The Baby Boomer generation is a hotly sought after market and has been for some time now. Perhaps you’ve marketed a few items to this generation. Maybe you’ve had some success. However, if you are trying to market to Baby Boomers you need to narrow your age group. Why? Because the generally accepted time frame of this demographic is someone born between 1946 and 1964. That is one wide range of ages to target!

From data supplied by the US Census Bureau, we know that we have a huge population of aging Americans. When we take this group of people and put them all together in a single demographic, we are causing a marketing nightmare. How can you market to Boomers as if they are all the same age when the period in history that we refer to spans almost two decades?

Just to be clear; in 2010, people born during the baby boom years are ages 46 to 64. People in their 40’s are vastly different than people in their 60’s. They have different life experiences, histories, wants, and needs. This time spans an entire generation.

If you search the term “baby boomer” you will be marketing to a group of people who have been lumped together by an arbitrary measure of time. Can you afford to waste your time marketing to this one, vast group of people with the same product? A 40 year old will buy a different product than a 60 year old.

If I search a website that says they have products for baby boomers, and I find out that their products are luxury cruises for retired people with time on their hands and money to spend, I will be upset, or maybe even insulted, if I am 46 years old. I may have kids at home yet, am working two jobs just to save money for their college education, and am as far away from time or money for a luxury cruise than you can get!

If I click on a website that uses the general term “boomer” in their marketing vernacular, and the products they sell are anti-aging creams and serums, which age group are they targeting? In my 40’s I may have bought up every anti-aging cream on the market, but folks in their 60’s may be not as interested in anti-aging lotions and more interested in moisture and sun protection.

How can you target your products more specifically to the age group you intended them for? To begin with, you may want to drop the “baby boomer” references entirely. It’s perfectly fine to use that term as a general “remember when” reference, but when it comes to a direct sales approach, you’d better know your market better than that.

So, yes, use the term Baby Boomer Generation when you want to talk about something from your past… a little nostalgia is great. But, when your product will help someone in their 40’s, it may be wrongly marketed to someone in their 60’s.

If you are 46 years old and you receive a product endorsement for Medicare Supplement Insurance how would you feel? I guarantee the name of that product, and your name, would forever be thought of as untrustworthy and an unreliable source. Take a lesson from AARP – that letter comes almost exactly on your 50th birthday. They are not sending them out to a generic Baby Boomer demographic.

It’s often said that when you’re writing something for many people to read, “write for one person.” I must add, “sell to one person.” Know the one person you are marketing to, and not just some arbitrary demographic. Your product, and you, will be rewarded with the trust and esteem of your audience – and, hopefully, customers.

People in their 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s don’t want to be lumped together anymore than someone in their 20’s wants to be grouped with someone in their 40’s. You are marketing to a very different group of people, so treat us as individuals.

Take action now to change your marketing strategy. Drop the Baby Boomer Generation references from your marketing strategies. We are NOT one age group. This demographic is confusing at best and using this generic term won’t help you market to the so-called baby boomers. Once you focus your marketing on a specific group, rather than a confusing demographic, you’ll earn the respect of all of us Boomers… of every age!

Author Bio: Patti Winker knows if you market to a specific age within the demographic called Baby Boomers, you’ll find the customer who respects you. We share a long history. Join me as we share memories, ideas, laughs, and even a tear or two at RemarkableWrinklies.com

Category: Marketing
Keywords: marketing to baby boomers,selling to boomers,marketing strategies for baby boomer demographic,intern