Generation X to many people is the forgotten generation that falls between the baby boomers and millennials. But this is a generation now entering the prime years for retirement preparation. Generation X covers people born between 1965 to 1980, with 55% over the age of 45. Generation X in 2022 made up 19.3% of all U.S. residents with just over 65 million individuals. According to a recent Forbes article, “Most Gen Xers are in their prime spending years, second only to baby boomers in terms of buying power, with purchasing influence over their own Gen Z households as well as their boomer parents.”
According to a GWI Report, the profile of Generation X shows that 33% are in the higher income bracket, 63% have full-time jobs, and only 4% have retired already. Generation X will be the next generation of clients for financial advisories, and it’s crucial to start uncovering ways to market to them, getting them into your prospect pipeline.
When it comes to where to find Generation X online, the key places to look are YouTube, Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram. One place you wouldn’t think to find Gen Xers, but where they have been growing users over the years, is TikTok. You will also see that members of Gen X tend to be heavy mobile device users, meaning we need to make sure our online presence is mobile-friendly. Gen X also heavily uses search engines to find information on products and services.
In the Forbes report, it mentions how Gen X tends to be “oriented toward value, information and authenticity.” When we create ads and look at website design, we must take these preferences into account to be able to connect with this generation. In other words, we need to make sure the advertising strategy addresses the issues they care about, which are distinct from previous generations. A key introductory topic that can be used to connect with Gen X now is how Gen Xers can help aging parents with health care, pay for their kids’ college or help cover the rising costs of everyday goods they need to live, all while optimizing their retirement savings.
Gen X will become your target demographic sooner than you may think, so getting smart about engaging them may allow you to get a head start on the competition for the next generation of retirees.
Craig Foster is Lone Beacon’s director of digital media.