Marketing to Seniors–Its not About Big Fonts
Copyright 2006 Larry Klein
Seniors watch more television than any other group. But
unless you’ve got a ton of cash, let’s uncover the more
cost effective ways to market to seniors. You can
affordably build an effective senior market campaign around
newspaper, radio and direct mail. Let’s go well beyond
telling you that for senior sites or direct mail you should
use a big font, simple paragraphs, etc.
First, let’s realize we cannot define “senior†by age and
if I see another writer define seniors as someone age 55 or
better, I’ll punch them. With people living to age 85
routinely and life expectancy increasing at by one month
each year, age 55 is middle aged. Let’s use the term
“senior†and “retiree†synonymously for this article on
marketing to seniors.
Seniors Like to Learn
Of primary importance is that seniors like to learn. The
largest travel company in the world is Elderhostel. The
company designs learning trips for active seniors and it
operates around the globe. What does this mean to a senior
marketer? It means you can attract seniors with
educational opportunities.
For example, the financial services industry capitalizes by
attracting seniors through seminars. These seminars are
typically daytime meetings on a financial topic and are
used as a primary tool for many financial professionals to
meet new senior clients. The medical industry also uses
seminars to win new clients. Seniors attend because they
want to learn about issues important to them—finances and
heath. But seminar offerings can be expanded into many
fields as a way to capitalize on senior market’s desire to
learn. Additionally, seniors have time to attend while
working people do not. No senior marketer or professional
who should overlook this method.
Seniors Like to Read
Similarly, seniors like to read. They have the time to do
so and the most recent research shows that the senior
audience is the largest reader group of daily newspapers.
The point is this—your newspaper advertising goes farther
when targeting the senior market. For one real estate
professional targeting seniors, I designed an ad that we
ran on the day when the supermarkets insert their ads and
coupons. We placed the ad in the food section and this new
realtor got 62 calls.
It’s clear that if you want to market to seniors, the
newspaper is a fabulous place for advertising. The rates
keep getting cheaper as the papers reduce their prices to
try and survive and as time progresses, a larger percentage
of readers are seniors. So for the senior marketer, the
“cost per thousand” is decreasing making the newspaper a
fabulous advertising medium.
Seniors Listen to Talk Radio
Next, seniors make a loyal group of radio listeners,
particularly talk radio stations.
But take this beyond advertising–in the financial services
industry, smart marketers get their own radio show. They
either buy the time or convince the station they can bring
in advertising dollars. How much more credibility can a
marketer to seniors have then having their own radio show?
Ask the rich financial advisors who have done this. They
then use the show as a direct response mechanism to fill
live seminars or get people to call in for educational
information, thereby generating a ton of warm senior
prospects. There’s plenty of room in this market for
healthcare professionals, lawyers, real estate agents, and
almost any professional to gain superior credibility with a
radio show.
Direct Mail
Working people sort mail over the trash can seeking to toss
out as much as possible. We don’t have time and don’t want
to be bothered with any mail that does not demand our
attention. We had a long day at the office and the last
thing we want to look at is junk mail.
Not so with seniors. They take time to look at their mail
and consider each piece as they open huge amounts of junk
mail and are reluctant to throw out anything. When I
practiced as a financial advisor, it was common for a
senior to come to a meeting with a bag of financial junk
mail they had saved up and ask me, “Should I keep this?”
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To read more on marketing to seniors or get a copy of
Larry’s book, visit http://www.marketing-to-seniors.com
