Here in 2025, marketers of all kinds — but especially those in financial services — face a pivotal moment: The first members of Generation X are turning 60.
Why Gen X matters in financial services and marketing
A few numbers say it all: Gen X consists of 66 million people in the United States born between 1965 and 1980, with a collective net worth of about $39 trillion. While substantial at a quarter of America’s total wealth, according to a Smart Asset analysis of Financial Reserve data, it’s still only half of the $78 trillion held by the Baby Boomer generation.
Marketing for financial services: Understanding the generational shift
The graying of Gen X and the United States means financial services firms must carefully strategize to capture a shrinking pool of retirement-age wealth while also being sensitive to the inevitable transfer of Baby Boomer wealth to younger cohorts, specifically Gen X. It’s going to require cultivating an evolving understanding of the unique attitudes and behaviors of not only Generation X, but of all the generational cohorts. Regarding Gen X, financial institutions need to get personal and precise in their marketing to engage and retain the Gen X business, understanding their differences from the generations that came before them.
How your marketing strategies can adapt to Gen X’s financial concerns
Research suggests that financial insecurities will play a role. A majority of Gen X feels “it’s going to take a miracle to retire securely,” according to Natixis Investment Managers, with many members saying they are resigned to working past the age of 65.
Saddled with a higher debt load and less in savings, Gen X, according to surveys from MX Technologies, also tends to:
Optimizing financial services marketing for Gen X
The challenge before financial institutions is to retool age-based marketing strategies to show an understanding of these trends, thereby future-proofing their businesses. That’s going to require a focus on data to understand the signals and design personalized campaigns with sharply differentiated creative, both offline and online.
The future of financial services marketing: leveraging data and innovation
Balancing all of this is not easy. After 20 years of near-constant change across media and marketing channels — think social media, e-commerce, mobile, programmatic and now AI — we’re all running just to stand still, as a Quad-sponsored research report from Harvard Business Review Analytic Services showed.
Now, as we wish the first set of Gen X’ers a happy 60th birthday, let’s turn this swirl of change to our advantage, optimizing our marketing strategies for financial services with advanced data and analytics for better customer acquisition and retention.
