Natural Entrepreneur: Selling to Senior Women

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Selling to Senior Women

Maybe they're your best customer, advocate, or critic.

by Margaret LaBerge, Alexandria, NH

For the past three years I have been involved with women who participate in Red Hat Groups in Central New Hampshire. Here are a few thoughts and suggestions when marketing to women of 50-plus years.

The largest growing group of consumers is over the age of 50. Targeting 18-30 year olds will not help you reach this group in their 50's, 60's, and 70's. So who are these people?

They have endurance and are independent. They have lived through five wars. They took any job, whether or not it was too menial, inappropriate or too large to pay the bills when husbands were gone and families were strapped for money. They have raised their families, grandchildren and parents, worked a lifetime (often with a lower paycheck) and accommodated themselves to others for most of their lives. Their prize was having made it though the tough times. Now it is their own time; indulge and pamper them.

They know quality when they see it. They are becoming lost treasures of skills. They can produce wool and cotton, dye it, then use it in rug hooking, crewel, and clothing. They can design their own patterns and engage in tatting, quilling and needlework to produce museum quality pieces. Invite them to make presentations, instruction or give opinions using your products. And, pay them a consultant’s fee!

They understand patience. They know that one bad week will be offset by two good weeks in the future. Understand their patience but don’t take advantage of it. Respect their time; don’t engage in phone calls or discussion with friends or colleagues when you should be attending to them.

They are organizers. They can run a battalion of men, a group of girl scouts, cook for an entire school PTA, raise money and keep track of every penny. Ask for their help, don’t demand it, reward and acknowledge them, after all, they get it done! If they want to.

They are problem solvers. They can organize a team to produce a product, multi task in their heads, add and subtract to reach the obvious and logical conclusion. Don’t insult them by asking them to sweep the floor when they can run your business better than you. Include them in discussions when going through the process of new products and services.

They are sexy beings. They like to dress up, love to dance, sway to the music of Glen Miller and on up to strains of the hustle. They like red cars and motorcycles. They have gone from the glamour of the 1930’s to the homemakers of the 1950’s to Hippies to Professionals and still retained their feeling of womanliness. They like to date, laugh with a companion and travel with a friend. Bring on the silks, satins and leather, in women's sizes. They are a minimum of 42 years past that girlish figure.

They have bodies showing age. The body breakdown may be from extreme skiing, running, heavy manufacturing, touring the world, building houses, shuffling kids just as easily as old age. Give them credit for being survivors. Listen to them, treat them with dignity. Find a way to make life easier for them, within their pocketbook. The have earned every ache, pain, wrinkle and sag.

Some demands 50+ women have:

Assign an experienced person to wait on them, they deserve it and are visiting your establishment for their own enjoyment not your training needs. And, serve them in the same manner that you would a large, heavy purchaser. If they are not treated with dignity, they won’t complain but they won’t return.

Ask if they are free - their time is very important to them. They are very busy people doing what they want to do, not where you have directed them. They walk to their own inner self.

Take them first in a waiting room. They have no desire to listen to the demands and whining of others. They feel accepting your lot is life it your problem, not theirs. Peace when waiting is appreciated. Why not schedule all your older patients on the same day!

Don’t assume they ‘need’ a product. If they want it badly enough, they can make it! And, if all else fails, they will do without, they have experience in going without. Explore what would make them comfortable, laugh and greet their public.

Try giving free samples. These women don’t spend the day watching TV or reading homemaker magazines. They like new things and new money-making opportunities to add to their fixed incomes. Offer central meeting areas for product/service introduction, with lunch. And, keep dietary needs in mind.

Provide alternative methods of transportation to your place, events or tours. They prefer to chat, laugh and do whatever pleases them rather than drive.

Do not make the mistake of thinking they have nothing to do and are the on the spot babysitter, errand runner or hand holder. They have been there and left.

Produce plays, series and story lines using actors over the age of 40. They are not interested in watching the trials and tribulations of the X and Y generations, they lived through it!

Find a group and join! It is not a volunteer group, it is not a work group, it is a group of women whose only agenda is to have fun, celebrate and enjoy themselves.

About Red Hatters

These ideas and opinions are from my own experience, not of the official Red Hat Society. This article was inspired by an article by Seth Sutel, which discussed the pros and cons, with expert references, of marketing to older women, specifically Red Hatters. It was not on the business page but on the lifestyle page. A message in itself!

Red Hatters welcome women of any age, their only restriction? They wear a pink hat. Girls from 8 to 49 are joining the ranks as a group in unprecedented numbers. They are women in training. Imagine the marketing impact? I would suggest that companies and services begin to court the older woman.

Margaret LaBerge is retired history teacher, educational specialist and writer. Margaret lives in Alexandria, New Hampshire. 603-744-8407 - e-mail: maglaberge@yahoo.com

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