effective marketing to baby boomers and seniors

Effective Marketing to Baby Boomers & Seniors

Prepared by Kevin HuangMay 2, 2016

30 years ago…

Evolving Consumer DemographicsIn the U.S., demographically, the country is growing, aging and diversifying. The most rapidly growing age segment in the US, is and will be, 55+.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau - 2012

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

• By 2020, the median age in the U.S. will be 38.3 years of age, steadily increasing and, somewhat, plateauing at 40 years of age by 2030.• Today, one in three

Americans is now 50 or older. By 2030 one out of every five people in the U.S. will be 65-plus.

Which States Are the Grayest?

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Boomers Are Spending Time OnlineBaby Boomers make up 40% of the customers paying for wireless service, and 41% of those who purchase Apple computers. Boomers also represent one-third of all online and social media users, and nearly another third of them report they are heavy internet users, with more than 8 million boomers spending more than 20 hours a week online. Their use of social networking has nearly doubled in the last year to 42%, and 53% are on Facebook.

Nielsen identifies a sub-segment called “Techno Boomers” who enjoy purchasing and using new technology: for example, they are 40% more likely to use iPhones, and they are also more likely to using business-related social networking sites at a higher rate.

Source: Statista, Jan 2015

Baby Boomers’ buying power is considerable: in the next 5 years, they’re projected to hold 70% of US disposable incomeand buy 49% of total consumer-packaged goods (CPG), according to an August 2012 report by Nielsen and BoomAgers.

Boomers Are Big Spenders Online

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Boomers spend a good portion of their large disposable income over the internet, and those aged 50 and older spend nearly $7 billion per year online. They use the internet as their primary means of comparison shopping for major purchases (such as cars and home furnishings).According to a Forrester Research study released in November 2011, “Older Boomers” (age 56-66) spend the most online of all generations, having spent an average $367 online in the prior 3 months, more than double the amount spent online ($138) by “Gen Z” adults (age 18-22). “Younger Boomers” (age 46-55) were the next biggest spenders ($318), closely followed by Gen Y (age 23-31), who spent an average of $311.

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Boomers Still Keen on Traditional MediaData from Nielsen and BoomAgers’ “Introducing Boomers: Marketing’s Most Valuable Generation” indicates that while Boomers are tech savvy, they still spend an average 174 hours a month watching TV, second only to Traditionalists (aged 65+), who watch 205 hours per month. By contrast, Gen X and Millennials watch significantly less, at 133 and 107 hours per month, respectively.

Compared to the median age of TV viewers (46), the median age among radio listeners is 44, while among readers, the median age is 45 for magazines and 48 for newspapers.

More than fifty million aging Baby Boomers are sparking demand for products and environments that accommodate their

changing physical and sensory capabilities.

Baby Boomers will have new needs driven by smaller households, increased emphasis on health and general welfare and increased service demands. "Help me" replaces "do it yourself." They will have new requirements - such as smaller, closer, easier. They will have new desires - such as quality of life, experiences, entertainment, enrichment, leisure and legacies.

Personal Tech Products DesignedSpecifically for Seniors

From specially designed smart watches to advanced sensor systems meant to detect falls, tech companies are designing products with seniors in mind. It's a trend that some in the industry think is long overdue.

“We aren’t scared of technology. We invented it!”

Marketing to seniors involves establishing a relationship, building trust and providing opportunities for growth, learning and interaction. Seniors are known for developing long-term brand loyalty, so an honest and forthright approach is vital to reaching this important segment of the population.

20 Marketing Tips To Consider When Selling To Seniors

• Rather than sell your product or service based on the price point being lower than your competition, or based on budget, fashion your marketing message to highlight how your solution can meet a need in their life. Focus on lifestyle, not finances.• Seniors want easy solutions. Keep your marketing message simple and straightforward. Don't try to communicate too many things. Focus on one or two main product benefits.• Your marketing message should never make them feel inadequate, incapable, stupid or "old".• Seniors are more concerned than the average consumer about security, independence, lifestyle, and family relationships.

• Proper images, font size, colors, etc are very important to your marketing messaging, whether it is in your print ad materials, website, your in-store displays or your product packaging and instructions. Make things clear, not confusing.• Seniors often will want to protect what they have before they'll consider investing in something new. This can be just as true when buying an appliance or roofing for their home, as it is for making a financial investment in the money market. Need alone doesn't always trigger buying. So take time to show them how the new product is better, how it will bring more safety or comfort, or less complication to their life.• Purchases can often be emotionally charged. Finding out what emotional concerns they have about your product or service, or around their needs, will give you an opportunity to address those concerns.

• Seniors want to know that their needs are being considered on an individual basis rather than being thrown a one-size-fits-all solution. Personalized service and respectfully listening to their particular situation with concern and interest will go a long way toward securing a sale.• Many seniors have been taught that they should provide for the generations coming after them – in other words, leave something for their kids or grandkids. Assure them that it is okay to consider their own needs first; that living a better life themselves can, in turn, often benefit those they love.• Change needs to be viewed as something positive, not something to fear. Empower them with knowledge and confidence as you show them how your product or service can lighten their load and provide benefits that can lead to an enhanced and more meaningful lifestyle.

• Stay with print, but add web. Research shows that the combination of the two provides more return on investment than the sum of each separately. Seniors are being increasingly drawn to internet and e-mail campaigns, it’s true. They are the fastest growing demographic when it comes to using the Internet, so branching into web will cover all your bases, but seniors are still a rather small percentage of the overall Internet users.• TV is a media format that has a high senior viewership. Printstill leads all media formats in perceived trustworthiness, and the fact that it can be touched, read and re-read, and kept for future use, makes it a format that seniors favor.

• Don't clutter your print ad with tons of stuff. Use more "white space" – believe it or not, that can be a very effective way to direct the reader's eye to your message.

Source: Acxiom Infobase

Best Channels for Marketing to Baby Boomers and Seniors1. Email marketing. Email is a powerful way to connect with this group. According to Pew Research 88% of seniors 65 and over use email. That being said you definitely want to have some type of email campaign put together as part of your marketing strategy.2. Google search. 82% use Google to search for information. That also means you need to become well acquainted with and learn how to us Google keyword tool to make sure your blog content has relevant keyword contained there in for your baby boomer searchers.

3. Online Shopping is the next marketing channel that boomers use. According to eMarketer, 90% of boomers make purchases online. That statistic blew me away. The other 10% may be fearful and a bit skeptical about putting their credit card info online but that doesn’t stop the other 90%.

4. Word of Mouth Marketing is the next channel that is very effective within the boomer population. If boomers have a great experience they are going to share it for sure. Boomers are asked their opinion 90x/year.

• 90% of the time they give it• 45% of the time they give it online• Boomers contribute the most product reviews online according to Bazaarvoice.

Best Channels for Marketing to Baby Boomers and Seniors5. Social Media. 71% of boomers and 69% of seniors use social media on a daily basis. On Facebook alone 89% of women have a Facebook account and 1/4 of them post at least once a day.

6. Video. Over 1/2 of baby boomers and seniors watch online video. Not only do they watch, but they take relevant and desirable action after watching.• 36% visit an online video website.• 31% of the forward the video to someone else.• 22% post on a regular basis.

7. Mobile Usage. According to Nielsen the fastest growing demographic for mobile usage are people ages 45-64. So what does that say? You need to make your website content mobile friendly. If you don’t have a mobile friendly blog, you are getting ready to miss out on a huge shift.

• Run seasonal targeted advertising campaigns. For example, if you are a retailer or have a product or service that can be offered as a gift, the holiday season is a perfect time to market to seniors, as well as their adult children looking for presents for their parents.• Look for editorial themes that are popular with seniors and that harmonize with your industry. For example, if you are a health food store, make sure you know when there’s a special health and wellness feature being run.• Create specific sales and offers, such as two-for-one services, senior sale days, free delivery, etc. Help your senior customers spread the good word about you. Their testimonial is golden, and they will often enjoy being an ambassador for a business they like to patronize.

• Emphasize good service. Senior consumers look for value, but are often willing to pay more if they know they will get good service.• Give seniors a reason to trust you. Can you offer a money back guarantee? Do you have testimonials from other pleased customers? Do you show up for appointments at their home on time?• Network with other businesses that provide a complementary service to yours. There are many senior partners available –AARP, CARP, Seniors-Discount.com and Eons. If you have a product that targets this demo – see if one of the above will feature your product in some fashion or perhaps represent it as an affiliate.

Source: Experian Marketing Services

• Remember word of mouth can be powerful. This can be especially true in retirement communities where residents come into contact with their neighbors on a daily basis —much more than in communities where members are working 8-10 hours a day. If a resident of a retirement home goes to the salon, or buys a new piece of clothing or pair of shoes, chances are her neighbors will know about it that evening. If you provide a quality product or service, word will get around.

(Click to watch the video)

Subaru – “Memory Lane”

Consider the relationship between Grandma Woodstock and her precocious Generation Z granddaughter, as depicted so cleverly in this Subaru television commercial. Grandma's motivations for intergenerational sharing of wisdom and family history — such as how to zip line naked in Belize — are also widely shared today among her peers, Boomer grandparents. The strategy probably even works for brand development with Generation X kids who are now the middle-aged adults and chauffeurs.

Subtle Boomer humor makes this TV spot work. It's the perfect Boomer context for a multi-generational family road trip. Beyond the obvious allusions to hippiedom, there is something also very powerful in this brief message: generativity.

Charles Schwab's campaign closes the generation gap.Marketers at Schwab neatly killed two birds with one stone with their creative campaign aimed at Baby Boomers and their children. The TV spot captured the attention of Boomers, who aren't asking enough questions about their retirement, as well as 30-somethings who need to begin saving now. What a great way to attract a new audience while not alienating an existing one. (Click to watch the video)

The Dove Real Beauty campaign, launched in early 2007, had captured the attention of the media and women 50 years old and older. This campaign, which featured women of all shapes and sizes in their underwear, increased Dove's sales by 700 percent in its first four months and gained media coverage in more than 800 publications.

There's Real Beauty in Marketing To Older Women