Question

Topic: Advertising/PR

Define The Five Senior Market Segments

Posted by Anonymous on 8/26/2010 at 7:00 PM ET 250 Points
I read that there are at least five segments to the senior market. Can someone please define what they are? Are these segments clearly defined by decades (50, 60, 70, 80, 90?) and by certain life experiences: like education, re-educational training, medical needs, retirement needs, assisted living etc.

I am a licensed reverse mortgage specialist with limited funds, looking to better define my customer's needs so I can create more effective/compelling marketing.

Tom Mercadante
Security First Mortgage, Inc.
Bellingham, Washington
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  • Posted on 8/26/2010 at 8:25 PM Author
    The article I read said that there were five market segments for seniors that would help predict their buying motivations. It never stated what the five segments were but I get that baby-boomers who are older and had families who went through the depression or the world wars are wired totally differently than those of us born in the fifties. The segments seemed to be connected to what was happening in their lives at that time.... still earning income, living on SSI and retirement funds only, still living independently, living with family, living in assisted care, new grandparents, children moving back home etc. I am looking for specific demographics based on these segments in order to refine direct mail lists.
  • Posted on 8/26/2010 at 9:13 PM Accepted
    It sounds to me like some clever marketer "invented" this segmentation to address a specific question or issue. The segments may well be useful for marketing to seniors, but they are not results of a commonly known, or accepted, segmentation.

    There are a number of different ways to segment a population as large and diverse as "seniors." You should probably utilize the one that's most relevant to your needs.

    The real way to approach this is to determine first who you want to reach, then identify the characteristics of that target audience -- demographics, purchasing habits, attitudes, practices and psychographic profile(s).

    You're smart to try to narrow the target audience as much as possible. It will enable you to really target your message and focus on just the folks who are exactly right for your product/service. (It will cost you less, too!)
  • Posted on 8/27/2010 at 2:07 PM Author
    Just started reading a new article by Daniel Yankelovich and David Meer who say that traditional demographics are no longer enough to base marketing strategy on and that psycho graphics have proved very weak at predicting purchases. They go on to say that non-demographic traits such as values, tastes, and preferences were more likely to influence purchases than their demographic traits. They introduced a new tool: "gravity of decision spectrum". So I'm still looking for a list of segments that describe seniors from 60 to 90. I would even be happy if anyone could at least name or describe what segments have been applied to seniors in the past.
  • Posted by SteveByrneMarketing on 8/27/2010 at 7:34 PM Accepted
    Michael gave you good input. And to answer your specific question "boomers" could be the name of a senior marketing segment.

    Steve
  • Posted by SteveByrneMarketing on 8/27/2010 at 7:43 PM Member
    Also the "Silent Generation" referring to the generation born during the Great Depression and leading up to World War II.
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