, multi-generational families and financial demands.
Be sure you have a simple tech solution for your Gen X clients to bind their policy and make payments. Our online payment page makes this easy for you and your customers, with the added benefit of integrating with a majority of Agency Management Systems.
Check out your options for collecting digital payments, and give Gen X another reason to love your agency.
