What does that mean for marketers? Boomers have more time and money for: traveling, leisure, dining out, fitness, starting a small business, continuing education, housing, grandparenting and using the Internet, to name a few. In fact Boomers as a group are estimated to spend upwards of $2 trillion a year. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ annual Consumer Expenditures survey Boomers 45-54 years old spend $50,101 annually on consumer goods and services, compared to only $40,525 spent by young adults 25-34.

So why aren’t more marketers targeting Boomers? A common misperception is that consumers over 40 are brand-loyal and unlikely to change. Not true. In a survey conducted by BoomerEyes among 1,040 Boomers (those born between 1946 and 1964), fully 87 percent did NOT agree that “(they) always stick to what you know and trust and never try new products.” Furthermore, 75 percent agreed that “(they) like to try new things.” Considering that their lives have been filled with change, this is not surprising. None of the technology used in the workplace today was available when Boomers were kids - no computers, no e-mail, no Internet, no cell phones. Their personal lives have also been filled with change, from black-and-white TVs to TiVo and DVRs; from ovens and stoves to microwaves; from TV dinners to today’s freshly-prepared carryout meals. In fact, as employees and business leaders, many of today’s Boomers have been the instigators of much of the change and the creators of many of the new products.

While we will be the first to tell you that the 78 million Boomers do not comprise a single market segment, but rather are a number of segments, we have developed several guidelines for targeting Boomers:

  • Boomers are not indiscriminate spenders. Their days of acquiring “stuff” for the sake of acquisition are over. They are now buying to enhance their life or to create an experience for themselves. Therefore a marketer’s message needs to discuss life benefits, not features. What will your product do to enhance their life in a meaningful way? Or, how will it fit into their current lifestyle?
  • Boomers are not black-and-white thinkers. Time and experience have given them the ability to see many shades of gray. So, messages that state absolutes - the best, the only, the greatest - often fall on deaf ears.
  • Boomers are positive, active people. Many believe the best years of their life are yet to come. They seek messages that are intelligent and that affirm the positive.
  • Boomers are not interested in their age per se. Calling out their age with messages such as “now that you’re 50,” are likely to turn Boomers off for two key reasons. First, they tend to think of themselves as being 10 to 15 years younger than they actually are. And second, they think of what they want to do and accomplish and experience, not how old they are. Whenever possible, speak to them about their interests and their passions not their age.
  • Boomers are not all couples. They live alone, with other adults, with their aging parents, or with their adult children. Their households take a variety of different shapes. So too should the visuals in advertising to them. Very often ads targeted to Boomers show a smiling couple - this is only a minority of Boomers.
  • Boomers are real people. They don’t all look like models, nor do they want to. They embrace authentic advertising that shows the imperfections brought on by age - gray hair, a few well-earned wrinkles, figures that aren’t rail-thin.
  • Boomers appreciate intelligent humor. Many Boomers have experienced some very serious situations in life - job loss, illness, death - and have gotten through, in part, by relying on humor. They appreciate humor in ads.

Four segments

There are many meaningful ways to segment Boomers. Based on our attitudinal segmentation of the marketplace, the BoomerEyes Lifestyle and Psychographic Segmentation Study, we have identified four key segments. These segments are defined by their attitudes and behaviors rather than their age:

  • The Looking for Balance Boomers are active, engaged adults who are likely to still be raising their children. They have many demands on their time. As a result, they are very interested in convenience and efficiency.
  • The At Ease Boomers are a very home-centric, family-oriented group. A number of them have already retired, and they are quite content with their lifestyle.
  • The Overwhelmed Boomers are generally people who have some kind of serious issue to grapple with, be it unemployment, illness or an ailing elderly parent. These Boomers are often very budget-conscious and not highly energized.
  • The Confident and Living Well Boomers tend to be empty-nesters or those who never had children. They have plenty of money and a strong interest in an active, engaging lifestyle. They are consumers of many luxury and upscale products, as well as being interested in adventure.

While our study revealed this segmentation scheme, depending on your product or service, you might want to segment Boomers on other criteria such as lifestage or attitudes toward your product category or certain behaviors. We strongly discourage segmenting solely on age. With Boomers, age alone is not enough.

Lucrative market

Boomers are an exciting, potentially lucrative market for many companies. They are a generation that has approached each stage of life quite differently from the generation before them. And, they will continue to do so. Even now, as the oldest of them is still five years away from retirement age, they are redefining retirement. Many Boomers do not intend to retire. Rather, they expect to launch second careers, downshift, start a business, volunteer, or mentor. In other words, they intend to remain quite active and quite engaged. So too will they remain active and engaged consumers. The time for marketers to take notice is now.