reinders generations & social media (ss)

March 11, 2015Steve Drake

Generation Challenges & Media Changes:

Impacting Irrigation Contractors

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22nd Green Industry Conference

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Generational Change + Digital Revolution =

3 Trends of Current Revolution

Front #1: Decline of traditional management

• Hierarchies/bureaucracies fraying

Front #2: Social internet revolution

• Explosion of content, news, info, entertainment

Front #3: Millennials in workforce

• 80+ million emerging as leaders

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Disclosures

Yes, these are generalizations

Yes, there are exceptions

What follows is a compilation of research and literature from multiple sources

Plagiarism vs research

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Largest shift of human capital in history

Generations

• 18 generations in U.S. since 1776

• One every 20 years

• Revolutionary generation every 80-100 years

– Revolutionary War generation

– Civil War generation

– Depression/World War II generation

– Millennial generation

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BabyBoomers

77 million

Generation Y

76+ million

Generation X

50 million

Matures

24 million

Before 1946

1946-1964 1965 – 1977 1978 - 1995

Birth Years:

7 Majority of US workforce in 2015 43% of world's population is under age of 25

Generations by Birth Years

Generational Divides(Shared Experiences)

Generation Born Age in 2015 Core Influence

Silents Mid-1920s to early 1940s 75-90 Depression, WWII

Boomers Early 1940s to early 1960s 55-74 Man-on-Moon, Vietnam

Millennials Early 1980s to early 2000s 10– 33 9/11, Web 2.0, terrorism

Xers Early 1960s to early 1980s 34-54 Latch key, Challenger

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Boomers

• Don’t trust anyone over 30• Love the one you’re with• Flag burnings• Woodstock Generation• Age of Aquarius

• 60-hour work week

• Transistor radios

Common Experiences

Boomers remember….• Polio• Bomb shelters• President Kennedy assassination • Vietnam• Kent State• Woodstock• Kodak moments• NASA/Man on Moon• Fins on cars• TV: Ed Sullivan, Lucy, Walter Cronkite

Common Experiences

Millennials remember ….• Parents being downsized• Friending• Digital yearbooks• 9/11, war on terrorism• GM has always meant Genetically Modified• Watching TV without a TV set• Photos without film• Luggage on wheels not shoulders• Amazon not just a South American river• Music has always been free (downloaded)

Y Characteristics

• Living with parents longer• Buying home later• Food from convenience stores• More education• Earning less• Optimists• Urbanites• TV: Streaming,

Jon Stewart

• Marrying later

• Children later (but more of them)

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Nu

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s)

20082009

20102011

20122013

20142015

20162017

20182019

20202021

20222023

Year

Boomer Peak

Boomer

retirement will

lead to an “all

out war for

talent.”

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2,785 new 65-year-olds by 8 pm today

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Y Priorities

Work

Life

Family

WorkLife

Family

#1 Issue between Generations

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Boomers:Work is a PLACE

Ys:Work whenever &

wherever

Work Hours

Flexible Hours

• Major benefit for millennials

• Issue for some work environment

Overtime/Weekends

• They want to decide

• Girl Scout cookie factory

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Participation Down In

• Golf (1 course closes every 48 hours)

• Tennis

• Bowling

• Service Clubs

• College football tickets

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Loyalty

• Ys more loyal to self than to employer

• Who taught them?

– Re-engineering

– Down sizing

– Laid off

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Communications at Work

Boomer: Did you get my email request?Millennial: Huh? What email?Boomer: I emailed you 20 minutes ago to

bring me the Smith estimate.Millennial: Well, if it was urgent, why

didn’t you text me?

• Gen Y workers want a job that lets them exercise personal values and beliefs.

• 62% want to work for companies that give them a chance to use their skills to help a nonprofit.

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• More than 60% of students volunteer at least monthly.

Cause MarketingExamples

American Express: Statue of Liberty

FedEx: Trees for Troops

Habitat for Humanity

Cook for the Cure

Return the Warmth

Chili’s Create-A-Pepper

Trees for Troops: Reach & Impact

14.2 MILLION householdssaid they saw, read or heard about Trees for Troops

1.9 MILLION householdssaid T4T “influenced” their decision to purchase a farm-grown tree in 2007

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ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

• ALS donations up from $2.5 mil in 2012 to $79.7 mil now!

• Plum Hollow CC takes Ice Bucket Challenge!

http://ow.ly/AGGOW 26

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Websites & Social Media …

• Grow & sustain your business

• Engage with customers

• Visual

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Your Prospects Are Here

Are You?

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Social Tools

• Rolodex LinkedIn

• Pen Pal

• Scrap Book

• Photo Album

Facebook

Pinterest

Instagram, Flickr

• Want Ads Craig’s List

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The World Has Changed

Word of Mouse Expands Word of Mouth

• Blogs• Facebook• YouTube• LinkedIn• Twitter• Flickr• SlideShare• Delicious• Yelp!• Craigslist• Instagram• Google News Alerts

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Listening Tools

• Google News Alerts

• Facebook

• Twitter

• Hashtags

• Key Words

• Other social media

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Google News Alert

– Key customers

– Key prospects

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– Your competitors

– Yourself

Monitoring

• Comcast service

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SOCIAL MEDIA

1. Social Media Strategies

a) They ask … you answer

b) Web as hub

c) Blog as key element

2. 1st why

3. Then who

4. Then what

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Personas

Develop persona of “typical” customer/buyer:

• Who?

• Where?

• When?

• How?

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• Why: Build audience & fans

• What: Monitor, connect, engage

• When: IF fits persona

• #Throwback Thursdays

• #Testimonial Tuesdays

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• Why: Build business-to-business audience• What: Share links & information• When: IF fits persona

Individuals:– 6,849 “golf course superintendents”– 48,812 landscape contractors (829 in Wisconsin)– 18,761 irrigation contractors (226 in Wisconsin)Groups:– 15,752 in “landscape contractors” group– 3,434 in golf course superintendents, assistants and

interns

• Consider upgrading to “Pro”42

• Why: Share & Engage

• What: Share photos/stories

• When: IF fits persona

443,444,203 followers

• Why: Share & Engage• What: Share photos• When: IF fits persona

• Why: Build informed audience

• What: Visually showcase your products at work

• When: IF fits persona

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Consider GoProcamera

http://phccgreens.blogspot.com/2013_06_01_archive.html

The Winter After the #WorstWinterEverhttp://ow.ly/JIOWs

160,605 views!

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• Why: Build informed audience• What: Monitor, share links

• To videos, white papers, successes• Share links to your blogs

• When: IF fits persona

• #Throwback Thursdays• #Testimonial Tuesdays

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The World Has Changed

If

can’t find you …

You Don’t Exist

Irrigation Contractors

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You Are What You Publish

• How often do you share links of interest?

• Do you help answer key questions via a blog?

• Are you active on social media sites?

• Do you post videos and photos online?

• Do you share news of your customers or your company?

• Are you THE expert resource for your customers and prospects?

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You are what you publish!

Content Philosophies

• They ask … you answer.

• If you are hard selling, you are losing.

• What words will they use for a Google search?

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Create a

Strategy

Potential Tools of Your Hub

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Websites

• THE most important element today

• Can no longer be an “electronic brochure”

• Must be interactive

• Must have new info DAILY

• Should be the “hub” of all content

• Must be adaptive

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Think Like Customer!

1. How will I “see” you?

Laptop? Tablet? Smart Phone?

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Adaptive

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• Better Business Bureau logo “below the fold”60

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Color but Not Reversed

As a Business Strategy

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Texting

Do you collect cell phone #s of customers so you can text alerts to them?

• Send reminders about appointments

• Alert customer if tech rep will be late

• Text alerts? Yes!

– XYZ just announced a special on ….

• Caution: Don’t be a spammer! Get permission.

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Why a Blog?

• Drives people to your website

• Creates informed buyers

• Solves their problems

• Reinforces sales efforts

• Builds your reputation as valued resource

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Answer Questions

• They ask …. You answer!

• Provide answers to buyers’ problems

– Ask staff to list top questions from consumers

– Generate answers to those questions

• Write stories that answer those questions

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Blogging Tools

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WordPress Blogger

Much of this information provided by NCTA from research conducted by Market Directions Inc.

Gen Y Information Sources:

1) Market Directions … www.marketdirections.com

2) NCTA … www.realchristmastrees.org

3)When Millennials Take Over … www.amazon.com

4) Beloit College … www.beloit.edu (Mindset List)

5) Knowing Y: Sarah L. Sladek

6) Generational Diversity: Jamie Notter

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Steve DrakePresident

10564 Carena CircleFort Myers, FL 33913

(314) 239-9464

CONTACT INFORMATION

steve@scdgroup.net@stevedrake@causeaholic

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