Monday, June 14, 2010

Marketing to Baby Boomers - What Should You Know?

Marketing to baby boomers is like marketing to ANY demographic, you MUST know the characteristics of your market, how they think, what is important to them.

So, if you are marketing to baby boomers knowing the following things WILL prove helpful.

1 - Baby boomers like to remember the past.
  • Their music - Rolling Stones, Woodstock, Sock Hops
    Their games - Jump rope, hopscotch, shooting marbles

2 - Baby boomers do NOT like to think of themselves as aging.
  • They HATE getting an AARP registration card in the mail, senior coffee at McDonald's
    They want to connect with youthful things, sports, outdoor adventures, ipods

3 - Baby boomers care LESS about STUFF and MORE about RELATIONSHIPS
  • Most already HAVE the big house, the car, the boat

4 - Baby boomers CRAVE community
  • They created the Harley and car clubs
    They love to identify with their communities

Marketing to baby boomers is COMPLETELY different from marketing to the generation just before them.

The previous generation came up in the depression, had very little, and, as a result, developed a scarcity mentality. Baby boomers, on the other hand, have enjoyed post war prosperity and have a prosperity mindset.

As a baby boomer myself I can attest to the above.

If you are marketing to baby boomers, and I don't know WHY you would NOT since they represent the largest segment of the world's population, you should KNOW your market.

You can see an example of this in my own marketing at www.Before1965.com