The Age Curve: How to Profit from the Coming Demographic Storm
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In business, one thing is certain: What worked 15 years ago won’t work today, and what works today will at some point in the future fall flat. Every 20 years or so a new generation is born, bound together by common wants, needs, motives, and events. As each generation ages, we all recognize that its members become ripe for consuming a changing array of products and services. But what most organizations fail to consider is that today’s demand cannot be projected from yesterday’s successes, because the one unchangeable and most dominant determinant of consumer demand is the size of the generation that is ripe for a given product or service. This groundbreaking book lets you in on the best ways to position your business to roll with changing populations of ripe consumers—including how to succeed despite the looming challenges posed by the relatively small Generation X, and leverage the explosive opportunities afforded by massive young Generation Y. With its simple yet profound insights (along with eye-opening examples of companies who succeeded or failed spectacularly in leveraging or weathering the demographic storm), The Age Curve will forever change the way you look at your business, and how you perceive the generational impact on the entire commercial (and political!) landscape. It will help you forecast far into the future with unprecedented clarity and accuracy and propel your business to entirely predictable long-term success.
Foreword XIIntroduction XVA Word from the Author XVIIIThe Parade of Generations: Why Aren't Marketers Paying Attention?The Generational Impact on Supply and Demand 3Who Are These People? 11Bell Curves, Pies, and Your "Best Customer" 19Case Study: Detroit, Japan, and the Best Customers for Cars 25The Older GenerationsSilent Virtues: A Small Group with Its Own Impact 37Case Study: How the "Graying Of America" Myth Will Take Down the Assisted-Living Industry 43The Baby Boomers: The Radical-Change Generation and its Impact on Today and TomorrowThe Boomers: Mass, Money, and Motivation 57What Boomers Will Buy 65Boomers Will Not Get Old 69The Boomer Economy: Of Credit Cards and Gift Cards 75Of Course You Can Afford It! 81Social Security and Private Health Care: Dead But Not Buried 89Wal-Mart Hits a Wall-A Great Wall 97Media's Slow Death: The End of Marketing As We Know It 105Generation X: The Outsize Expectations of a Small GenerationQuit Picking on the Xers! 111The Cause and Effect of a Small Generation 117The X Factor: Where Have All the Workers Gone? 123The Gen X Labor Shortage and the Impact on Direct Mail 137Case Study: How Generation X Drove Motorcycle Sales off the Cliff 141Case Study: Planes Stuck on the Ground-A Business Traveler's Tale 153Case Study: The Death of a Discount Store 159Generation Y: The Giant on the HorizonStop Looking in the Rearview Mirror! 165The Great Y Ahead: More of Everything 179Marketing to Generation Y 185Case Study: No Leg to Stand On-A Levi's Footnote 195Schools, Taxes, and the Future 201Generation Y's Leading Legacy 209The Generation Impact of Social IssuesThe Bigotry Is Almost Gone-A Boomer's Perspective 219Coming to America: Melting Into the World's Melting Pot 227Macro and Micro Conclusions 237Appendix A 243Appendix B 247Appendix C 255Appendix D 259Index 263About the Author 269
