They lived through Vietnam, the civil rights movement and
Woodstock. But never anything like this.
Boomers are used to charting their own courses and controlling
their lives. Not anymore. The economy is running roughshod over
many boomers' plans, and there's nothing they can do about it.
Protests, mass movements, love-ins and civil disobedience aren't
going to fix things this time.
Original
post date: 10/20/08
It's
scary for people who always thought they could change the
world to realize they can't change the economic crisis
that's ravaging their savings and their retirement plans.
Boomers have been hardest hit by the meltdown because they
had the most to lose. U.S. Census data show that net worth
peaks at 60. Naturally. Boomers have been building up
their 401k's over a working lifetime and are just ready to
start drawing them down to finance their retirements.
Those retirements are going to be a bit more bare-bones
than anticipated, since the stock market lost almost half
its value over the last year. Folks who were planning on a
villa in Tuscany may have
to settle for an apartment in
Topeka. Boomers just don't have
enough income-earning years left to rebuild their badly
depleted nest eggs.
Things are so bad that attitudes, outlooks and
characteristics which have typified boomers since they
began coming of age in the 1960s have undergone dramatic
transformations.
Boomers were always optimistic, confident and secure. Now
they're pessimistic, frightened and very insecure.
According to a Focalyst study done in August and early
September, 20% of boomers were uncertain about the future.
That's double the rate of a year before. And the surveys
were completed before the Wall Street meltdown.
Boomers were an incredibly lucky cohort. The first wave of
them entered the workforce at the beginning of the
1966-1982 recession, so they never experienced the descent
from more prosperous times. They came in at a bottom, and
the economy grew virtually unchecked from then until the
present meltdown. The downturns along the way were
relatively short and shallow (except for the folks who put
all of their assets into Silicon
Valley stocks before that bubble burst).
Most
boomers went to college and stepped into relatively
well-paying and secure careers as soon as they graduated.
Now they're barely scraping by. The Focalyst study found:
70% of boomers report that they're struggling to make
ends meet.
58% said they have less disposable income than they
did a year ago.
77% are cutting back on expenses.
41% are dipping into savings.
Boomers' retirement plans are changing. Sometimes they're
being postponed or abandoned. An AARP study found that 27%
of workers 45 and over and 32% of those 55-64 have pushed
back their planned retirement date. And that survey was
conducted in April, when the Dow Jones Index briefly
touched 13,000. As this is being written, it's below
8,200.
The
Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 29% of people in
their late 60s are working, but that number is going to
shoot up as boomers continue aging into their 60s. The BLS
projects that over the next decade the number of workers
55 and older will increase at
five times the rate
of the overall workforce.
How do you market to boomers when their world is
crumbling?
Depends on what you're selling and which boomers you're
selling to. The Focalyst study segmented boomers into
three groups. We've renamed them and added some marketing
observations:
Doing fine.
These boomers have a high, stable income and feel
accomplished and fortunate in life. They still have the
optimism and confidence that used to characterize all
boomers, and they're still spending on themselves. These
boomers are 30% of the total. They're self-indulgent,
perhaps a bit vain and very self-satisfied. If you're
marketing luxury cars, upscale apparel or high-end
consumer electronics, they're your best hope in today's
economy. How to sell them?
Too bad the old L'Or้al line is taken, because "I'm
worth it" is the perfect approach for them.
Quality still counts. They feel they deserve the best.
Let them know that your brand is the
ne plus ultra.
Flatter their vanity. "You've always been
special/hot/a leader. Still are."
Tough times.
The boomer promise didn't work out for this 25% of the
group. Their incomes are lower, they feel like failures
and they're worried about making ends meet. They're buying
necessities and clipping coupons to do it. But if it's
not essential, they're not in the market 69% of this
group reports cutting back on discretionary spending.
There are three main aspects of selling to this group:
Price and value.
Promotion. As noted, they're clipping coupons. Make
sure they have yours.
Reaffirm them. They're not living large, and some of
their classmates are. Make them feel that it's OK.
"Everybody is having a tough time these days. Here's
how our brand can help," is one good way to go. Dennis
Hopper in a Wal-Mart commercial would be perfect.
Squeaking by and loving it.
This is the biggest chunk of boomers 45% of the total.
They're not affluent, but they're not too bothered by
that. They've held on to their optimism and are still
activists. They're also still idealists. This group is at
the top of the Maslow pyramid: self-actualization. They're
the most likely group to volunteer in community
organizations. Market
to them with appeals like:
You can help make the world better. And we're with you
all the way.
Economic stability. They no longer believe they can
become rich, but they're OK with that if they can
achieve peace of mind and financial stability.
Environmental messages. Boomers are the age cohort
most swayed by green appeals, and these are the
greenest boomers.
Price/value appeals are also effective with this
group. 60% have cut back on non-essential spending.
Tough times for boomers mean tough times for a lot of
marketers, because boomers are or, rather, were one of
the most cash-rich and acquisitive segments of the
American population.
Boomers' purchase habits are changing fast during this
downturn (at least the habits of "Tough times" and
"Squeaking by and loving it" boomers are changing). They
may very well revert to their older attitudes and outlooks
when the economy rebounds, but that rebound may be a long
time coming. In the meantime, it's important for marketers
to get out in front of the present boomer mindset, and for
agencies to tailor messages to today's boomer realities.
After all, although there's a lot less wealth in our
society today than there was a year ago, boomers still
control most of it.
To
find out more about targeting boomers as they experience
the shock of bad times (or about reaching the silent
generation, Gen X, millennials or any demographic in bad
times or good), contact BrainPosse by
clicking here or calling
865.330.0033.
