With clients ranging in age from 40 to 90, Ms. Rose predicts her business will grow as more boomers develop or try to prevent age-related mobility conditions, such as arthritis, osteoporosis and diabetes.
“People want to live longer, healthier lives, yet there’s a disconnect. Less than half of baby boomers don’t get as much exercise to meet government recommendations. Therefore they’re more prone to diseases.”
Clearly, health-care related businesses have the best chance to flourish. “The whole alternative-medicine field like Reiki and massage, that’s going to boom,” Active Aging’s Mr. Milner says. They give people with long-term ailments such as diabetes and heart disease a way to make themselves healthier, or at least feel better.
But the tech sector also has a lot of potential. There are companies using electronics, the Web and mobile for increased home safety, or that are combining technology with medical needs to, say, monitor blood sugar levels in diabetics.
Laurie Orlov, principal analyst for Aging in Place Technology Watch in Port St. Lucie, Fla., says smaller companies that really get to know what boomers want will thrive. “You can’t develop the technology in advance. You have to go out and find the need.”
But entrepreneurs must tread carefully when working within this demographic. Mr. Milner says surveys show people 65 and older dislike the tag “seniors,” preferring the term “older adults.” (Ms. Rose counters with: “They don’t like being called older adults either.”)
Clients of all ages were not impressed with early marketing materials from Wheels of Fitness that featured models with grey hair. “We found out that people see themselves as 10 to 15 years younger than they really are,” Ms. Rose says. The company’s current ads and demonstration videos show people in their 40s and 50s – with brown locks.
“People in this group have had a lifetime of experiences, different experiences. They’re diverse. Coming out with one product to suit every boomer, if you do that, you’re missing the market,” Mr. Milner says.
For instance, many boomers plan to work into their seventies, so offering daytime services won’t always cut it.
Overpricing your products could also flop – some members of the demographic are well off, but many are not. Millions lost significant chunks of their savings in the recent economic downturn. (Ms. Orlov credits some of PointerWare’s success to its relatively low price point – just $8 a month.)
And while some are technologically savvy, others – like Mr. Rupsingh’s parents – still struggle with their remote controls.
Having a top-notch call centre to back a consumer product or service is a must.
Special to The Globe and Mail
