Five insights that make 50+ marketing more profitable
Age is not the segment
Segmenting by age alone is a hammer cutting a birthday cake. You need Life-Stage Awareness and Attitudinal Segmentation.
Age shapes thinking. Life-stage awareness and attitudes decide what we value and buy.
They decide differently
Over 50s look at fewer options but research each one carefully. They care more about long-term cost than the sticker price.
They increasingly prefer positive over negative content. And they are far more focused on values alignment than is commonly realized.
As you get into the 70s+ demographic, how you structure your marketing for cognitive processing becomes critical.
Trust is earned differently
First impressions carry more weight and the wrong cue can shut the door for good.
Over 50s are far more influenced by credible recommendations and visible track records than by hype or anonymous online reviews.
Knowing how those first impressions are made matters more with these buyers.
Legacy and Value beat novelty
Over-50 buyers value security, legacy, and meaning more than pure novelty. This is a trend that increases as we age.
Offers that enhance your buyer's values or legacy will outcompete something that's merely “new” or “improved”. But novelty can still win when tied to risk reversal.
Greater lifetime value
As your buyer moves from 50s to 70s, they shift from transactional to relationship-building. Knowing how to build those relationships matters and that is how you build loyalty.
When you get that right, your over-50s buyer will spend more and stay longer.
