Wanting It Now The first generation to grow up with computers, Gen Xers are extremely tech-savvy. The Internet is their “reference library, business directory, and information-gathering tool all rolled up into one,” says Gary Pettis, a marketing consultant with Pettis Creative in Minneapolis. At a minimum, working with them successfully requires communicating at the speed to which they’ve become accustomed.
Anthony Cucciniello recently finished a $300,000 addition for a professional Gen-X couple who relied constantly on their BlackBerries, e-mail, and cell phones. This suited his company, 4V Construction & Management, New Rochelle, N.Y., because Cucciniello also loves his BlackBerry — as do his staff and his vendors. Questions and answers flew back and forth, decisions were made promptly, and schedules were seamlessly coordinated. “I found them easier to deal with than boomers,” says Cucciniello, a 35-year-old Gen Xer himself. “I could say, ‘Go to whatever-dot-com to see this product,’” he comments, whereas older clients tend to expect him to bring them samples in person.
Ron Mulick had a similar positive experience with a Gen-X couple doing a kitchen and master bathroom remodel. “The key, as always, was communication, which was actually easier since the couple used their e-mail regularly,” says Mulick, president of Mulick Construction and Design, Agoura Hills, Calif. “I was also able to send documents, invoices, and change orders via e-mail, which was very convenient.”
Feedback isn’t all that Gen Xers expect quickly. “There’s a sense of immediacy —of what’s in it for me now,” says Steve Kleber, who consults on consumer behavior through Kleber & Associates, Atlanta, and the Center for Kitchen and Bath Education and Research (www.ckber.org). That quest for instant gratification can play out in challenging ways, from Gen Xers choosing colors that strike you as next year’s harvest gold, to expecting their project to wrap up in no time.
“The speed of construction, which has not kept pace with other sectors, is something that you need to sit down and explain very carefully to them,” Anschel says. He suggests walking Gen Xers through the construction process before you get there, and creating a road map that helps them visualize the many pieces and what hinges on what.” Updating schedules is also important, he adds, “as they will get tied to specific deadlines and due dates and expect you to meet them.”
“We’re almost an over-educated consumer,” says Michael Moore, a 33-year-old licensed builder and owner of MR Moore & Co., Holland, Mich. He points out that, immersed in the Internet and “reality” home-makeovers, this generation “knows about the superficial stuff, but needs to be educated about the guts” of the remodeling process. “I think if you professionally develop the program and make sure the scope of work is thoroughly detailed,” Moore says, “you can coach the client into realizing [that they don’t know enough to do it without you].”
“They know the components they want,” agrees Michael Tenhulzen, the 31-year-old general manager of Tenhulzen Inc., Redmond, Wash. “But they’re not necessarily seeing the whole completed vision.” He’s all too familiar with Gen Xers’ proclivity to research and price-compare, and to resent paying markups they don’t consider justified. “They’re doing more up-front interviewing with contractors,” he notes approvingly. “But they don’t necessarily know what attributes to look for, so they default to price.”
Like Anschel, Tenhulzen sees education as a solution to this challenge. “We’re going to be releasing a new Web site that will help them learn more about the industry and the process and the way they can best be served,” he says. His company has also hired more Gen-X employees, in part to better relate with this customer base.
Yet Anschel has a different response to Gen Xers’ supply-it-themselves approach. “It’s to be expected,” he observes. Rather than requiring clients to purchase materials through his company, he lets them make the call, with the understanding that he will not warranty items they have supplied.
“There are some things that we have no objections to their supplying,” Anschel says, such as the kitchen sink and the light fixtures. “And others that we suggest that we supply,” such as faucets, disposals, and shower valves. “Peers of mine grumble that this cuts into their profit. I look at it differently,” Anschel explains. “I can either have a good project that I am proud of, as well as a good referral, or no project at all. If the client only has $80,000 to spend, and if you can get more mileage out of the project by having the homeowners supply certain items — or perform some sweat equity — then why not?”