With America's population aging, smart advertisers are looking at the demographics and realizing senior citizens have disposable income and are willing to spend money on the things that interest them. They have some of the same preferences as younger generations, but often for different reasons. You can capture this market if you use some sound marketing to seniors strategies.
In this new age of soundbites, emojis, limited character online media feeds, and creative spelling, some seniors feel like they are living in an alien world. When you want to get their attention, you have to use the same language they use. A lot of them are suspicious of dramatic jargon and trendy buzz words. To be successful, you need to give them straight talk, and tell them exactly what your product or service is going to do for them.
If you spend all your time describing the bells and whistles of your product, you won't end up selling much. This is true no matter the age of the customer. Instead you need to find out what the customer is looking for and convince them your product will fill the need. Older consumers may be as interested in your service as younger ones, but for different reasons.
If you want to lose a senior customer, talk down to them. Act as though they are toddlers or mentally impaired. These are people with long lives full of experience, knowledge, and in many cases, very successful careers. Nothing will disgust or make a senior mad faster than someone underestimating them. If you learn only one lesson about marketing to senior citizens, this is the one it should be.
You should never assume that, because a customer is older, she is technologically handicapped. Many seniors love downloading apps on their smart phones and staying connected to friends and family on social media sites. Others have no interest in any of it. To be really successful you have to find a way to capture both markets. Fine print and overuse of icons is not the way to go.
It might seem sensible to drop your print advertising and investment all your marketing dollars in an online presence. This isn't a good idea if you are targeting senior citizens. These people still remember land line phones and airmail. Many would rather read printed books than the online version. You might be surprised at how much business you will get from catalogs and brochures sent to their mailboxes.
A lot of older people get frustrated and annoyed when they call to make a purchase or request information and keep getting automated responses. Some will hang up unless a real person answers the phone. Automation is great, but having a customer service department staffed by live, knowledgeable personnel can make all the difference with aging customers.
Senior citizens are a vibrant, viable market, and if you discount them, you will be losing a huge segment of the buying public. You will have to adjust your thinking to attract them. You will also have to uncover what interests them and why.
In this new age of soundbites, emojis, limited character online media feeds, and creative spelling, some seniors feel like they are living in an alien world. When you want to get their attention, you have to use the same language they use. A lot of them are suspicious of dramatic jargon and trendy buzz words. To be successful, you need to give them straight talk, and tell them exactly what your product or service is going to do for them.
If you spend all your time describing the bells and whistles of your product, you won't end up selling much. This is true no matter the age of the customer. Instead you need to find out what the customer is looking for and convince them your product will fill the need. Older consumers may be as interested in your service as younger ones, but for different reasons.
If you want to lose a senior customer, talk down to them. Act as though they are toddlers or mentally impaired. These are people with long lives full of experience, knowledge, and in many cases, very successful careers. Nothing will disgust or make a senior mad faster than someone underestimating them. If you learn only one lesson about marketing to senior citizens, this is the one it should be.
You should never assume that, because a customer is older, she is technologically handicapped. Many seniors love downloading apps on their smart phones and staying connected to friends and family on social media sites. Others have no interest in any of it. To be really successful you have to find a way to capture both markets. Fine print and overuse of icons is not the way to go.
It might seem sensible to drop your print advertising and investment all your marketing dollars in an online presence. This isn't a good idea if you are targeting senior citizens. These people still remember land line phones and airmail. Many would rather read printed books than the online version. You might be surprised at how much business you will get from catalogs and brochures sent to their mailboxes.
A lot of older people get frustrated and annoyed when they call to make a purchase or request information and keep getting automated responses. Some will hang up unless a real person answers the phone. Automation is great, but having a customer service department staffed by live, knowledgeable personnel can make all the difference with aging customers.
Senior citizens are a vibrant, viable market, and if you discount them, you will be losing a huge segment of the buying public. You will have to adjust your thinking to attract them. You will also have to uncover what interests them and why.
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