MARKETING TO BABY BOOMERS

Introduction:

During the next two decades, millions of Baby Boomers will reach retirement age. Never before in American history will so many people have arrived en masse at the final life stage. Nevertheless, unlike the few preceding generations that have had an opportunity to enjoy post-career retirement, Boomers will give this traditional period of quiescence new meaning.

They will not be quiet, calm, or disengaged.

They will collectively redefine the connotations of aging and the purpose of life’s closing years. They will set the stage for a long-term reorientation of American business to the value of its previously most undervalued population segment. They will bring to aging culture what they bequest to youth culture when they were boisterously becoming young adults four decades ago.

Not only will this life stage continue to be associated with fewer working responsibilities, as has been its tradition, there will be more free time to redefine the character of the country. Moreover, this generation’s healthy materialistic appetite will feed a penchant for acquiring many new possessions, whether material, psychological, or spiritual.

Some Baby Boomers are retiring early, cashing in on good fortune bestowed by successful careers, and perhaps a robust slice of the trillions of dollars bequest by their parents’ generation. Many more will forestall full retirement for economic reasons, financially unable to cope with a non-working future dependent on substantial retirement nest eggs and fortuitous investing throughout their careers.

When Baby Boomers arrive at the beginning of their golden years, they will be unlike any preceding group of younger retirees. They will choose continuing education to transform avocations into money-making vocations; many will seek mind expansion through exotic travel and educational pursuits; some will invest in luxury lifestyles with all the comfort trappings of the good life; and most will focus on the critical developmental challenges of this life stage: reconciliation with the past, and an ultimate search for meaning.

And the economic realities of America will change.

Around the collective quest will whirl thousands of new business opportunities, from yet unimagined lifestyle communities, to new technologies designed to minimize work and overcome the limitations of aging bodies. Medical breakthroughs will continue to revise understanding of human longevity and release untapped human potential from revitalized bodies and minds. A plethora of new products and services will spill out of America’s companies to satisfy emerging needs for greater social relevance, spiritual integration, and comfort.

Demographers and futurists have been speaking to and writing about the impact of this phenomenon for years, with some predicting an economic Shangri-La and others cautioning national financial disaster. Both viewpoints have merit. Although the Baby Boom has an unparalleled number of successful, financially independent achievers, the generation also has a large segment that may be financially unable to cope with full retirement.

Since America’s oldest segments have traditionally been the most aggressive about voting and lobbying for public financial support, it is reasonable to imagine increasing pressures on federal entitlement programs, already dangerously large. It is reasonable to predict a widening chasm between those of the generation who have resources and those who do not. It is reasonable to predict heightened conflict between an entitlement-hungry group and younger generations wanting their fair share of the American Dream. It is also reasonable to foresee that community service and stewardship will grow as many former social activists rediscover their fondness for giving and helping.

And the character of America itself will change.

The complex impact of this demographic shift can be reduced to two major economic forces. Millions capable of retiring and living the good life will form a luxury market for countless goods and services focused on the elderly. Millions more will confront financial limitations for the remainder of their lives, unable to afford society’s bounty of luxuries; nevertheless, and ironically, they will be consumers of products and services designed to assist the less fortunate.

Whichever socioeconomic market you seek to develop, Baby Boomers have accumulated common cultural, sociological, and psychological experiences that drive their underlying motivations and influence their purchasing decisions. Individuals within this group vary widely and are conservative and liberal, male and female, straight and gay, Caucasian and of color, but when combined, this vast generation will bring to its retirement years many predictable and common attitudes about conducting business with companies.

Businesses that understand and effectively react to the nuances of this generation will prosper. Those that fail to comprehend the cultural and sociological underpinnings will suffer the economic consequences.

This book is dedicated to helping you understand how to communicate with Leading-edge Baby Boomers in a meaningful and mutually beneficial way. Ultimately, this book will help you achieve your business goals by showing you how to target effectively and market to a generation ready to bestow success on those who truly understand and act on its proclivities, values, dreams, and goals.

Reading this book promises something beyond an insightful and challenging analysis of a generation moving into retirement. You will discover some original ideas about how the Baby Boom is today shaping the future.

What happens next will be interesting, if not tumultuous.

Stay abreast of  this dynamic market.
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From Marketing to Leading-edge Baby Boomers by Brent Green, Copyright © 2006, Brent Green & Associates, Inc., All Rights Reserved