Marketing to Seniors

Take a good look at your customer base. You will discover that senior citizens make up the largest number of customers. Both my wife and I are octogenarians. When we go to a market or take a holiday, one thing is very obvious, senior citizens are very active and spend money on themselves and their family members. They should be treated with great dignity.

The age, which was used to identify a senior citizen in 1960, was anyone older than 65 years. At that time, the average age at time of death was 70 years. Today in 2011, it looks as if life expectancy is rapidly approaching 80 years. Fifteen years longer to be your customer is fantastic and you must make your location a magnet to attract them to shop there.

Here are a few ideas I garnered from many HME providers at Medtrade Spring:

Your showroom should be brightly lit. Every item on display should have a price affixed. Sale items should have large signs showing the saving.

Your salespeople should always address senior customers as Mr. or Mrs. This is particularly true with the younger sales folks. Only personal friends should be addressed by their first name.

Every salesperson on the showroom should have their name on their jacket in large enough letters to be seen without squinting or bending over to look.

Similar items must all be in one location to make shopping easy. There should be wide aisles with no blocking displays and wheelchair accessible.

Several providers have told me they offer “senior citizen” programs once or twice a month, usually in midweek and mid-afternoon. They feature only one item. They do this with the cooperation of a preferred vendor. Hang a poster near the cash register and in the window listing the date and time for these.

Please make every effort to work with your senior clientele. They have the disposable dollars to obtain comfort items and will not hesitate to make a purchase. I know this is true!