How do you define business suicide? I'm sure there are plenty of ways to get the deed done, but the International Council on Active Aging (ICAA), says one surefire method of doing it is by ignoring the 50+ market.
According to the ICAA, the 50+ market carriers more than 2 trillion dollars in spending power, and account for 55 percent of discretionary income in the United States. And yet, most of the marketing dollars are targeted at that all-important 35 and under demographic. It's even worse in the United Kingdom where a recent survey discovered that 95 percent of market dollars there chased that younger age group.
Colin Milner, CEO of ICAA, says that's business suicide. "The 50+ consumer is virtually invisible to marketers," adds Milner. "And, when marketers do focus on this group, 75 percent of them get a failing grade. Older consumers say that marketing targeted to them is patronizing and stereotypical. Simply put, it fails to reflect their stage of life."
Milner offers five tips on how businesses can change this way of thinking:
1. Take the time to fully understand this group's needs, dreams, desires, expectations and capabilities.
2. Commit to the market by ensuring your products, services, staff, philosophies and procedures are in line with what this group is seeking.
3. Be visible in the places that older adults frequent for their information–television, newspapers, Facebook, to name a few. 4. Become an advocate for older consumers. Since 95 percent of marketers ar
e not focusing on this group, those who do will reap significant rewards. The Dove Real Beauty campaign is a prime example.
5. Avoid graywashing.* (A term coined by Milner that refers to "the act of misleading consumers regarding any purported age-associated benefits of a product or service.")
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