The ten rules of marketing for older people
These ten rules are not intended to be taken too seriously. They aim to draw attention to some of the important issues encountered when planning and managing marketing for older people.
1. There are no ‘rules’! Forget the title of this piece. There are no rules. How can there be? This is an extremely large, diverse and complex group of people. In fact, psychologists have proven that we get nore diverse with age. This means that there are obvious limits as to just how many ‘one size fits all’ prescriptive guidelines on ‘how to market to the over-50s’ there can be. Our best advice: make sure your marketing is based upon proprietary consumer insight, not received wisdom or personal anecdotes (especially ones involving someone’s parents or grandparents).
2. Think of individuals, not groups. Mass marketing is an outmoded concept: so why think of ‘older people’ or ‘the over-50s’ as a single homogenous group?
3. It’s about ageing, not age. This isn’t just about ‘old people’, it is about population ageing. This has implications for every business, as your customer profile ages.
4. Do not overtly target ‘older people’. We know how old we are, you don’t need to remind us. And we know what you’re trying to do. If you were more subtle and convinced us that you meet our needs, we might just be interested.
5. Think differently. Old assumptions may no longer apply. For example, while household income declines quite steeply after the age of 50, wealth and expenditure are at their peak for the 50-64 age group. Most people do not regard themselves as part of a traditional family unit – think beyond traditional clichés.
6. Be more inclusive and less ageist. Many guidelines on marketing for older people assume that physical or mental decline are inevitable. In fact, these are issues which apply to people of all ages and should be addressed by an inclusive approach to all aspects of the marketing mix. Furthermore, many older people are mentally and physically active into their 90s and beyond.
7. Age is relative. Our own age dictates not just when we think ‘youth ends’ and ‘old age begins’ but also our perceptions of the attributes associated with old age. Make sure that your marketing is consumer-driven and not at the mercy of younger agency staff, however professional and well-intentioned
8. Don’t target by generation. Treat ‘generational marketing’ definitions with caution. In the UK, terms such as ‘Baby boomers’ and ‘Generation X’ provide no useful consumer insight and members of such groups share little other than the period in which they were born.
9. Think across age groups, not just within them. There is almost always more than one age group involved in any purchasing and consumption process. Inter-generational marketing is often crucial. An obvious example is the involvement of adult children in the purchase of retirement housing and care homes. Also, the audience for many brands is likely to span different generations, as consumer attitudes, need and interests are seldom shaped by age alone.
10. Walk the talk. If you care about older people so much, why not employ some? How many people over 40 are there working in marketing? And please, think about all aspects of the customer experience and marketing mix, not just marketing communications.
These ‘rules’ run the inevitable risk of seeming facile and self-contradictory. We welcome your views and would love to discuss any aspect of this subject with you.
(c) Mark Beasley
These ten rules are not intended to be taken too seriously. They aim to draw attention to some of the important issues encountered when planning and managing marketing for older people.
1. There are no ‘rules’! Forget the title of this piece. There are no rules. How can there be? This is an extremely large, diverse and complex group of people. In fact, psychologists have proven that we get nore diverse with age. This means that there are obvious limits as to just how many ‘one size fits all’ prescriptive guidelines on ‘how to market to the over-50s’ there can be. Our best advice: make sure your marketing is based upon proprietary consumer insight, not received wisdom or personal anecdotes (especially ones involving someone’s parents or grandparents).
2. Think of individuals, not groups. Mass marketing is an outmoded concept: so why think of ‘older people’ or ‘the over-50s’ as a single homogenous group?
3. It’s about ageing, not age. This isn’t just about ‘old people’, it is about population ageing. This has implications for every business, as your customer profile ages.
4. Do not overtly target ‘older people’. We know how old we are, you don’t need to remind us. And we know what you’re trying to do. If you were more subtle and convinced us that you meet our needs, we might just be interested.
5. Think differently. Old assumptions may no longer apply. For example, while household income declines quite steeply after the age of 50, wealth and expenditure are at their peak for the 50-64 age group. Most people do not regard themselves as part of a traditional family unit – think beyond traditional clichés.
6. Be more inclusive and less ageist. Many guidelines on marketing for older people assume that physical or mental decline are inevitable. In fact, these are issues which apply to people of all ages and should be addressed by an inclusive approach to all aspects of the marketing mix. Furthermore, many older people are mentally and physically active into their 90s and beyond.
7. Age is relative. Our own age dictates not just when we think ‘youth ends’ and ‘old age begins’ but also our perceptions of the attributes associated with old age. Make sure that your marketing is consumer-driven and not at the mercy of younger agency staff, however professional and well-intentioned
8. Don’t target by generation. Treat ‘generational marketing’ definitions with caution. In the UK, terms such as ‘Baby boomers’ and ‘Generation X’ provide no useful consumer insight and members of such groups share little other than the period in which they were born.
9. Think across age groups, not just within them. There is almost always more than one age group involved in any purchasing and consumption process. Inter-generational marketing is often crucial. An obvious example is the involvement of adult children in the purchase of retirement housing and care homes. Also, the audience for many brands is likely to span different generations, as consumer attitudes, need and interests are seldom shaped by age alone.
10. Walk the talk. If you care about older people so much, why not employ some? How many people over 40 are there working in marketing? And please, think about all aspects of the customer experience and marketing mix, not just marketing communications.
These ‘rules’ run the inevitable risk of seeming facile and self-contradictory. We welcome your views and would love to discuss any aspect of this subject with you.
(c) Mark Beasley
