One of the things that I love about working in e-commerce is the diversity of skills and talent that are required to make it work. You need rock solid retail know-how, operational expertise, state of the art direct marketing knowledge, design and user interface skills and, of course, incredible technical ability.
Usually, this means that e-commerce team members not only have different career backgrounds and training; in many cases, they come from different generations.
A few years ago, I had the good fortune to attend a presentation by David Stillman, who, with Lynne C. Lancaster wrote the book When Generations Collide. I left the presentation looking at my team, my own career and my customers from a very different angle. The book is a few years old now, but the premise is highly relevant. In the words of Lynne C. Lancaster: "So much of what is going on in our lives is seen through our own generational lens".
The book is full of interesting insights on how cultural, political and economic factors have shaped generational attitudes toward work, family and consumption. Case in point:
I am, though I never think of myself this way, a Baby Boomer (though I'm happy to point out, I'm on the "tail end" of the boom and younger than most boomers). What does that mean? According to Stillman and Lancaster, it means that I was one of 80 million people born in an 18 year span. We converged on the workforce like a tidal wave, all competing for jobs. Thus out of necessity, the formative years of my career were spent consumed with proving myself and clawing my way to job security and prosperity. All 80 million of us were told repeatedly by our parents (who grew up in leaner times and times when women were relegated to narrow roles) that we had the world at our feet, we could have it all. Boomers worked hard, changed the world in a lot of ways (not all of them good), and put career ahead of family, friends, the environment and other important things.
Generations younger than I (X's Ys, Millenials) see the world differently. First, there are less of them. Less competition for jobs, more job security and more technology to make their jobs efficient. They saw their boomer parents get divorced and boomer executives of large companies hauled off to jail. In general, members of these generations are optimistic about technology and skeptical of institutions - quite a flip flop from the way boomers viewed the world. No need to tell them that they can have it all. They not only know they can have it all, they expect to have it all. And they expect to be able to have it by working less than their parents did.
Now, what does this all mean? If you're the leader of an e-commerce business, look at your team not just in terms of background and skill set, but in terms of generational mix. What's important to boomers in terms of recognition, reward and culture is quite different than that for X's and Y's. It's changed the way I think about managing teams, and just as importantly, it's changed the way I think about customer groups.
Read an article from the Seattle Times, "Are We Grown Up Brats?" The article's premise is that, thanks in part to technology (e-commerce very much included) and probably some bad parenting, we expect everything to be instantaneous and abundant. Customer expectations have been raised to the point of entitlement. I thought about the contrast in shopping behavior that I see frequently. When my parents buy online, they are thrilled with the convenience and laugh about the fact that they can't figure out some websites. When I buy online, I get irritated if the customer experience is choppy or if the product is out of stock. When I talk to X's & Y's who buy online, they are irate that they have to sit through multiple page loads or don't get to personally comment on the product or experience. Younger still? Forget the computer, it's happening on the phone.
If you really want to feel dated and behind the times, read an article that appeared in last week's New York Times, Text Generation Gap: R U 2 Old (JK) . If you want to reach these customers, you'll need to learn a new language.
Bottom line: the differences between the generations are significant enough that if you're not thinking about your customers or your team in these terms, you're probably missing some valuable insights. And the next time you see bratty behavior, remember that it's partially your fault for making it so easy to buy online.
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