How to talk to the next generation without losing everyone else
In B2B sales and marketing, the audience buying from you today will likely not be the same audience who’ll be buying from you in ten years, so you need to “stay relevant.” It’s a term we hear often and usually accompanied by the words: “we need to talk to a younger audience.”
Most brands treat that as a tone problem, thinking a lick of fresh paint via bolder colours, some borrowed slang, perhaps a “voicier” voice will do the job. Reach for the youth, and hope the youth reach back.
Alas, talking to a younger audience is never just a tone problem; it is a bigger trust challenge. Get it right, and you have a brand that grows into its next decade, building on the customers it already has; get it wrong, and you have a brand that loses the audience you already have to gain the one you wish to grow.
What’s shifting in the B2B buyers marketplace?
Your market is getting younger, more diverse, with less attention and time, and the pace isn’t letting up. It’s the same shift we explored in the L&D brand strategy shift that’s driving growth – a more diverse generation that doesn’t want to be sold to and often seeks a partner, not a supplier.
Forrester found that Millennials and Gen Z became the majority of B2B buyers in 2022, at 64%, climbing to 71% just a year later.
The decision-maker you’re picturing – the one who looks like your existing customer – is already the minority at the table.
Standing still is an expensive decision, but moving badly is worse because the real risk is sounding like you’re trying too hard and giving the business the equivalent of the ‘ick’.
Life example: General Electric
Please note this example is a little old now, but there is still much to learn from.
What happened.
From 2011, GE tried to shed its identity as an industrial manufacturer and rebrand itself as “the digital industrial company.” It built GE Digital in San Ramon, launched the Predix software platform, and adopted FastWorks, a lean-startup methodology borrowed directly from Silicon Valley, backing the pivot with over $4 billion. CEO Jeff Immelt later said the two things that shaped his thinking were an essay on software eating the world and a book called The Lean Startup. A 130-year-old maker of turbines and jet engines was now speaking the language of app developers.
The result.
- GE’s market value fell by around half during Immelt’s tenure, and by 2017 it was the worst-performing stock on the Dow.
- Predix ran into technical trouble and delays, and incoming CEO John Flannery called a two-month timeout before refocusing sales back on GE’s existing industrial customers rather than the new markets it had been chasing.
Immelt was pushed out by activist investors. The company that built its name on engineering trust had spent years trying to sound like a tech startup, and the people who actually bought its turbines noticed.
The trap: chasing “young” and alienating the “loyal”
There’s a particular kind of cringe that kills brands. It’s the sound of a business straining to be something it isn’t, and existing customers can hear it. When you chase younger audiences clumsily, you don’t just fail to win that audience; you send an unmistakable message to the audience you already have that you’re not who we want anymore.
Infamous life example: Jaguar
What happened?
In November 2024, Jaguar tore up a century of heritage to chase a younger, wealthier, more global buyer. Agency Accenture Song replaced the leaping cat and growler badge with a minimalist “J” logo and primary colours, then launched with a 30-second film that had no cars in it at all, just young models in avant-garde outfits against pink abstract landscapes, under slogans like “Delete Ordinary” and “Copy Nothing.” As Saffron’s Gabor Schreier put it, Jaguar wanted “new buyers with more money in their pockets” but wasn’t “addressing the ones who bought Jaguar in the past.”
The result?
Positives:
- The film hit 160 million views in 48 hours
Negatives:
- A German poll of nearly 18,000 people found 93% called it “creepy” and said it no longer had anything to do with Jaguar.
- Monthly European sales fell from roughly 1,961 cars in 2024 to just 49 by April 2025, a 97.5% collapse.
- Website traffic and brand awareness both rose, but neither converted into a single extra sale.
- By May 2025, JLR had launched a global review to replace Accenture Song.
Think about it. You’re alienating your most valuable asset, and the most consistently undervalued one, when you have the opportunity to do more with them, with the insight and know-how you already have.
I’ve always found it odd that so many businesses bend over backwards for a brand-new customer, offering them introductory offers and welcome discounts while the loyal soul (and highest value) customer who’s been with them for many years gets nothing. Not even a thank you. It’s strange, isn’t it – we reward the stranger and take the family for granted.
That instinct is exactly what a clumsy generational pivot amplifies. And the numbers say it’s a costly one to indulge.
Bain’s research, popularised by Fred Reichheld, demonstrated that
increasing customer retention by just 5% increases profits by a whopping 25% to 95%.
Loyalty is therefore more than sentiment; it’s margin, and it’s the cheapest growth you will ever buy. It’s also the easiest to throw away in the name of looking fresh.
Consider evolving your brand expression instead
Speaking to the next generation is not a reason to totally reinvent your brand. However, it is a reason to evolve its expression.
Those are not the same thing, and the space between them is where fortunes are made and lost.
Reinvention says: who we are is a problem. It often tears up the promise, rewrites the values, and gambles decades of hard-won trust. This absolutely is the right move for some businesses – but not right for the sole reason of attracting more of the next generation.
Evolution says: who we are is an asset to carry forward and build from. Same soul, same promise. Same reason people trusted you in the first place. What changes is how you express it via the language, the references, the channels, the energy, the pace. You update the delivery without changing the substance.
I believe trust is the bridge between the audience you have and the audience you’re growing into. Loyal customers aren’t the obstacle to reaching a younger market. Handled well, they’re the living evidence that your brand is worth trusting at all. Younger buyers are often sceptical of the shiny and the new, and what earns them is a brand that clearly knows who it is, with trusted reviews.
This is what B2P (business to people) has always understood. People respond to people, in every generation. Get the human connection right, and you stop having to choose between old and new. You’re not talking down to one group and up to another. You’re being consistently, recognisably yourself, in a language each of them can feel.
What to avoid, and what to do
If you are looking to review your brand to ensure it can capture the attention of both new younger demographics and keep your current customers, follow this short guide.
Avoid this:
- Bolting on trends you don’t believe in.
- Chasing a younger voice at the expense of your own.
- Treating your existing customers as legacy baggage.
- Confusing “modern” with “unrecognisable.”
- Rebranding when all you needed was a brand refresh.
Do this instead:
- Start from what already makes people trust you, and ask how that shows up for a new generation.
- Evolve tone, touchpoints and pace, not your core promise if that still lands in the research.
- Bring loyal customers with you, and make them feel it.
- Thank the people who’ve stayed.
- Modernise the expression, but protect the soul if it’s still right
So before you chase anyone, get honest about where your brand actually stands today, with the customers you have, and the ones you want next.
How we can help
Do you need to reposition your brand for a new demographic
Book a 30-minute clarity session with us to understand what dials need to move to get you talking to a younger demographic without losing the current one. This is not a sales session. It’s an honest look at where your brand is blending in when it should be standing out, and where the real opportunity sits.
FAQ
How to evolve your brand when talking to a younger audience
We’ve gathered the most common questions people ask about this topic and answered them clearly and simply below. Hopefully you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for.
How do you appeal to a younger audience without alienating loyal customers?
Evolve how the brand expresses itself — its language, channels and energy — rather than reinventing what it stands for. Keep the core promise consistent so existing customers still recognise and trust you, while making that promise land for a newer, more diverse audience.
Is a generational shift a reason to rebrand?
Rarely. Most established brands need a refresh, not a rebrand. A full reinvention risks the trust and equity you’ve already built. Evolving your expression keeps loyal customers on side while making the brand relevant to the next generation. But this needs to be assessed properly through research.
Why does customer loyalty matter so much financially?
Retaining customers is far cheaper than winning new ones, and small gains compound: Bain & Company found a 5% increase in retention can lift profits by 25–95%. Loyal customers are your most cost-effective source of growth.
What's the difference between evolving a brand and reinventing it?
Evolution treats your existing identity as an asset worth building on: same promise, updated delivery. Reinvention treats it as a problem to be solved, tearing up the logo, values and visual language to start again. Reinvention is sometimes the right call, but rarely just because you want to reach a younger audience.
Should B2B brands prioritise loyal customers or new, younger buyers?
Both, but not at each other’s expense. Research popularised by Fred Reichheld found that a 5% increase in customer retention can lift profits by 25-95%, making loyalty one of the cheapest forms of growth available. The strongest approach uses trust with existing customers as a foundation for winning new ones, rather than treating one group as a stepping stone past the other.
Other insights by Vicki
About Vicki Young
Vicki Young (she/her) is Founder and CCO of Nalla. After working for two of the most respected creative agencies within the industry, she set up Nalla as a tribute to her late father, Allan.
A thought-leader in the branding space, Vicki’s insights are regularly featured in publications such as The Times, Creative Review and Transform Magazine.
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