Customer Reviews

Mind Your X's and Y's: Satisfying the 10 Cravings of a New Generation of Consumers

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I loved this book, it is one of the best that I've read this year.

This is an important book because it gives you a clear, step by step roadmap for influencing and persuading one of the most fickle (and over marketed) consumer groups of our era, those consumers between 18 - 40.

The author goes into exacting detail about how this market consumes information and how you can create messages that resonate with them and stick. She also tells you what doesn't work (I cringed several times as I recognized mistakes that I made).

If you are in this age range you'll find this book one of the most refreshing you've ever read because it will describe you and how you consume information (I know it did for me) and it will help you make the transition between the kind of marketer you are today and one that can be even more effective.

This book is a guidebook, a roadmap and a manifesto. Grab this book today, even if your market it older, one of the things that the author didn't cover is how much more like 18 - 40 year olds older generations are becoming in their consumption of information and their resistance to advertising. Most of the information in this book applies to anyone who is active in today's world regardless of their age.

I wish I could give this book more than 5 stars.

Dave Lakhani
Author: Persuasion: The Art of Getting What You Want and The Power of an Hour: Business and Life Mastery in One Hour a Week

I think the author makes some good points that explain how generation X and Y think and make decisions and relate to others. After about the first half of the book it doesn't seem to offer as much "meat" as the beginning of the book. Instead, in a strange way, the book goes on to discuss endless case studies with the basic theme of pampering your customer. For $7 it is worth reading once. After which you can donate it to the public library.

If you need to understand how young people make purchasing decisions, this book will put you way ahead of the competition. Even my young, technically savvy friends have learned new things from reading this book.

I found other books more enlightening on the subject matter. For example, "The Tipping Point" was more interesting on the topic of product mavens/evangelists. "Keeping The Millennials" was more interesting on what the Millennials, aka Generation Y, seek.

This book does have some insights:
- Engage Gen Y by with interactive marketing, test drives.
- Gen Y people are not passive - they like to give their input on product direction, quality, etc.
- Word of mouth, though it sounds old fashioned, is very very important for Gen Y
- Create an experience to differentiate a product. e.g., Apple Genius Bar versus HP Telephone Support

This is a great book and highly recommended for anyone interested in marketing or in Generation X and Y and how they view the world. The book is also full of interesting companies that have successfully marketed to these generations that I hadn't heard of before :)

I actually saw Lisa speak at a Ladies Who Launch Live event and thought she was dynamic. I immediately bought her book but did not read until recently. I have gone back through and reread several chapters. This book has some great information on marketing. Lisa does not just tell you to do this or that she gives real stories of companies and what they did for marketing that worked. I think this book really hits the target.

This great book is a fecund breeding ground for your innovative ideas. Find out what underlies the 10 cravings of the connected generation, why these things are important and how to maximise your use of them. Understand the new consumer and their environment and they will reward your business by.... building your business!

Gen X & Gen Y are terms often bantered about. That said, most would find it difficult to define the age range for each cohort or specify any key characteristics or traits that make each unique. As the buying power of these two cohorts continues to grow, it is past time for marketers to delve into the realm of the X's and Y's. In Mind Your X's and Y's, Lisa Johnson attempts to provide some insight into what makes these two groups tick and how that drives how they spend their time and money. Johnson's book is outlines 10 consumer cravings, dedicating a chapter to each, providing case studies and suggestions on how to get started addressing each issue. Underlying each of the ten consumer cravings are five essential criteria (experience, transparency, reinvention, connection, and expression). Overall, Johnson's work hits the mark. Although at times the presentation seems to be too anecdotal and insufficiently scientific, Johnson provides solid insight into what is driving these two cohorts, especially for those Boomers who are left to scratch their collective heads in bewilderment at the two age cohorts that follow them. This is a quick read that should be on the reading list of those doing marketing, new product design and even research & development.