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Our ages versus those of our target audience

china

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I've never seen this discussed on a business forum but I think it is worthy of discussion.

The fact is, a lot of entreprenuers are a lot older than their target audiences are. I'm not just talking about here. I'm talking about people like Clive Davis having something to do with picking out the next American Idol. Clive is practically a dinosaur. American Idols are, what? Around 21 years old or so?

Consumers are born very very young. You are probably about 6 when you know what toy you want. You probably are about 10 when you know what kind of clothes you want to wear. Girls are 13/14 when they start really knowing makeup, boys are probably the same age when they really sign up with sports teams. We pick our preferances at a very young age.

So, what age people are we targeting with our websites? Are we targeting the parents or the kids? Would it be better to target the kids? Is it better to target teenagers? Or is it better to target parents? What do advertisers prefer?

I'm just trying to stimulate some discussion here... There really isn't any one correct answer to these questions....
 
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Russ H

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I once went to an event where I met John Lasseter. He lives in the town of Sonoma, a few miles away from me.

In talking about how he made movies, he stressed that no matter what they did at Pixar, and how funny they thought it was, if his kids didn't laugh at it-- repeatedly-- when he brought a clip home, they didn't use it.

I thought that was incredibly wise. :)

-Russ H.
 

aptohosting

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China,

With my previous ecommerce website (paintball related). I always targetted the parents, I knew they were the ones with the credit cards and they were going to make the decisions. Thats why I made the safety tips and statistics very obvious, putting things like "Paintball has had less injuries than jogging or golf combined" which is true. That way parents are able to make more informed decisions, and we don't have 13 year olds calling us for refunds when its their parents cards!
 

lucas

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I think you're right, and I think it's because the average age of the consumer is decreasing. It used to be that parents bought toys for their kids. Now the kids tell their parents what toys they want them to buy. Sad but true I guess -- but you need to be aware of changing market conditions like this if you are going to adapt and profit.
 

china

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With toys, sometimes I think people like me end up targeting Grandma and Grandpa more than the kids. Kids over the age of 8 have very sophisticated taste. They are also into name brands by that age. It can be very hard to sell them a "non-name brand" item.

I've been a retailer for about 20 years. You constantly have to adapt. Styles change, tastes change, ideas change. The best thing in the world is to be at the front of a trend. The only problem is that it is risky being at the front because the trend might not catch on and become popular -- and you can end up with a lot of money sunk into a dud item. A trend can also get hot and die very quickly afterwards.

There is nothing quite so satisfying as being at the front-end of a trend and selling out just before the item goes dead.
 

Russ H

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There is nothing quite so satisfying as being at the front-end of a trend and selling out just before the item goes dead.

As someone who sold all of our residential RE (over $2M) in 2005 (the top of our market up here), I completely agree. :)

Course, buying up all the bargains when the market is down is kinda fun, too. ;)

-Russ H.
 
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Talkintoy

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I believe most are targeted on kids as most parents can't say no to them. Most kids nowadays do have money of thier own and willing to pay for great clothing, shoes etc... Their generation now is all about being lazy and far too advance technology. Im just hoping it doesn't go overboard or we'll be in a big change for the future and health. There will be always new stuff to keep the economy and trend going. Thats why as a retail store you'll have to keep up with it to stay competitive as there will be new toys, etc... running hot for a month or so then die down. You buy it low and sell it high when trend is there.
 

MJ DeMarco

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This is an interesting topic; I've always wondered how teen-literature authors write books about teens that interest them. The authors typically are older (20's,30's,40's). I couldn't dream of writing a book geared toward 16 year olds, especially in today's technology age.

When I was in HS, the rage was beepers. Now we have phones, TXT messaging, myspace; the gossip in HS must travel like wildfire.

The owner of BRATZ (dolls) said his success was predicated on asking his pre-pubescent daughter about any doll before he produced it. If she liked it, he made it. His young daughter was his test-bed and market research.

I would think to hit a market that caters to the young, market research and focus groups are a must-have.
 
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Russ H

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Sorry, china, I was referring to picking up bargains in Real Estate during slumps (but you probably knew that). ;)

Retail-- esp hi tech-- is not something you want to buy after the "sell by" date, unless you specialize in selling to the third world or EBay.

Then, it can get lucrative-- esp if you buy things like PCs or Ipods for pennies on the dollar.

-Russ H.
 

John Stafford

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Re: It's a good thought

Hello,

It's a good thought.

My websites from a NM standpoint usually target
entrepreneurs in their 20's to early 30's. Not that
I don't see people of other ages but I seem to
work with alot of people that age.

I'm working on targeting more older folks because
they really need what we have from a retirement
angle. Still wrapping my mind around that though.


John
 

Talkintoy

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When I was in HS, the rage was beepers. Now we have phones, TXT messaging, myspace; the gossip in HS must travel like wildfire.
Lol...Those beepers was such a craze for everyone. Specially the pull out deck on cars you would see everyone at the mall walking around carrying some big a$$ bag for the stereo deck. Not to forget the big phone with shoulder leather case! Everyone thought they were all that! lol... Now our generation is far too advance with lots of remote for cars, tv, home system, computers, satellite, etc...Lazy generation coming soon. Thats why lots of kids are getting fat including myself. :) Its the food we eat! No offense to anyone. Plates before were far more smaller than what they are now. I think we have the best generation there is i hope. Hip hop was born, alternative, etc...
 
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china

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When I was in HS, the rage was beepers. Now we have phones, TXT messaging, myspace; the gossip in HS must travel like wildfire.

When I was in HS, the rage was the gun rack. Phones? You had those at home. Some people had 8 track tape players. Cassettes were kinda new.
 

china

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If you are targeting older people, we need a LOT of help with technology. You see, it got faster than we did. I'm not afraid of it (my parents are afraid of it) but I'll admit it has moved much faster than I have.

20 years ago, programming in C was important. Does that tell you how fast things have changed?
 

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