Tips for Marketing to Baby Boomers

       Baby Boomers represent approximately 30 percent of the US population, and each year about 4 million of the Boomers turn 50. So what does that mean for you, the savvy business owner or marketing rep? Well, it means that you need to understand how to market to this aging section of your customer base—because statistics also show that they control about 50 percent of all the US’s discretionary income. In other words, you’re sitting on a potential goldmine if you could just figure out how to best tap into it.
That said, here are a few things to keep in mind in respect to marketing to this powerful generation.

•    Boomers act on referrals. While a young 20-something is likely to go searching for products and services online, Baby Boomers tend to place more weight on referrals. How can you capitalize on this? Get active on social media and give clients incentives to refer their friends (namely Baby Boomers) to your website. Maybe you could even use promotional products to offer incentives for referrals.

•    They place more emphasis on practicality. When a Baby Boomer looks at a product or service, they simply aren’t worried about what or who is cool. In other words, the fads don’t faze them. That said, make sure your marketing efforts are focused on the manner in which your product benefits them. How does it fill a need in their life? How can they use it to help themselves out? Keep this in mind also with the promotional products you use.

•    Don’t focus on age. It’s common sense—who wants to constantly identify with their age? Yes Baby Boomers are getting older, but they don’t want their age to define them. With things like Active Senior Adult Communities springing up all over the place, it’s clear that Baby Boomers are redefining the way we look at the Golden Years. So make sure your marketing efforts don’t dwell on how old people are getting. Instead, maybe focus on how more people are wanting to remain more active with promo products such as exercise equipment. For example, you could purchase a nice jump rope with your logo emblazoned on the handle.