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New study finds Generation X America’s most influential audience

With all the brouhaha about how to market to the Millennial demographic, a new study by Yahoo! has found that Generation X (those born in the 1960s and 1970s) actually has the most spending power of any American generation.

According to the data, Gen Xers – 81 million adults – control 29 percent of net worth and 31 percent of total in income dollars in the US.

What this means for continuing education providers it that this demographic is an overlooked but valuable market.

A few tips for attracting Gen X:

  • Make sure all your digital content promoting your courses – whether online or in classroom – is mobile optimized. The study found that 79 percent of Gen Xers are smartphone users. In addition, research from Google found that shoppers using a mobile device are highly likely to abandon a purchase if the sit they are on is not mobile friendly.
  • Keep your message short and to the point. That’s because 84 percent of Gen Xers are using two or more devices during primetime hours (7-11 p.m.) Therefore, if they are reading an email from you on their phone when their favorite television show begins, you can easily get lost in the mix.
  • Do not lump them in with Millennials or Boomers just because they are a smaller cohort. If you ignore Gen X, they will simply ignore you back and you will lose their business.