Generation G-Keeping Companies on their Toes

For my blog evaluation, I chose to focus on a blog from trendwatching.com. The blog I focused on is entitle “Generation G.” I chose this particular blog because it covers one of my personal favorite topics: social responsibility in corporations and corporations giving back to their employees and consumers as well. In fact, the “G” of the title “Generation G” is meant to stand for “generosity.” I have always been a huge sucker for products that donate “x” % of the profits to “y” charity, even if I have to pay as much as a 10-20% mark-up. For example, almost every time I visit a Gap store I find myself purchasing yet another Product Red T-shirt. It just seems wrong to buy anything else in the store when the Product Red merchandise helps address the global issue of AIDS. Also, I recently accepted an internship offer for the summer with General Mills. Part of the reason that I wanted to work for General Mills is that they are well-known for treating their employees with respect and understanding. Employees from the company have already gone out of their way to help address my personal needs, and I cannot even begin to express my gratitude. Then, as a consumer, there is nothing that I enjoy more that when a company shows its gratitude towards me for choosing them in the marketplace. For example, my family and I recently switched from Sprint to T-Mobile as our cell phone service provider. We switched simply because Sprint has terrible customer service and T-Mobile provides outstanding help to customers, even with it is not an emergency. All of the above are opportunities for me to give something while also getting something in return, and according to this blog, we should expect to see a wealth of consumers like me emerge. The reasons why such an emergence is anticipated are three-fold:

1. Recession and Consumer Disgust-During these tough economic times consumers become even more discussed with large, money hungry corporations whose sole purpose is to increase share prices and CEO bonuses. Instead, consumers would rather see corporations who are making conscious efforts to give back to the community because more people are struggling now than ever.

2. Longing for Institutions that Care-According to this blog, “Challenging times see people craving care, empathy, sympathy and generosity.” And we have seen this sort of behavior time and time again, after the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks and Katrina, and we’re seeing it again now during this recession. When struggle becomes a reality for the majority of society, we desire nothing more than an opportunity to support each other and to be supported ourselves. This allows us to build a stronger community with more enduring institutions, and these institutions in turn will no doubt affect the marketplace.

3. For Individuals, Giving is Already the New Taking, and Sharing is the New Giving-We must be cautious in attributing this new Generation G as being solely the result of this recession. While this recession is definitely contributing towards this more “generous” mentality, we must be cautious in recognizing that this is a generation that has been building up slowly for many years. It’s a collection of individuals who feel empowered through giving and who genuinely want to make a difference. They are compassionate and passionate, and they want the opportunity to change the world, no matter how small their means may be.

So why is all of this relevant to companies? The reality is that companies will need to imitate the values and beliefs of consumers if they want to tap into this “Generation G” market. Those companies at the forefront of reaching out to these generous individuals will be sure to be rewarded by these consumers in turn becoming extremely loyal customers. Companies need to strive to build up emotionally driven brands, backed by a reputation for contributing to the greater good of society. And these companies will need to be socially responsible and giving in numerous ways. They will need to focus on giving back to their employees, consumers, charities, the environment, etc. It is not enough to simply focus on one area; rather, today’s “Generation G” consumers are all about the package.

With all that being said, it becomes important to determine just how companies can successfully target these more generous consumers. Luckily, this blog has already identified and outline 8 ways for corporations to join Generation G. By joining this generation, companies will become absorbed into the practices, values and lifestyles of these generosity-focused consumers and will become better integrated into this culture. Consequently, companies that explore how to join this generation will find themselves better able to target this newly emerging market. For my purposes today I will only explore 3 of the 8 ways for corporations to join Generation G.

1. Co-Donate: The basic idea behind this program is that companies work with their customers to co-decide on ideas and programs and even make co-donations meant to benefit society. For example, Whole Foods has a program whereby customers bring in old plastic bags in return for wooden coin that can then be used to select the individual’s charity of choice for which Whole Food’s will then donate money to. Here, the customer and retailer co-donate. The customer donates their old plastic bags, and Whole Foods donates money to the charity of their choice. The retailer and customer also co-decide. Whole Foods provides the charities among which the customer can choose from, and the customer then chooses among which among those charities they would like Whole Foods to contribute to on their behalf.

2. Eco-Generosity: In today’s world, one of the hottest topics without a doubt is global warming. Whether you believe that global warming is a reality or not, most of us can agree that we need to find ways to better take care of our planet. This new trend towards becoming more “green” and eco-friendly has led many companies to start focusing on sustainability in the products that they sell and the projects that they partake in. For example, Toyota’s Prius is currently one of the hottest selling cars because it’s every eco-conscious consumers dream. It uses less fossil fuels and it’s extremely affordable. Thus, Toyota has essentially dominated a large part of the auto market by proving that they too care about the environment and are willing to focus their efforts on developing cars that allow consumers to reduce their carbon footprint. Another recent trend among companies trying to go green is the selling of recyclable grocery bags. Take HEB for example. I recently bought about 8 recycable bags from and HEB grocery store because the store actually had custom bags made for The University of Texas. I thought that it was an extremely cool initiative on the part of HEB to be tailoring bags towards consumer’s interests while also working to promote a good cause. And so, once again, I just could not resist making a socially responsible purchase (or rather 8 of them).

3. Free Stuff: Companies have recently began giving away more and more free items to customers. As a result of decreased production and promotional costs, companies can now actually afford to have free giveaways. And consumers love this. It’s speaks volumes when a company is willing to put aside the opportunity to make money and increase shareholder wealth just so that consumers can have something for free. Companies willing to have giveaways will be able to build a deeper relationship with their consumers of trust and faithfulness. In the long run, companies willing to give away some goods for free will undoubtedly attract more consumer traffic and create a more loyal customer base. For example, Denny’s recently gave away free breakfast to anyone who visited a Denny’s during specified hours. The free breakfast proved to be a huge success. Denny’s everywhere were packed, and although I didn’t get to go personally, I know about two dozen UT students that did. Everyone that did couldn’t stop talking about how great the food was and how considerate it was of Denny’s to be willing to give out free food to patrons. Denny’s benefited because it received a lot of publicity and in-store traffic, and consumers benefited by saving some money will still enjoying something of real value.

All in all, I agree with the vast majority of view points, advice and opinions expressed in this blog. It would be absurd for companies to turn their noses up at “Generation G” consumers since I have no doubt that this type of customer is sure to continue to multiple. Consumers today have a sense of empowerment not afforded to earlier generations. Our technology and means of mass communication have given us a much more in-depth look at issues from all over the world. This new level of global education has allowed for us as consumers to understand that there are people and causes all over the world that need or help, and who doesn’t get the ultimate “high” off of feeling like you’re helping to save the world? However, there is one major point in which I disagree with the author(s) of this blog. I actually think that as a consequence of the recession, companies will have even more difficulty enacting some of the “8 ways for corporations to join Generation G.” For example, I think that companies will find it harder to convince consumers to co-donate and by eco-friendly products. Co-donating often asks consumers to part with something that they own, and during a recession, less consumers are going to be willing to give up what little resources they now have, especially when the resource being called for is money. Also, eco-friendly products tend to be more costly or require the consumer to purchase something that they otherwise wouldn’t have considered. During these tough economic times, it will certainly be difficult to convince consumers to participate in green initiatives that come at a 20% markup. However, that being said, I also think that companies might actually see some of their efforts aimed at being socially responsible receive even higher levels of respect as a result of tough economic conditions. For example, a company that is willing to give away free merchandise/services/etc. to consumers will gain a ton of respect in the marketplace. Consumers know that the current state of the economy is also greatly affecting the profits of companies, and companies that are willing to demonstrate that they care enough to give back even when they barely have the means to do so will surely win over the hearts of consumers.