Top 5 Trends Shaping the Boomer and Senior Market

Dr. Mary S. Furlong

Trend 1: Wave of Top Talent Migrating to Boomer and Senior

Focused Companies

• A groundswell of key executives from Fortune 500 companies, top industry analysts, and successful tech entrepreneurs have begun moving to startup ventures in the boomer and senior marketplace

Andy Cohen, Caring.comLaurie Orlov, Aging in Place Tech WatchAndrew Kluger, Early Bird AlertVijay Nadkarni, Wellcore

• Venture money is starting to flow to where this talent is going“When you see highly innovative stars popping out of big corporations to launch companies in this space, you can be sure we’re following them and investing accordingly.” – Andy Donner, Physic Ventures

Trend 2: Recession has Created New Wave of Public-Private

Partnerships in Boomer and Senior Market

• Counter-cyclical trend spawning innovative new business models

• State and local government budget cuts in funding for nonprofits serving seniors have compelled organizations to look for new revenue sources

• Established and startup companies are forging alliances with nonprofits for referral sources

• Nonprofits that have earned the trust of seniors and providers are educating their constituents about new technologies and services from new strategic partners, increasing adoption and improving the safety and quality of life for seniors and their families

Trend 3: Niche Marketing and Alternative Distribution Channels Emerge as Dominant Go To Market

Strategies

• Emerging and established companies going to market through niche channels and specialty retailers to get deeper share of increasingly segmented markets

• Recession and tight budgets have compelled marketers to rethink traditional big buys and replace them with partnerships that leverage loyal, existing relationships among employers, retailers, senior care providers, niche media and social networks

• Trailblazers:• SeniorCareMarketer – employer benefits programs• firstSTREET – new approaches to traditional print advertising seniors love• Age Well Senior Services

Trend 4: Boomer and Senior Marketers Getting the Best Bang

for the Buck from Integrated Media Outreach

• Traditional print, television, and radio are still huge with boomers and seniors and remain very viable, high ROI placements for boomer and senior marketers

• Marketers are tracking how 50+ population is using Facebook, LinkedIn, twitter, and text messaging and getting increasingly precise in targeting approaches for each boomer and senior segment

• Boomer entrepreneurs getting increasingly educated about leveraging social media to build trust among their peers and market directly to them with these vehicles

Trend 5: Boomer Entrepreneurship Exploding as Way to

Finance Future, Stay Engaged

• Boomers are seeking ways to reinvent their lives and careers to help finance their 30 year “bonus round”

• Entrepreneurship, book authoring and self publishing, “guru-ism” and independent consultancies are trends that will continue to shape the boomer and senior workforce in the next decade

• Businesses that enable/complement boomer entrepreneurship are seeing a boost:

• BOTH – “Back of the House” – provides support, legal, HR, benefits and business services for new “companies of one”• Home offices and home based business services• Easy and inexpensive marketing tools – Constant Contact, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.• Life coaches and consultancies aimed at career transition practices