Marketing Seniors' Products

Paul Flowers, an veteran advertiser, posits that seniors respond to emotional factors first (then follow that up with data to rationalize it) and are less likely to make decisions based on factual analysis and research first – although they tend to be more loyal customers in the long run. Not sure I agree with that but either way there is an opportunity for companies to more effectively engage with seniors through online media.

One of the best ways to achieve an emotional connection (as well as build trust and positive perception of a brand) is to engage enthusiastic lead users to act as advocates and spread the word through their network – use people seniors already trust to spread the word.

This means senior directed companies need to be listening to online conversations about their brand and trying to find users that could be great advocates. One way to do this is using Hootsuite keyword searches (there are definitely other tracking methods out there) to track people discussing your brand – especially those with a number of followers. Interacting with those people through information (upcoming sales, article you might like), shareable coupon codes, or sneak previews of new products will get the word out there with emotional ties – leading to further research and potential purchase decisions.

Some advertisers are starting to understand that people are inclined to want advertisements with people the resemble themselves. If you’re interested in that concept and how that plays out in making marketing decisions read the mirror neurons research in Buyology by Martin Linstrom – fascinating stuff. But if you accept that as a fact then the lack of diversity in ads seems shortsighted. Even in ads where they feature seniors they fall victim to certain tropes. This well known Toyota ad addresses perception in a tongue in cheek way but it still assumes social media is not part of senior consumption:

So how do senior companies take advantage of the new area of consumption to bond with consumers? Both Viagra and Cialis are known for clever ad campaigns that use humour to attract attention and awareness in their customer base. They already have great reach, with their ads among the first to show up if you Google their names. What they’re missing is a patient support system, with dialogue between the company and users as well as (perhaps even more comforting to potential users) between current users. While there are considerations around privacy that must be respected, creating and moderating a communication system could allow consumers to build trust with a brand as well as overcome barriers to trial.

Check out Cialis‘s website as well – I’m not sure it could be harder to read if they tried. Not very helpful for seniors looking to gather information.

In order to pursue this emerging market of online seniors I was interested to do a bit of a case study by doing a mini social media audit of a major senior’s organization to see how well they are doing at engaging with consumers online.

I selected CARP – formerly known as the Canadian Association of Retired People. In looking at the ease of use on the website one thing jumped out at me (after following through a checklist of considerations for those creating websites for seniors created by the National Institute for Aging); the main navigation bar is completely made up of pull down menus, which flies in the face of senior navigation ease. It’s also interesting to note that the colours of the website are yellow and blue, which (along with green) are some of the most difficult colours for seniors to distinguish. On the plus side, they use a sans serif font which is easier to read and the article titles are nice and large. They also do a great job of using icons with text as hyperlinks, which makes navigation and legibility better (like the benefit page).

Interestingly, while they are the first selection if CARP is searched on Google, they slip to 19th if “Canadian retirement” is the search term, losing the opportunity for those looking for general advice to discover them. If “CARP” is searched in the news section there is one entry for the retirement organization but multiple entries about the fish, which could be a challenge for those seeking information. When I searched for CARP on Facebook I got the Carphone Warehouse but when I went back to the website CARP does have a Facebook page with many articles and videos related to seniors’ legislation.

CARP also has an active Twitter feed but it is mostly a one-way conversation, pushing out articles that pertain to seniors’ interests. Again, it is difficult to find the stream by searching and they are only following about 200 users with 2 lists. By doing a quick Hootsuite analysis I was able to identify a potential key user that CARP could connect with in order to publicize their goals, such as @RetirementMedia (15,000 followers) and some articles that might be interesting to its users such as @themoneyguideca with a link to an article on 3 Ways to Make Extra Money in Retirement. By setting up lists with keywords such as “canadian seniors”, “retirement canada”, and “retirement advice” CARP could quickly accumulate data and become a hub for users or retirement information, potentially prompting more two-way conversation with users.

Overall there are lots of ways for CARP to improve it’s user engagement and use social media to provide a more integrated experience for their users. Some small improvements to navigation to make the site more user friendly and some improvement of their keywords to get a natural lift in search results will help with accessibility. Further dedication to listening to trends and discussions on social media should prompt a better and more effective conversation with consumers online.

Seniors are the fastest growing age group when it comes to social media – which makes sense since they have one of the lowest penetration rates currently. Statista has a great visual chart of the changing usage levels by age group for Facebook:

What does that mean for businesses that cater to seniors? Their customers are online and using the internet to seek out information before they buy. Google and Ipsos Reid conducted a study of senior and Boomer internet usage behaviours and some of the most interesting findings include:

• The internet is the number one choice for searching out information
• 54% watch online videos with the Evian baby ad as the number one most popular video for Seniors at the time of the study (retailers – if it’s entertaining, they’re interested!)
• They are extremely involved with causes and seniors’ advocacy online – 2 in 5 who are involved with a cause and online will post information and communicate with others about it

What does all this mean? Seniors are online and looking for information which can drive purchasing behaviour when done right. When they care about the information they will communicate that to those around them so creating a platform for that is important. Seniors are advocates! They want to share their knowledge and thoughts and to be successful companies with senior users need to take advantage of that with healthy Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube campaigns that allow their consumers’ voices be heard.

I’m fascinated by the growing seniors’ market. Growing up I was quite close with my grandparents and I spent a lot of time with them, especially as my one set both got sick and needed more care. I ended up spending a lot of time thinking about seniors, what products are available to them/designed for them, and how products are marketed to them. It’s a definite area of interest to me, especially because I see it as a real area for improvement as Boomers get older and swell the ranks of seniors used to high quality products specifically designed for their needs. This is a group who has adapted to using computers at home and at work but the way they interact with media is often different from generations who grew up with constant internet connectivity.

There are definite signs showing that there are opportunities for companies who can successfully figure out senior needs, how to target and deliver, in the form of increased revenues, as seen in this Rite Aid example. Important consideration must be taken into account though, such as reduced spending power and targeting seniors through health care plans, changing the focus of how to market. I’m interesting in exploring this further, especially through an online marketing lens.