The How-To's of Capturing the Baby Boomer Market

So, now that we’ve established to the jury that baby boomers are the “new black” for online marketistas, now we’re going to give you the 411 on how to capture this totally fab market. Let me rephrase that in boomer terms: here are some ideas to grab them by the knickers and make them listen to your message. And do it not just because they are feeling sad and neglected. (According to TV Land research, 45% of the demographic believe that advertisers are ignoring them.)

When baby boomers were in their teens and their 20s, they were the ones that advertisers were largely after, and "now at the age of their 40s and 50s, they're really feeling left out by advertisers today," laments Kimberly Maxwell, TV Land's director of brand and consumer research in this MarketWatch article. Not to sound cold-hearted, but we’re not concerned about feelings here, Chester. We’re not going to serenade them with jingles and rich media to make them happy. No, these guys are literally worth the effort. Boomers outspend all other age groups 2 to 1 across all product categories. They’ve worked hard for the money, and now they’re going to spend it. And we’re going to tell them how.

Like so many situations with great reward potential, the challenges are many. The pervading stereotypes of seniors as untrusting of people they don’t know is certainly true, especially when dealing with the faceless multitudes of online businesses. Though not as stubborn as the generation above, they’re still less likely to use their credit card online, and don’t always trust the Internet with their personal information. (With justifiable concern: read here about how people are grappling for access to your medicine cabinet, which for some whose contents are now expanding, could be very revealing.)

So how do we get through to them and help them overcome these obstacles? You’d best rec-og-nize.

Recognize their issues. I think it was Christopher Guest disguised as the six-fingered man who once said, “If you haven’t got your health, you haven’t got anything.” Microsoft must have been wearing its thinking cap when it acquired Medstory, the healthcare search engine, because services like this are going to be more and more valuable as the boomers age and start realizing their limitations. The psychological and emotional aspects of aging, as well as other life-stage transitions, may make the boomers more open to spiritual outlets and communities, which are developing at a fast pace online. In addition, as people live longer, there are many who undergo a “transformation” into healthier living (green, anyone?) which opens the door to sites that cater to those in need of guidance in an unfamiliar lifestyle. Maybe you hadn’t considered advertising on a self-help site as a way to reach confident consumers: think again.

Recognize their interests. The traditional destinations of most baby boomers are daily inputs like news and weather. They are also frequent visitors to financial, travel, and gift/flower sites. But as this Daily Tech article shows, video games are catching on in retirement homes. And why not? We’ve seen how games can be attractive. Scrabble, shuffleboard, heck, even my mom is getting into bocce ball. It shouldn’t be too long before online gaming catches on.

Recognize their influences. Although baby boomers are ultimately the final decision-maker, studies have shown that it’s the Generation Y’ers that have the most influence on the family’s purchasing decisions. So cater to the boomers, but we can’t completely forget about those young’uns.

Finally, Lewis Green on Marketing Profs says it well when he prompts marketers to recognize the diverse character of baby boomers: "One size does not fit all," he concludes. "Get back to the basics of good marketing. Forget the bells and whistles and reach us where we live and work." 

Okay, we’re coming!!!

Comments

[BOOMj]

This is a nice blog you run here. Just thought I'd let you know that there is a brand new website dedicated to baby boomers called BOOMj.com. You can meet other boomers or just keep up to date on all the latest in music, movies, books etc. You should check it out.

[Susan Bratton]

I am juiced about the psychographic segment called Cultural Creatives, identified by Paul Ray and Sherry Ruth Anderson in their book of the same name. Boomer seems very broad for such a large demographic and Cultural Creatives strike me as the portion of boomers on the leading edge of culture.
I'd like to hear what others think of this category?