Don’t Assume Every Baby Boomers Age Is The Same When You Plan Your Marketing
Marketing to the Baby Boomer Generation is a smart move. This is a much sought after demographic for many reasons. You may already have some success marketing to Baby Boomers, but you could have even more success with a little adjusting. Why? This is a huge demographic encompassing everyone born between 1946 to 1964. With that many age groups, how do you focus your target audience? You need to narrow this group to get real market appeal.
From data supplied by the US Census Bureau, we know that we have a huge population of aging Americans. When we take this group of people and put them all together in a single demographic, we are causing a marketing nightmare. How can you market to “Boomers” as if they are all the same age when the period in history that we refer to spans almost two decades?
Just to be clear; in 2010, people born during the baby boom years are ages 46 to 64. People in their 40’s are vastly different than people in their 60’s. They have different life experiences, histories, wants, and needs. This time spans an entire generation.
Do you market to a 46 year old or a 64 year old? I can tell you that the thought process, the wants, and the needs of a person in their 40’s is vastly different from someone in their 60’s. If you simply search the term “baby boomer” and market to whoever pops up, you haven’t narrowed your market to a specific audience.
If I search a website that says they have products for “baby boomers,” and I find out that their products are luxury cruises for retired people with time on their hands and money to spend, I will be upset, or maybe even insulted, if I am 46 years old. I may have kids at home yet, am working two jobs just to save money for the kids’ college, and am as far away from time or money for a luxury cruise than you can get!
Now, say I click on a website for Boomers about beauty products. If I’m 60 plus years old I want moisturizes and sun protection. But if I’m in my 40’s I may be more tempted by products that promise anti-aging and wrinkle reduction. You have to know who you’re talking to!
It’s time to get to know your market. Perhaps you need to drop the whole “baby boomer” reference in your marketing strategy. What target are you trying to sell to? What age group will your product benefit? It’s fine to use the term Boomer when referring to nostalgia, but not when referring to a product. Who is your audience?
In other words, use the term “baby boomer” only when waxing nostalgic, not when trying to market a product. If your product is meant for someone in their 40’s, still struggling with kids at home, market to that person, not the person in their 60’s who is downsizing and ready to retire.
Really, if you have a product to help people sort through Medicare Supplement insurance, do you want that product to be targeted at a generic “Baby Boomer” group or a 64 and older group? If you blast a new product out to an age group that doesn’t appreciate it, you may lose that group, permanently. Consider AARP for a moment… you get that letter very close to your 50th birthday, don’t you. Not when you’re 40 and not when you’re 60; when you’re 50.
Many people who write blogs are told to “write to one person” to keep their writing honest and real. The same phrase applies to marketing – “Market to one person.” You know your audience. Don’t try to sell to everyone in some demographic that was chosen through some fluke of history. If you choose your one person and speak directly to that person at that age, your product, and you, will be trusted and believed. You may even get some great customers in the deal!
Time for some action! The Baby Boomer Generation references should be dropped from your marketing strategies. We are NOT one age group. This demographic is confusing at best and using this generic term won’t help you market to the so-called baby boomers. People in their 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s don’t want to be lumped together anymore than someone in their 20’s wants to be grouped with someone in their 40’s. You are marketing to a very different group of people, so treat us as individuals. Once you do, you’ll earn the respect of all of us Boomers… of every age!
Begin your baby boomers marketing strategies by breaking down that huge demographic into more realistic age groups. And, please, come visit us to enjoy interesting ideas, memories, laughs, and even a tear or two at RemarkableWrinklies.com.
