The first question we need to ask ourselves is “Who are the Senior Women?”

AARP defines anyone over 50 as a senior, yet I find that there is a great difference in the population from 50 to 65, 65 to 75 and then over the 75 age range.  What doesn’t separate them is their uniqueness, feisty spirit and quest for knowledge.

As the resident “Spunky Old Broad” or S.O.B. as a I like to call myself, I did a lot of research for my new book that addresses the nine strategies for living a life free of regret.  I gathered groups of women from Florida to California and asked them some pretty interesting questions, but was even more amazed at their answers.  I’d like to share them with you here and that might help in answering the subject we are addressing.

My first question had to do with discretionary income and the responses ranged from “What discretionary income?” to how they spent it.  Many of them enjoyed shopping—for all kinds of things.  Sometimes it was for themselves and other times for their children and grandchildren.  They also liked to take vacations, ranging from little three and four day trips to visiting exotic locations for 10 days to two weeks.  Still others saved whatever extra income they had.

So this leads me to my first conclusion and that is, you had better research whatever part of the market you are targeting so you reach them on their terms, in their words and hit their hot buttons.  You could position the trip of a lifetime, a fun getaway, or even have a cruise with the lecturers they would enjoy and benefit from.  Most important, you need to make sure that whatever they do, they get a great deal of gratification from it so they can spread the word and  then participate once again.

Many financial institutions market with the idea of saving for grandchildren.  Although I did find an interest in this, I also found people who wanted to take advantage of their freedom in life.  This was evident in many of the single women I spoke with.  When a couple was involved, there was more family direction and the prospect of a legacy was clearly evident.  However, when a woman had been responsible for caring for a husband, children and grandchildren all her life, the prospect of doing something for herself was very clear.

I was thrown back by the question I asked about what they shop for consistently.  I  truly did not expect quite so tangible an answer as food, but that’s what I got.  Knowing that you do have to eat and grocery shopping goes along with that, I was still surprised that the women had “food” come off their tongue so easily—but that’s the practical side of things.  The second most common response was clothing.  In that particular case, nothing was mentioned about needing what they purchased, but it seemed to be a good way of occupying their time. 

Therefore my second conclusion is that the cooking shows have a great future.  And it does seem as if the Food Network is getting more and more creative in the way they are formatting their programs.  It would be interesting to find out what most people prepare on a daily basis, if cooking for two is that different to cooking for one, and how many meals this population eats out on a consistent basis.  Since I don’t cook at all, if I were single, I’d be eating every meal out (as I did before I got married.  I didn’t have a dishin my cabinets and the only thing in my refrigerator was my astringent!)

When I asked about goals and dreams, there were giant differences.  Responses went from retiring with dignity (which really meant having enough money), developing latent talents such as painting, music, and theatre, enjoying a healthy lifestyle, and having  meaningful relationships with both men and women. 

To me, this is a marketers dream.  If someone could come up with a way to make money secure at a later stage in life, they could very easily sell that successful plan.  Although it’s ideal to save early in life, it wasn’t always possible for these women.  Some lost it through divorce, others helped their children out and still others had husbands who were ill and had money go to that.  It is also an opportunity for people who market hobbies, interesting volunteer work, and vitalizing classes to make their pitch.  I know that I am thinking of starting S.O.B. workouts because the senior classes are too slow and the extreme kickboxing is too fast. 

The Internet was extremely interesting.  The gamut ran from those who only checked email on a weekly basis to those who researched everything online.  Although documented research suggests that the over 50 population is the fastest growing online community, there are still many who do not take advantage of it.  I know several people who don’t even own a computer yet.  However, for those who did use it on a daily basis, there was this feedback.  Many read the newspaper online, which shows you why print papers are losing readership and therefore advertising revenue.  One common theme was the research about health care, various illnesses and alternative remedies.  Every person was interested in staying healthy and wanted as much information as possible.

To me, this underscores the need for the right information and why vitamin companies, new health treatments and the right doctors are so popular online.  People and companies in this market have a bright future in front of them if they get the message out in the correct format and with the right meaning. 

They also do a lot of their travel research online.  They look at locations, prices, travel packages and alerts for bargains.  Most of the women who use the internet are on it several times a day so the opportunity to continually sell to them and update them on these items is always there.  Although many people think this population won’t buy online, most of them do.  And many even do their banking online.

When I asked them how they would search for a group like this (other S.O.B.’s), they mentioned the words “wise, happy, older women,” “women’s meetings over 50,” and “personal growth.”   Others just thought of the search engines like Yahoo and Google, and still others didn’t have a clue.  Therefore, I would certainly think that paid ads on Google might be an answer for markets trying to reach that population. 

I wanted to know what they talked about with friends since we know that women are usually quite communicative and enjoy “schmoozing.”  Again it was very diverse—politics, retirement, health, community, friends, family, recipes, books, spirituality, and for the first time, men.  Since I had not wanted to suggest anything about the opposite sex (although many men told me that women were just panting for relationships), it finally opened the door to my asking about that subject.

Most of the women did not want to be burdened by getting married again.  At this point in their lives, they felt as if a man would have to be taken care of.  While they still enjoyed companionship and wanted someone to go on trips with, have dinner with and to go to the theatre with, they didn’t want the responsibility of living with someone.  Yet, I also know that many over 50 women are putting their profiles online and enjoy searching for that special someone this way.  Therefore I would think that advertising on internet dating sites might be another way of reaching people who wanted different experiences, whether for trips, dining or casual get-togethers. 

The biggest worry this population had was lack of money to live the way they wanted to live.  With expenses increasing and incomes remaining stable, it is a real issue.  No one spoke about wanting anything outlandish, but having the freedom to make the choices they wanted was important to them.  They were also concerned about their health and having the stamina to take care of themselves.  They did not want to be dependent on anyone or anything.  They also worried about the condition of the world and the trauma we’ve been experiencing.

If someone could figure out how to keep these women healthy and financially sound, or at least make them better off, they would do extremely well with their products and services. 

Each of the women I spoke to was extremely interested in supporting other women.  They enjoyed their company, wanted them to be successful and said they would help them through any loss they were experiencing.  However, they did not want them to be whiners or feel sorry for themselves.  I found each of them extremely compassionate and giving. 

They wanted more political power for women, more peace in the world and a safer environment.  Each of them would have enjoyed having a special place to go on an ongoing basis with a group of women they identified with.  One woman said it best. “I’d like to meet interesting women who are engaged in life.”

So you marketers out there—how do you reach these women?  Appeal to their experience, their desires, their sensitivities and most important, respect them for who they are.  Wise, wonderful and ever learning people!