10 Reasons Boomers Need to Be in Your 2012 Plans

In the past year have you experienced enough “pain” to your bottom line that it’s time to look at the opportunities of targeting baby boomers, or those over 50.

Here are 10 good reasons why boomers need to be a part of your practice:

1. The over-50 crowd will grow 21 percent in size in 10 years. The 18 to 49 age cohort will remain the same size. I’m not making this up. It’s Census data.
2. They buy things, lots of things. Overall, the over-50 crowd outspends the under-50 crowd by $400 billion. That’s more than Walmart sells annually.
3. They try new things. Boomers were raised in front of the TV; they are not “set in their ways.”
4. They are easy to reach. They read newspapers, they watch TV, and they listen to the radio. They are easier to target than younger generations.
5. With a median age of 54, boomers are far from being done. They think they are in the middle of middle age. They don’t think they will reach old age until age 75 or so. You have plenty of years of strong renewal income.
6. They use the Internet. They search, they shop, and they buy. There may not be as many of them on social networking sites, but they are onlinejust as many and just as often as younger generations.
7. Some 40 percent of all boomers are already grandparents. Over 55 percent of all grandparents alive today are boomers. They spend money on their grandkids, practically without thinking.
8. They control their parents’ consumption of health care and their kids’ education. They are a sandwich generation that likes being in the center of it all. Think “ham.” They like to influence everyone’s purchasesfamily, friends, Facebook buddies.
9. They like advertising. Sure, they’re skeptical, but they are also fans of good advertising. They will respond to your effort if it speaks to them.
10. They are the future. “Old” is where the action is for the next 20 years and boomers are the new “old.” New products, businesses and industries will cater to the new “old.”

So what are you waiting for? Go out and find boomers.