The ABCs of Generation N

David Ralls is the president of Commit Agency, a brand definition, consumer experience and influence agency that believes moments make brands. When brands deliver memorable experiences that truly connect with consumers, conversations take place that in turn amplify brands’ influence. commitagency.com

There’s a new consumer mind-set due to the pandemic by David Ralls

Just when you thought you knew all the generations — from the Silent Generation to Gen Z, and all of them in-between — a new one pops up.

This one’s called Generation N, representing our new “novel economy” all thanks to the novel coronavirus. This concept was first coined just a few months ago, at the beginning of the global COVID-19 pandemic, by well-known digital futurist Brian Solis. Novel, in this sense, represents new and unusual — which we all know couldn’t be a more perfect description of our new reality.

Unlike previous generations that represented individuals in specific age ranges, Generation N is an evolution — a continuation — of Generation C (or Generation Connected), which is a state of mind rather than a particular age group.

If we take that attitude or mindset of Generation C and combine it with a global pandemic that has been disruptive to our everyday lives, we have the recipe for our “new and unusual” novel economy. For the past several months, marketers have been scrambling to understand these new habits and behaviors — and discovering new ways to reach their target audience.

While there’s a lot to unpack about this cross-generational Generation N, there are some key takeaways — the ABCs, if you will — that marketers should consider.

ACCELERATED DIGITAL USAGE AND E-COMMERCE

Think of all the ways our day-to-day has changed over the past nine months or so. From Zoom calls to ordering dinner to helping our kids navigate online learning, our habits have changed in ways we never anticipated.

It shouldn’t be too much of a surprise, then, that our digital usage has skyrocketed as we adapted to new ways of doing just about everything. According to Comscore, mobile and desktop digital traffic in 10 key categories is about 30% higher today than before the pandemic hit.

This explains the dramatic increase we’re seeing in e-commerce activity, which had been increasing steadily over the past 10 years but then skyrocketed to reach a staggering penetration rate in just three months’ time that had previously taken 10 years to achieve.

And because we don’t know how long these new norms will stick around, marketers will need to continue being flexible with their marketing channel allocation and embracing different ways to reach their audience.

BRAND LOYALTY IS NOT AS IMPORTANT TO CONSUMERS THESE DAYS

Remember those early days of the coronavirus, when all the toilet paper disappeared from store shelves almost overnight? You really couldn’t care less if you scored the last package of your favorite brand or not—just as long as you had some.

You weren’t alone. As the coronavirus progressed and it became harder (or impossible) for people to stick to their favorite brands due to availability, cost or another issue entirely, it became apparent that consumers weren’t as brand loyal as they used to be. And as consumers became more comfortable shopping online, they were presented with more options than what they could typically find at a brick-and-mortar store.

Those behaviors from those early shelter-in-place days aren’t expected to change all that much, either. In fact, a study by McKinsey shows that of the 75% of consumers who have embraced other stores and brands because of COVID-19, 60% will continue to do so post-pandemic.

It will be imperative for marketers to acknowledge this behavioral shift in their target audience and develop more meaningful messaging that resonates with their new way of life.

CONNECTING WITH CONSUMERS ON A DEEPER LEVEL

It’s more than just understanding their digital habits, though. It’s also about understanding their mindset and emotions as we all try to navigate these uncharted waters.

Think about all the news headlines we see on a daily basis, about the rising coronavirus cases (and deaths) across the country, unemployment rates, business closures and a host of other societal issues. This layer of stress and anxiety has played a large role in our daily lives, according to a recent Accenture survey that shows 64% of respondents are concerned about their health, 82% are worried about others’ health, 64% worry about their job security and 88% fret over the economy.

While digital natives could somewhat easily adapt to this new way of life during the pandemic, it has been more difficult for others who have had to quickly get up to speed on how to use digital and social platforms to do things they used to do physically — like ordering grocery delivery rather than going to the store or jumping on a Zoom call with co-workers in lieu of gathering around the conference table at work.

It is inevitable that consumers’ anxiety and stress levels will continue to fluctuate throughout the pandemic as new information is shared — which will continue to impact their online behaviors. Marketers will need to build in that flexibility, too, to account for this unpredictability for the foreseeable future.

Safety Is the Ultimate Priority in Changing Business Landscape

Preventing workplace violence is an increasing concern by Doc Elliot

The defining business trend of 2020 means employers are boosting protocols, from COVID-19 hygiene to workplace violence prevention, to keep employees and customers safe.

It’s the dawn of a new era for business owners in a rapidly changing business climate that has been fraught with confusion and misunderstanding. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a windfall of new safety and health protocols requiring immediate implementation and ongoing consistency in order to maintain business operations. Typically, these protocols are implemented by front-line workers who, typically, are not prepared for the kind of blowback they receive from disgruntled customers who refuse to adhere to safety procedures such as mask requirements and social distancing recommendations.

These type of interactions frequently turn hostile – or even violent — pitting employees against customers in situations that raise concerns for the safety of workers and customers as well as risk and liability to business owners.

The pandemic isn’t the only thing that has created a perfect storm for tensions in the workplace. Increased social, political and racial tension has also driven the incidences of public violent outbursts. A sharp rise in domestic violence cases is also linked to the shocking trend toward public disturbances and assaults. Online, these incidents have become viral fodder, humorously coined as “Karen” incidents, but the real-life causes and potential effects of violence in public is much more severe.

According to violence prevention experts, it’s an alarming trend that most business owners are not prepared for. Nearly 65% of business owners do not have protocols in place to address workplace violence.

Now, more than ever, it’s become a priority for business owners to keep their employees and customers safe, whether its enhanced health, hygiene and safety protocols or violence prevention. We saw how quickly corporations of all sizes implemented COVID-19 safety and sanitation protection protocols, but what people don’t hear about is that the demand for organizations to offer some sort of conflict resolution or violence prevention training has skyrocketed in every state as well, and oftentimes they don’t know where to find that type of training. We’ve experienced a 300% increase in demand for workplace violence prevention training in all industries, to help companies, employees and even their customers to stay safer during these escalated times.

Healthcare facilities and law enforcement continue to drive the strongest demand for anti-violence training and the retail industry is now rapidly working to standardize violence prevention training for stores.

It’s become an everyday occurrence within the healthcare field where the ER nurses and doctors will be at the receiving end of multiple physical assaults as the result of a combative patient and that is what we train hospital employees and to handle.

But now we’re seeing the same behaviors and outcomes within other industries, such as retail, air travel and hospitality, and since they are not that accustomed to that dynamic, businesses don’t know what to do and people are getting hurt.

It’s now become a responsibility for all businesses to provide some sort of violence prevention training to their employees so that they know how to prevent a situation from becoming escalated in the first place in order to avoid conflicts instead of having to deal with them physically.

Some states require violence prevention training for certain industries. Safety training experts anticipate that more states will adopt violence prevention training requirements in the coming years.

It’s clear that business owners are now having to address more aggression toward themselves and their employees and unfortunately their hands are tied in terms of responding physically, so the need for de-escalation training is more important than ever these days. At a time where keeping people safe is a priority, workplace violence prevention training is key to establishing a culture of safety across all industries.

A nationally renowned Federal Crisis Negotiation Specialist, Doc Elliot is founder and president of Phoenix Training Group. Since 1976, Phoenix Training Group has been the nation’s leader in workplace violence prevention training, customizing effective anti-violence training programs for corporations across all industries.

The training includes violence predictability recognition, verbal de-escalation and negotiation training, physical aggression protection, to active shooter education. Course participants develop invaluable skills that will give them the ability to respond in healthy and productive ways, learning to spot the warning signs and react safely to a host of situations ranging from customer hostility all the way to lifethreatening situations. Employers will be able to provide a workplace that encourages employee wellness and a supportive environment where everyone can feel safe and comfortable. phoenixtraininggroup.com