Promotions: Older adults are a key market to attract.

 

Despite the immense purchasing power of adults ages 65-plus, most marketers have yet to take advantage of the opportunity afforded by population aging.10,11 To gain the business of this group requires first the correct product, then a market effort that can effectively engage it. How can you accomplish this?

Effective promotions and marketing must be rooted in the realities of life for older adults. Messages about anti-aging, the “super senior,” or the frail, ill family matriarch fail to reflect the reality of today’s older population.9 As a result, older consumers are turned off by marketers’ messages that target them, and they tune them out completely.21

Shifting today’s marketing model to meet your consumer demand can sell product, while inspiring societal change. Here is a question to ask yourself: What do you need to create, or offer, to be a real (authentic), ageless and inclusive brand? And how do you need to communicate it? Your answers will dictate how your customers and community see you, as well as how your staff, partners and vendors view, and interact with, your organization.

A thought to ponder: It all starts with your story and those of your customers, so think about how you can tap into this extensive reservoir of life experience to tell it. Real people, real images and a real story, told in appropriate language, equal real results.

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