“Grey, old, aging, senior, retired, dying” – not necessarily words that conjure up a desirable brand image. Is this why many businesses have an objective to attract younger customers? Are they wrong to do so?
We have already had four instances so far this year of businesses lamenting their aging audience and it baffles me as to why having a ‘mature’ customer base is seen to be a problem. The 60+ market have more money to buy products, more time to use/enjoy/appreciate/justify them – and more inclination to purchase not just for themselves but for others. They are the least impacted by the current cost of living crisis, with no mortgages and interest rates on their savings increasing. And they have the time to consume the traditional media that actually works for direct response advertising such as newspapers, magazine and daytime TV. In my eyes they are the dream target.
If you think your customer base is (and I quote) ‘dying’ then that is probably because you have not recruited enough new ’60 year olds’ and your loyal following, who started buying from you 20 years ago, are perhaps beyond their prime customer status. But rather than trying to convince 45 – 60 year olds to buy products that don’t appeal to them, or indeed adapting your product range to try to entice them in, why not embrace the ‘oldies’ and go all out to talk their language? Why not target them with a well rounded campaign and then ensure that you keep them with a strong retention & recommend a friend programme rather than writing them off? Tom Cruise, Enya, Jodie Foster, Barack Obama, Brad Pitt, Bill Gates….hardly past their prime.