The 5th of 7 critical insights into the Mindset of the Boomer Generation

Insight #5 – Boomers don’t care about keeping up with the Joneses – they choose life experience

Although “keeping up with the Joneses” is not important to the Baby Boomer, they will acquire possessions so that they can achieve the experiences they want in life. For example, adventure travel and walking tours for personal growth are both interesting to Baby Boomers, so Boomers will invest in high-end travel clothes, digital cameras, travel education such as learning a language and expensive luggage.

The question everyone in business must ask him/herself is… “how can we enhance the experiential benefits of our product or service?” National Geographic with its Society sponsored adventure vacations called National Geographic Expeditions is a great example of a company designing an experience around what the Boomer is craving.

The company’s marketing via a letter from their President brings a sense of adventure, of expedition, to the would-be traveler “Our explorers and scientists often speak of the rush of adrenaline and the excitement of their discoveries, and their enthusiasm is contagious. There is something inspiring about the first sight of Machu Picchu rising above the mist, or discovering Oaxaca, Mexico, through the eyes of National Geographic photographer David Alan Harvey.

The National Geographic Expeditions adventure options address many of the “travel experience dimensions” sought by Boomers:

· The illusion of high adventure with the physical risks,
· A sense of the exotic,
· The flexibility to include individualized side trips and,
· Turnkey experiences, neatly planned and packages.

As Brent Green would say, what is the “e-factor” in your product or service? Baby Boomers love peak experiences, so get creative and think of how you can foster them through your business. Use story-telling to connect the facts and provide a good, enjoyable experience for the Boomer and you will have a customer for life.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 7th, 2009 at 4:48 pm and is filed under Attitudes and Preferences, Buying Habits, Lifestyle, Marketplace. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.