If you’re like the majority of marketers and merchants out there, the bulk of your marketing efforts are targeted towards 18 to 40 year olds.
Failing to focus at least some of your attention on baby boomers means you would miss out on a demographic profile that, according to a Nielsen report, has the following characteristics. They:
- Dominate 1,023 out of 1,083 consumer packaged goods categories
- Watch the most video: 9:34 hours per day
- Comprise 1/3 of all TV viewers, online users, social media users, and Twitter users
- Time shift TV more than 18-24s (2:32 vs. 1:32)
- Are significantly more likely to own a DVD player
- More likely to have broadband Internet access at home
The baby boomers demographic are those folks that were born between the years 1946-1964, and are 46 to 64 years old this year.
From observing behavior at retailers and bookstores, I’ve noticed that many of the buyers for IDG’s “For Dummies” books and magazines like PC World and PC Magazine fit within this profile. They want information, but may not be motivated to shortlist 20 web results and scan through each to find the information they need. They have disposable income, they want results, and they’re willing to put their wallets where their mouths are.
While baby boomers have something in common with 20-something and 30-something bleeding edge tech consumers, it’s a mistake to assume they’re identical. For one, the boomer’s disposable income means they have more leeway to experiment and try out stuff, unless it’s excessively expensive or fails to deliver to any of its’ promises.
I’ve met a couple of baby boomers in the course of my consulting and was not surprised to find a collection of smartphones on their desks. “Why do you need so many?” I asked.
“I bought the Blackberry but didn’t like it. Then I bought the iPhone and didn’t like it either, so I’ve been buying them till I found one I liked.”
And it’s not always having the best or flashiest product that gets the sale either. Sometimes it’s having a cell phone with larger keys and the capacity to display large fonts on the screen that gets the sale, over say, the ability to play DivX video or having the ability to connect to next generation 4G telco data networks.
Successfully Catering to Baby Boomers
Being able to cater to baby boomers is not just a matter of product design; it has to do with understanding the behavior of this demographic.
Take the example of seeing Facebook reminders from deceased friends as reported by The New York Times. While Facebook has been focused on its core teen to 20-something market and is gradually making inroads into the 30 to 40 year old profiles, being able to adapt its’ technology and appeal to the boomer generation, perhaps by accessing national obituary records while being sensitive to users, could go a long way to creating site stickiness with them..
Tailoring information so that it is interesting, relevant, and attractive to the boomer, as well as easily navigated, could produce big pays out in long-term site loyalty and consumer interest.
Besides site design and site intelligence, webmasters and social networks should consider creating baby boomer-specific communities or special interest groups within a sub-section within the website. It would be short sighted to not customize these sites in an attempt to appeal to a branch of the consumer base willing to spend the money needed to attain the specific item, be it DVD players or smartphones, which best suits their individual needs.
Not doing this could be the equivalent of throwing that demographic, and their purchasing power, away.
