Advice On Marketing to Baby Boomers

byriverita1

298 followers

10 years ago

AARP recently declared 2014 as the “Year of the Boomers”. They did this because 2014 is the year when the last of the Baby Boomers turns 50. This huge demographic, seventy-six million Americans born between 1946 and 1964, are a rich target market for smart retailer who determines what they want and then gives it to them.

A 2012 Nielsen study found that Baby Boomers will control more than seventy percent of the disposable income in the United States by 2017. This means that marketing to Baby Boomers will become an important strategy in every retailer’s marketing campaign.

The first of the Boomers, often called Zoomers are reaching ages 52 to 62 and are more healthy, active and affluent than any generation before them. Another twenty-two million are right behind, and these two groups combined command two thirds of the United States’ household wealth. Of the 76 million Baby Boomers, more than twenty-five percent have annual incomes of more than $100,000 and a net worth of more than $400,000.

Baby Boomers are also more healthy and active than past generations, with only eleven percent facing health problems that may restrict their life style. Baby Boomers are also accustomed to spending money on services, lifestyle and amenities.

Marketing to Baby Boomers.

Baby Boomers are pursued by companies as the companies look for ways to connect with this potentially lucrative market. The reality however is that many Baby Boomers feel that they are often overlooked. These Boomers are active and on the go. They have no plans to sit on the porch in a rocking chair while life passes them by. They are connected online and active on social media.

This population actively purchases services and goods online. They prefer doing business with those who offer home delivery and look for or discounted delivery options. They will patronize brick and mortar stores more readily if it offers home delivery as well. Brick and mortar stores also need to be wheel chair accessible.

One of the key issues in marketing to Baby Boomers is to know the audience. While no two Baby Boomers are alike, they all do face some defining issues. Identifying these issues will help a company develop strategies for marketing to their Baby Boomer audience. A few of the more prevalent issues facing Baby Boomers are:

• Retirement – The size of the Baby Boomer demographic creates a wide range between those Baby Boomers who have already retired and those who are just starting to think about it. There are also those who are well-prepared for retirement and those who thought they were, but were wiped out in the last recession. Others may find themselves somewhere in between, perhaps needing to work at least part-time to provide a financial cushion during retirement.

• Financial Issues – Many Baby Boomers are very financially secure while others are under considerable stress due to financial strain. Some have debt from medical expenses, college loans, home loans, and other expenses. Other financial issues such as children or grandchildren returning home to live or market fluctuations impacting a retirement fund can also cause financial strain. If a Baby Boomer’s only retirement source of income is fixed to one source, this may become a source of financial strain.

• Medical Issues – Baby Boomers were and are one of the most active generations and as a result, may need more knee and hip replacements after many years of exercise and sports.

• Family Issues – Baby Boomers often find themselves raising their children and also caring for their parents at the same time. This “sandwich generation” phenomena can really take a toll on a family and the individual, often causing considerable strain on everyone.

Defining the Message

Another key component to selling to Baby Boomers is getting the message right. Baby Boomers tend to identify as a group, much of it defined by generational experiences such as the Vietnam War and the Peace movement. Find the message that will resonate with this group and they will buy.

As a demographic cohort, the Baby Boomers tend to identify as a generation. They have a sense of self-empowerment and work hard to be the best that they can. They believe that life is a continuing series of opportunities to continue to improve.

What this means to marketers is a way to offer products and services.

Educational and adventure travel are very popular as ways to learn and experience new things. Messages which appeal to this feeling of self-empowerment are very powerful.

Another effective marketing technique is appealing to their collective conscious. Many Baby Boomers are grandparents, so a marketing message appealing to that part of their lives could be very successful. Baby Boomers whose goal is to remain active and fit could be attracted to a message about health and fitness.

Redefining and reinventing yourself is a popular notion, especially later in life. A message that asks, “What can you do to reinvent yourself?” might be very popular with a Baby Boomer audience who has retired from one career and may be looking to do something completely different.

After the 2008 recession, the dominant cohort in the new business creation sector was the 45 to 65 year-old age group. This included small consultancies to large companies. This type of growth presents significant opportunities for B2B marketers.

Selecting the Platform

While Baby Boomers may read a physical newspaper, they are also just as likely to read that same newspaper online. Boomers are online almost every day and are heavy users of online retail and social media sites. A recent Pew Research Center study found that those ages 50 and older are using social networking sites more than twice as often as last year.

This same study also found that Baby Boomers actually make up the fastest growing demographic on all social media sites, including Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. All marketing campaigns targeting Baby Boomers need to consider using social media as one of the main pillars of their campaign.

The Year of the Boomer is full of marketing opportunities as it gets into full swing. Pay attention to the market and the Baby Boomer demographic to ensure your company is positioned to market to the Baby Boomer population.