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!!!

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