Baby Boomers at the Top of the Age Curve
I’ve been reading an excellent book titled The Age Curve: Why Size Matters, by Kenneth W. Gronbach (AMACOM, 2008). The book is valuable to anyone wanting to understand the importance of what Gronbach calls “generational demographics” and how to use it for marketing and selling to baby boomers and other generations.
Gronbach’s basic premise is that “size matters.” In other words, the size of the generation (Baby Boomer, Generation X, Generation Y, etc.) determines its buying power. Our boomer generation at 78 million is followed by Generation X, which has 9 million fewer people, resulting in a drop in buying power, and, of course, sales to that generation. Since the generation following is significantsly smaller, and the generations above the Boomers, the GI Generation and the Silent Generation, are dying off, the Baby Boomer generation is, literally, the “bulge” at the top of the age curve.
Gronbach, a Baby Boomer himself, hits it on the head in his description of Boomers:
* Boomers say, “We are not our parents, and we never will be”
* Boomers are health conscious and work at staying healthy
* Growing up after the Depression, Boomers are not savers, and many are spending our retirement money
* Boomers aren’t graying; we’re getting better
* Boomers work to stay with the times, including technology
* Boomers are essentially lazy (we like to give gift cards because it’s easy)
* Boomers are quick to change partners; many are on their 2nd and 3rd marriages (I can identify with this one)
* Boomers have all the stuff they need; Boomer men have created the boom in self-storage facilities by filling them with all their stuff (I can DEFINITELY identify with this one - ask my husband)
The Boomer top three priorities, according to Gronbach:
1: Make my life easy
2: Save me some time
3: Don’t rip me off
OK, I know it’s difficult to characterize a whole generation, especially one with such a diversity in ages, but Gronbach seems to have a handle on what makes Baby Boomer tick.
Tomorrow, I’ll talk about the effects of these generational demographics on marketing and selling, and give you some Gronbach predictions….
Tags: baby boomers, Generation X, Kenneth Gronbach, The Age CurveRelated Stories
POSTED IN: Being A Boomer, Boomers nearing retirement, baby boomer men, baby boomer voters, baby boomer women
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