Acquire More
Seniors How do you reach and convert a rapidly growing demographic commonly perceived as skeptical? By combining the neverfail principles of direct response marketing with the nimbleness of the Internet to deliver content perfectly refined to the needs and interests of the increasingly digital-savvy mature demographics.
Sizing Up
The Market Baby Boomers account for more than a quarter of America’s disposable income—an eye-opening...
$3 trillion!
[1]
Fact: Seniors possess more financial resources than any other group at any time in history.
Seniors acquire 55%
They purchase 42% of
They account for 38% of all
of all consumer goods.[2]
major kitchen appliances.[1]
desktop computer sales.[1]
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Generations Within
Generations
As with any demographic group, the senior market is composed of a variety of subgroups[3] — each with its own values, behaviors and patterns of consumption.
Baby Boomers Aged 51-68
Silent Generation Aged 69-86
G.I. Generation
Spends rather than saves Busy career Don’t read as much
Likes “experts” Give the grandkids big ticket items Conservative
Comfortable with Blue Chips Avid readers, consume a lot of news
Aged 87 - 110
Values politeness and respects old ways
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Seniors Going Online?
Seniors Are Online! 100%
All adults over 18 (79%)
Percentage of age group online [4] 75%
50%
2000
Adults 50–64 (78%)
Adults 65+ (42%)
2010 The image of technology-challenged “old fogies” dies hard. But the new reality is that
25%
seniors’ Internet usage has exploded in the last five years. In fact, the growth of young adult Internet users pales in comparison with recent gains made by older users.
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0%
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Top 10
Online Activities Percentage of Internet users in each generation who engage in various online activities. [5]
Younger Boomers Age 46–55
Older Boomers Ages 56–64
Silent Generation Age 65–73
G.I. Generation Age 74+
Search
Search
Search
Search
Health Info
Health Info
Health Info
Health Info
Consume News
Consume News
Consume News
Buy A Product
Govt. Websites
Govt. Websites
Reserve Travel
Consume News
Reserve Travel
Buy A Product
Buy A Product
Reserve Travel
Buy A Product
Reserve Travel
Govt. Websites
Govt. Websites
Watch Video
Bank Online
Watch Video
Bank Online
Bank Online
Watch Video
Financial Info
Financial Info
Social Networks
Social Networks
Bank Online
Religious Info
90–100%
80–89%
70–79%
60–69%
50–59%
50% of Boomers spend more than $500 online a year.[6] responsemine.com
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Sure, they email, chat and share photos like everyone else, but
Internet
800/toll-free numbers
Sales associates
Direct Mail
Magazines/Newspapers
Television
In-store displays
Family & Friends
Catalogs or brochures
seniors also buy.
Sources Used to Make Purchase Decision [6]
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Developing a Seniors Strategy Takes
More Than
Big Type
Call Them By
Name
Older folks do not think of themselves as old. Grandma (don’t call her that) still wants to feel relevant and desired— not old and obsolete. Avoid the temptation to get cute.
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No
Yes
Mature
You!
Old
Hi
Elderly
People
Silver Citizen
American
Gray
Enthusiast
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Plug Into the Right
Channel
40% more likely to see search ads as the most relevant.
[6]
Search works well for acquiring senior customers. Ads and organic listings appear at the very moment they express interest in a particular offering.
60% of boomers use search for health related information.
73% of healthcare boomers click on sponsored ads.
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Utilize
Online seniors are learning to love email. In fact, they are more likely to click on links embedded in marketing emails than on banners or online video ads.
This is the only demographic with continued increases in email usage (25% YoY).
All other demos have seen consistent decline. [6]
Optimize emails and landing pages for multiple devices — seniors are slowly making the transition to mobile.
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Accessible & Generous Experts
Be the
This demographic respects “the experts” and will take the time to thoroughly research a purchase.
Log Book ExerciseTrack • Grow Plan •
NEWSLETTER THIS MONTH IN 25 20
LOREM IPSUM
15 10 5
Provide content that establishes you as the expert (articles, tips and tools).
16 TIPS FOR TIPS SAKE!
TALKING TO YOUR GRAND CHILDREN
for the Diabetic Diet
25 JELLO MOLDS
MUCH MORE!
0
GETTING AROUND IN
FLORIDA
XLS
INVESTMENT ADVICE
Classic Desserts
SEE INSIDE >>
Then, give something away! Support your call-to-action with a download or direct mail opt-in for more content.
A Risk-Free Proposition Countering the risk-averse with free trials and money-back guarantees is gold to seniors. Likewise, emphasize the customer service attributes of your offering. The more you can do to reduce their perceived risk, the better.
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Don’t Forget Their
Family & Network Don’t forget the power of the influencers in their lives to get your message across to seniors.
Appeal to the people with impact on seniors’ lives (family members, caregivers and healthcare professionals).
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Present a
Concise Narrative Go easy on the hard sell and scare tactics. Get to the point and show them how your product/service solves a problem.
Show them with a story: Stop telling prospects and instead, use a story to show them. Engage the reader with success stories, anecdotes, scenarios, etc.
Make it personal: Show that you understand their wants, needs and concerns.
Keep it simple: Be clear, direct and concise. Give readers the information they need to make an informed buying decision.
Keep them on track:
Place prospects on a conversion path and then walk them through to the desired action.
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Communicate in
High-Contrast Use of low contrasting colors makes content difficult for older eyes to read.
Call Today!
BAD
Call Today!
Call Today!
BETTER
Call Today!
Blue and green become harder to distinguish with age. Yellow becomes trickier to see. A high-contrast palette of the basics ( black , white, red ) is generally safer. It’s hard to go wrong using black type on a white or light background.
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Test A
Control
A Tale of
Testing
This is the call-to-action on a paidsearch landing page coverting 9.4% of visitors into leads. Conversion Rate 9.4%
The winner produced a 53% lift in conversion rate. Changing the font color and placing the download offer below the phone number.
Test B
Conversion Rate 14.2%
Removing the offer still lifted conversion on the exact same page.
No Cost To You Free Download “Free Tips PDF” Call Today! 1-800-555-5555
Winn
Call Today! 1-800-555-5555 No Cost To You Free Download “Free Tips PDF”
er!
Call Today! 1-800-555-5555
Conversion Rate 11.2%
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Don’t
Crowd the Page Use generous white space to separate content and help locate information faster.
√ Short paragraphs and bulleted lists work best. Couple them with bold headers, sub-heads and bullet points.
x responsemine.com
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Use 3rd Party
Validation
Build/Reinforce trust with familiar “trust badges.�
70 SAS
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Get the Visuals Right Nix the photos of blue-haired ladies in rocking chairs and bald men playing checkers. Present today’s seniors as active and vibrant.
Pay attention to the demographic realities of the senior market — half of all the households with people over 65 are headed by a single person and 80% of those are women.
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Show real people doing things they may not have had the chance or the money to do when they were younger.
acquire more seniors
Finally,
Ask For The Business! Use an understandable Call-to-Action related to their need.
Fill out form or call:1-800-555-5555 Name:
Phone:
Submit
You may qualify for FREE! 1-800-555-5555 Name:
Phone:
Tell them what you expect them to do (call, complete a form, follow a link or hit the “buy� button).
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See if I Qualify!
{
1. Present a compelling offer 2. Provide enough information for prospects
to take action
3. Make responding clear and easy
acquire more seniors
Big Type
OK and
Seniors are readers. So design text to be read, not just looked at. 10 point text typically used for legal copy and footnotes but should be avoided.
12 point copy is good for notes, inserts and legal terms.
14 point text is sufficient for large bodies of copy.
16 point is better.
18 point text is a solid choice for sub-headlines and even better bold.
20 point is great for a call-to-action.
24 point and larger will make headlines clear. Bonus:
Headlines are more quickly read in serif fonts.
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Opportunity
The
If demographic trends hold, some 10,000 people will turn 65 today…and another 10,000 tomorrow…and still another 10,000 the day after—for the next 20 years!
In fact, the U.S. Census Bureau notes that 16.1% (almost 1 out of every 6) Americans will be over the age of 65 by the year 2020.
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Direct Response
Checklist
An offer A benefit: give consumers the information needed to act An explicit “call to action� A way to respond (preferably multiple options; a toll free number, web form, email or chat)
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Seniors Marketing
Checklist
Don’t call them old Plug into search Utilize email Accessible & generous expert content Appeal to their family & network Present a concise narrative Use high-contrast Test, test, test Don’t crowd the page 3rd party validation Get the visuals right Ask for the business
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The 1 2 3 4
Sources Ad Age Insights White Paper “50 and Over: What’s Next?”
http://adage.com/images/bin/pdf/AARP%20White%20Paper%20lo%20res.pdf
http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/wp-content/uploads/2008/12/ hallmark_nielsenconnections_1210081.pdf
http://www.annfishman.com
The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project: Change in internet access by age group, 2000-2010 http://pewinternet.com/Infographics/2010/Internet-acess-by-age-group-over-time-Update.aspx
5 6
The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project: Generations 2010: What different generations do online http://pewinternet.com/Infographics/2010/Generations-2010-Summary.aspx
Google/Nielson Boomer Survey August 2010. “The 4 Truths About Boomers & Media“ http://www.gstatic.com/ads/research/en/2010_4TruthsAboutBoomersMedia.pdf
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About
Us RMI is an award-winning direct response digital agency that helps clients acquire more customers. For the past decade, RMI has generated billions of dollars in revenue for leading brands in the b2b, healthcare, travel, and home services channels. For more information visit responsemine.com.
Call today for a free consultation.
404-475-0766 Deborah Fisher Vice President, Marketing deborah.fisher@responsemine.com Follow us on Twitter: @responsemine