Marketing Tech to the Generation that Invented It

The other guys didn’t want to deal with the residents. As SVP of GTM Strategy and Operations for a company selling a tech solution to senior living communities, I watched how one by one, all of our competitors tiptoed past residents – the end users – when designing their products and making their sales pitches.

They figured Boomers were just going to waste their time asking where the “off” button was. But I’ve been in health tech long enough to know: Boomers know exactly where the “off” button is. Insult them, and they’ll show you that they know how to use it.?

Senior living communities are filled with people who used to build tech teams, innovating the platforms we use today. Cutting them out of the process is not only dismissive and insulting, it’s a missed opportunity to tap into valuable wisdom. Bill Gates and Apple CEO Tim Cook are Boomers, and I’d take IT advice from them any day of the week.

Amazon figured this out pretty quickly when it launched Alexa. The voice-activated at home assistant immediately became the go-to device for older adults who are aging in place. Capitalizing on their share of this lucrative marketplace, Amazon partnered with hospitals and other communities to learn how to best iterate on its already successful product. In 2021, they launched “Alexa Together,” a subscription model that allows adult children to stay connected and keep tabs on their loved ones. Easy to use. Elegant. Sleek. The UX is appealing to every generation.

When my team began soliciting feedback from the residents, something incredible happened: they took ownership of the product that we were selling. They had opinions – many of them highly valuable – and they helped shape and advocate for our solution. In a tight market, we kept winning sales because we were the only ones who saw and heard the end user.?

There are about 73 million Baby Boomers, and in six short years, all of them will be 65 or older. These are not only the people who “invented the internet,” but they also hold half of the nation’s disposable income.?

So, smash that stereotype of the old lady in the corner who doesn’t know how to use her remote. If you want to tell your story to your customer, you first have to listen to those customers. You will be amazed at what you hear.