Why Companies Should Focus on Seniors in Marketing

Seniors admittedly are not always the first choice when it comes to a target market for most products and services. This shouldn’t really be the case though since there are many reasons to include seniors in marketing and product creation.

1. Seniors Have time
   Many seniors struggle with being isolated or feeling lonely and are always looking for something new to do or learn about. Many join clubs or boards to feel like they are part of the community. Being included and apart of new endeavours is exciting for a generation of people who usually are not the main focus.
2. Seniors have children and grandchildren
   Don’t forget that at one point seniors were the people you are today. They were once 16,21,25, 30 – they understand what it means to be in different stages of life. Seniors are also usually the monarch of the family. This means they have generations to follow and be responsible for.
3. Seniors Pay Attention
   Along with having time, today’s seniors come from a generation of education and understanding the world around them. You may be shocked to know that your grandma knows a lot more about what is happening in the world and what is trending, she just may not actually apply it to any context in her own life.
4. Seniors want to be apart of their community
   More than anything, seniors want to be able to be apart of the world around them. Losing mobility and the ability to drive or send long periods of time walking or journeying on grocery trips and getting themselves to doctors appointments can be very discouraging. Seniors also tend to spend a lot of time on their own, yet many would prefer to be more socially involved.

A few large-scale businesses have really taken to including and marketing to seniors with their products and services. Two of our favourites have a fully defined mission statement or specific overall focus on the assistance and well being of various aspects

Lyft is a well-known service for mobile requested transportation, similar to UBER. “In collaboration with UnitedHealthcare, the AARP Foundation is providing a $1 million grant to the Keck Medicine of USC to test the impact of providing free Lyft rides on the health of elderly USC patients and other senior citizens within the greater Los Angeles area.”

The program will also outfit riders with wearable devices to track behaviour patterns and offer a concierge-style phone number participants can call for pickups, in case they’re uncomfortable with smartphones. For more information on the program check out this feature from Fast Company. 

Elderdog Canada is an amazing charitable foundation which focuses its efforts on the support of elders and their dogs as well as elderly dogs who need assistance in continuing a thriving life. We love the mission behind Elderdog because more times than not after a certain point seniors become less able to provide and take care of their animals, but they can still very much benefit from the interaction and love their receive from their pet. For more information on Elderdog and their goals visit their website here.

If you are a business owner or are looking to start a business, consider focusing your offerings on a generation who will not only be involved but also have many more of the means to accept your services or products.

Thanks for reading!