BaBy Boomers: Fact and Fiction
Baby boomers are all the same: Fiction
Baby boomers are all wealthy: Fiction
Though figures have shown Americans who are 50 or older control a majority of the
country’s wealth, only about 9 percent are truly wealthy (defined as having pre-tax
incomes of $150,000 or more if working, or $100,000 or more if retired), according to a
2008 report from AARP Services Inc. and Focalyst.
Many boomers in fact have little or no savings or investments, according to the findings.
Baby boomers are technologically challenged: Fiction
Many baby boomers were active in the workforce during the growth of computers,
E-mail and the Internet, and adapt well to new technology.
The Internet is one of the most important sources of information for baby boomers
when making a major marketing purchase, according to Zoomerang.
Adults 50 years and older spend an average of $7 billion online annually, according to
SeniorNet.
82 percent of adults 50+ who use the Internet research health and wellness information
online, according to Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project.
presence — health care marketers finding
true success must learn to leverage each
platform correctly and recognize that
boomers are more practical in their use of
the Internet.
“Unlike the younger generation, they
don’t spend as much time on the Inter-
net,” Armstrong says. “It is a resource tool
for them so it is important to make every
moment count for them while they are
online.”
“The Web and digital platforms are
critical, and especially with baby boomers.
This demographic is on Facebook, they’re
using social media and they’re certainly
active on E-mail,” adds Kabir Shahani,
CEO of Seattle-based Appature Inc.,
which provides Web-based marketing
solutions designed exclusively for health
care companies. “Some of these key chan-
nels are great places to reach consumers,
but it goes beyond that, as well: the tim-
ing, the message, which channel — how
do you leverage monitoring consumers’
Web behavior on your site to figure out
how to better help them with informa-
tion they need? What are they looking at,
and based on what you know about them,
what can you then suggest to them that
you know they haven’t seen yet?”
What baby boomers expect from
health care marketers and the way they’re
seeking out facts is evolving just as quick-
ly as the advancing capabilities of the
Web, says Jeff Herman, product manager
of Madison, Wis.-based CPM Marketing
Group Inc.
“Baby boomers are going on the Web
more and they aren’t just going to the
nearest hospital anymore. They are treat-
ing it more like a shopping experience,”
Herman says. “They want to know how
to get the best care and they are willing to
look for the information.”
One of the latest technologies avail-
able to health care marketers that goes
hand-in-hand with DR is Open Instant
CRM, an interactive Web tool provided
by CPM Marketing Group that utilizes
patient and prospect data and allows
facilities to tailor their Web messaging
specifically to the user in real time. A
provider using Open Instant CRM can
