Consumer Report If you think you know your target market, think again.

He was Joe Average; she was Jane Doe. They lived in atraditional nuclear family and watched "Laverne &Shirley" for laughs. They thought disco was hip and computerswere for nerds. And they believed there was such a thing as theright brand of dishwashing liquid or the correct kind of car. Theywere typical American consumers--and back in 1977, the world ofbusiness still believed in them.

But a funny thing happened on the way to 1997. We discovered wewere not a nation of typical citizens with common market needs anda one-size-fits-all identity. We were large-sized women and singledads, ethnic minorities, yuppies and slackers, affluent seniors,savvy teens, gourmet coffee drinkers, self-made millionaires andburnouts seeking lives of voluntary simplicity. Instead of assumingthat one "head of household"--presumably a man--wascalling all the shots on purchases, businesses learned to recognizethe considerable economic muscle of women and children.

As we discovered this diversity, we also found the technology todifferentiate ourselves. Enter the age of target marketing, withcomputers to track our incomes, lifestyles and spending habits.Though niche marketing had already dawned in the '70s, in the'80s and '90s, it not only changed the landscape ofAmerican business, but it also changed the way consumers viewedthemselves.
Joe Average and Jane Doe are now history. In 1997, the typicalAmerican consumer has a name, a life and a laundry list ofparticular needs. And in the future, say experts, consumers willdemand even greater recognition of their individuality.

None of this is to say that broad societal trends have beenabsent these past two decades. On the contrary, Americans are nowolder, wiser, hipper and more exacting than ever, thanks to theforces of time and technology. As we look back on the past 20 yearsof consumerdom--and forward to the decades to come--it's clearthat the only constant will be change. Welcome to the kingdom ofthe new, improved American consumer.

Women At Work

In 1997, it's news to no one that women are working. Thetrend that began with the women's movement of the '60s isnow an inescapable reality. According to the Bureau of LaborStatistics, some 59 percent of women participate in the paid workforce today, compared to 48 percent in 1977.

Though most of us take working women for granted, their impacton society can't be underestimated. For one thing, increasedeconomic power means women consumers can no longer bemarginalized.

"When I started working with big companies [in the'70s], they looked at women as relevant mainly as purchasers ofdomestic items," says marketing and trends consultant JudithLanger of Langer Associates Inc. in New York City. "Nowit's recognized that women play vital roles in all kinds ofpurchases. Even in the high-tech [industry], which is skewed towardmen, companies can't afford to ignore the needs ofwomen."

What do women need from your business? Try respect and courtesywithout condescension. And since more and more households areheaded by two wage-earners--or single women and men--time is theultimate commodity.

"Today, no matter how little money you have, you have moremoney than time," says marketing guru Martha Rogers, co-authorwith Don Peppers of Enterprise One to One: Tools for Competingin the Interactive Age (Doubleday/Currency) and co-founder ofStamford, Connecticut-based Marketing 1:1 Inc. "People acceptthat they have to spend money [to acquire things], but spendingtime is another matter."

Dual-income couples have spawned another contemporaryphenomenon: the economically powerful kid. According to New YorkCity market research firm Packaged Facts, children aged 5 to 14spend an estimated $16.7 billion and influence the spending ofanother $150 billion annually. Packaged Facts reports that childrentoday are increasingly independent, entrusted with a range offamily responsibilities, and encouraged to participate in familybuying decisions.

The same applies to teens. Teenage Research Unlimited inNorthbrook, Illinois, estimates teens aged 12 to 19 spent $70billion of their own money and another $33 billion of family moneyin 1996.

Trading In Stereotypes

Though the youth market certainly existed in 1977, theassumption was that kids and teens were essentially broke,financially irresponsible, and dependent on their parents to makepurchasing decisions. Kids today may indeed differ from their'70s counterparts, but that's only part of the story.Businesses understand the youth market more clearly than they did20 years ago. Where marketers once relied on stereotypes toinfluence their decisions, they're now looking at actualattitudes and behavior.

A parallel shift has taken place with other"specialty" markets. In 1977, for example, thestereotypical older American lived on a modest fixed income. Today,we know that seniors are likely to have as much discretionaryincome as their working children, if not more.

In the past, minority markets also fell victim to faultyassumptions. One of these was that marketing to racial and ethnicminorities required no special effort. Another was that theminority market could be lumped into one big demographic blob. Uponcloser inspection, neither of these notions proved true.

Not only is the African-American market discrete from, say, theAsian-American market, but the interests of a black collegeprofessor don't necessarily coincide with those of a blackconstruction worker. According to a report by New York Cityresearch firm Find/SVP, marketing to the $120 billionAsian-American market often means advertising in various languagesto a market that encompasses some 22 distinct subethnicities.Companies with a genuine interest in reaching minority consumerscan't just assume that mainstream marketing efforts are hittingthe mark--or that a single minority-oriented campaign is going tocover the entire minority community.

If it isn't yet, should your small business be concernedwith minority markets? In many cases, the answer is an emphatic"yes." If your business draws from a geographicalarea--or any market niche--with a significant minority population,then your ability to reach those consumers can effectively make orbreak your venture. And if minority consumers aren't beingcourted by your competition, they may represent a goldmine ofopportunity for you.

Of course, most small businesses aren't going to createindividual, culturally sensitive marketing campaigns for everydemographic group in existence. That isn't practical--or evendesirable. But, unlike the BIZ Experiencess of 1977, today'sbusiness owners must understand the multiplicities of themarketplace. Twenty years of demographic research, targetedmarketing, cultural awareness and improved market intelligence haveraised standards and consumer expectations.

"The big story is not the change in demographicmakeup," says Diane Crispell, executive editor of AmericanDemographics magazine. "It's that we've learned torecognize these markets and to reach them better." Peopletoday expect to be catered to and understood, regardless of theirrace, ethnicity, age and gender.

Breaking The Roles

Yet understanding consumers today takes an increasinglydiscerning eye. Even objective numbers can be misleading. Forinstance, Americans are older today than they were 20 yearsago--not just individually but as a group. In 1977, the median ageof the population was 29.2 years. Today, it's 34.8. Last year,the oldest of the baby boomers turned 50. Americans don'tsimply feel older; they are older.

But don't expect a run on lavender hair dye and orthopedicshoes. If contemporary consumers dislike being viewed according tostereotypes, they also refuse to conform to predefined roles.

"The baby boomers have always seen themselves as the youthgeneration, and they still do, even though they're no longerchronologically young," says Langer. "People used to say`I'm 50. I'm middle-aged now, and I should actmiddle-aged.' They don't feel that way anymore. People areclimbing mountains in their 50s. Look at Tina Turner with thosegreat legs. Now people say `If I don't feel old, I'mnot.' "

As a result, says Langer, "you see much more generationalbonding today. A great example of this is the [clothing retailer]Gap. It was named for the generation gap--a place that kids lovedand parents wouldn't be caught dead in. Now it's more likea generation bridge: Kids and adults both love shoppingthere."

Again, the message for BIZ Experiencess is to transcendstereotypes. Market niches are not what they once seemed. Considerthe case of Generation X. For starters, says Janine Lopiano-Misdom,co-founder of Sputnik Inc., a New York City marketing firm thatspecializes in the 16-to-29-year-old segment, they don'tidentify themselves as "Generation X." They are notslackers. And they don't watch MTV.

"This generation has been so misunderstood andmisrepresented in the media," says Lopiano-Misdom. Like thewhole of American society in 1997, today's young adultsaren't signing on to the usual groupthink. "Twenty yearsago, everybody wanted to belong to something," saysLopiano-Misdom. "Now everyone's an individual."

Following Their Lead

In a society where everybody wants to belong, marketing is atop-down thing. You tell people what they want, and if you'reconvincing, they believe you. This was the world of 1977, wherefolks squeezed into designer jeans regardless of whether themiserable rags were made well, looked good, or allowed theirwearers to carry on normal respiratory processes.

A market of individuals has no such intentions. In 1997, peoplehave their own opinions about what they want. Needless to say, thisposes a dilemma for businesses. Although companies still spendbillions each year trying to win consumers over with catchyslogans, celebrity endorsements and all manner of hoopla, some saya major shift in the way businesses and consumers interact isalready underway. Ideas aren't just flowing from the top down;they're rising from the bottom up.

Lopiano-Misdom points to the world of fashion as one example ofthis democratization. "Designers are getting their inspirationfrom the streets," she says. "The techno-plastic trend,for example, didn't come from a designer; it began with raveculture." The current advertising obsession with the word"extreme" also originated on the streets (althoughwhether advertising execs have the authenticity to give the conceptmeaning is still up for debate).

On another front, cutting-edge companies are spending less timetrying to dictate what customers want and more time trying todivine it. In Enterprise One to One, Rogers and Peppers makea case for tracking customer preferences as a way of creatingfuture business.

"If I know what a customer has purchased in the past, I canpredict what they will want next," says Rogers. "If youbought flowers for your mother on this day last year, I can callyou today and ask if you'd like to send another gift. I caneven suggest what you'd like to say on the card." Rogersbelieves this kind of proactive approach is the most powerful toolthere is because it plays on consumers' actual preferenceswhile saving them time and trouble.

This approach isn't exactly new to the '90s. In fact,Rogers notes that it harkens back to the days of the general store,when merchants knew their customers individually. Interactivecustomer service fits with the recent rise of interactive culture,and its beginnings may herald the start of a whole new era incommerce.

"We're entering an age where we're starting to seethings differently," says Peppers. "Customers arebecoming less tolerant of one-size-fits-all solutions. Expectationsare already changing, [until finally] interactivity will becomesuch a compelling way of doing business that very few businesseswill be able to succeed without it."

Marketing Wise

Rising expectations come not only from need but also from agreater knowledge of technology and marketing. In 1977, fewAmericans had ever touched a computer. That means 20 years agoAmericans were innocent of databases and mail merges and onlineresearch and the World Wide Web. Today, even an elementary schoolstudent can manage a simple mailing list and navigate theInternet.

Technology has changed American life on many levels. Imagine auniverse without ATMs, cellular phones, fax machines and FederalExpress. Back then, you could claim that keeping track of yourcustomers individually was impossible. Today, such a claim justdoesn't ring true.

At the same time, marketing hype doesn't pack the same punchit once did. Whether this trend indicates a growing cynicism or ahealthy skepticism, selling on the basis of bells and whistlesisn't easy anymore. "Brand loyalty still exists,"says Langer, "but people are very open about looking forvalue. They may have talked about saving money in the '70s, butit was almost with embarrassment. Now that isn't true. It'smuch tougher to sell people today."

Giving people what they actually want--now, that's atimeless strategy. No matter how tastes have changed over the past20 years and regardless of the various trends, attitudes,movements, breakthroughs, comebacks, setbacks and innovationswe've seen, nothing succeeds like serving your customers well.If that's a taller task today than it was in the '70s whenJoe Average and Jane Doe reigned supreme, perhaps it's also amore interesting one.

Contact Sources

American Demographics, (800) 350-3060, (http://www.demographics.com);

Find/SVP Inc., 625 Ave. of the Americas, New York, NY10011, (800) 346-3787;

Langer Associates Inc., 19 W. 44th St., Rm. 1601, NewYork, NY 10036, (212) 391-0350;

Marketing 1:1 Inc., 700 Canal St., Stamford, CT 06902,(203) 316-5121;

Packaged Facts, (800) 346-3787, fax: (212) 807-2716;

Sputnik Inc., 245 W. 29th St., 15th Fl., New York, NY10001, (212) 714-0900;

Teenage Research Unlimited, (847) 564-3440, fax: (847)564-0834.

Gayle Sato Stodder covers BIZ Experiencesship for variouspublications. She lives and works in Manhattan Beach,California.