Engaging with baby boomers

I came across a recent report from eMarketer stating that baby boomers make up the largest US generation, both online and offline.

They are also big communicators, while trusting recommendations they hear in conversation. A year-long survey found that WOM is a strong influence to buying decisions among boomer women. Some 68% of boomer women rated information they heard in conversations as credible; 56% passed along the information to others; 39% sought additional information; and 55% said they made purchases based on their conversations.

However what really got my attention, was the fact this group are less brand-loyal than younger people. Some 61% agreed that “in today’s marketplace, it doesn’t pay to be loyal to one brand,” according to a 2008 AARP/Focalyst survey.

You’d think WOM media would be an ideal opportunity to engage with and influence these people. However the problem is they aren’t as enthralled with the internet in the same way as younger people who view it as an intrinsic part of their everyday lifestyle. Instead boomers are more likely to see the web as a functional tool to ‘get things done’. So when it comes to social media, many boomers do not see the point. Writing blogs and participating in social networks lead the list of Internet activities that do not interest boomers. Instead, respondents were most interested in e-mail, staying in touch with family and friends, reading articles and researching PR.

So how can loyalty be cultivated amongst this large and important economic group online group?

As all good marketers know, effective marketing begins with the gathering and application of insights across their target audience base. On the back of this, any mass market brand should develop a multi-targeting approach that reflects the diversity of user needs and behaviour across the entirety of this spectrum. Of course in considering this we must ensure the likely payback > the required effort in generating a positive ROI (where I = investment and/or involvement).

At a practical level brands need to become more ‘open’ and less ‘closed’ in terms of their communication points of entry and inclusiveness in seeking to engage with consumers (and facilitating chatter amongst fellow consumers). This starts by respectfully allowing consumers to choose how they wish to interact as an ‘entry point’ (such as RSS, blogs, widgets, email etc) rather than forcing them down the brands preferred route.

To help illustrate the above point…given it takes at least two people to start a dialogue (schizophrenia excepted) then for brands to increase the opportunity of starting a conversation with consumers requires them being at the same party and in the same room. No matter how interesting a brand may be, talking to an empty room won’t get the conversation very far.

Subsequently having achieved a consumer’s initial attention it is then imperative to actively listen and involve consumers to understand their needs in order to deliver ongoing relevance & utility. Sticking with the party scenario, brands ignore this at their peril. After all, nothing vacates a room quicker than a self-serving party bore!

Coming back to baby boomers, by getting the above right brands can not only enrich their relationship with these consumers but may possibly also help evolve over time the nature & level of their digital interactions. Getting back to the party scenario – I’ll drink to that!