With so much focus on upcoming generations, too many of us forget that marketing financial services to seniors remains a lucrative business, as long as we know how to reach them.
People have been talking for years about the challenges faced in connecting with the Millennial generation. As a result, the majority of focus in marketing has shifted towards trying to speak and understand their language. And with so many years left to save, marketing financial services to them is a no-brainer.
But there is another segment of people—namely Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation—who still need financial services as well. As they begin to cash out their 401ks and shift to more conservative investments, there are plenty of business opportunities among the older generations. The trick, ironically, is the same one everyone frets over with millennials—figuring out the best ways to reach them.
4 Indispensable tips for marketing financial services to older generations
1. Building trust and being consistent
As with any business relationship, marketing financial services begins with establishing trust. This is especially important with seniors because most of them didn’t receive the on-the-job education about retirement and savings as the millennial generation tends to have now. Boomers and seniors looking to stretch their savings want to know that financial service advisers have their backs.
Part of building trust is maintaining consistency. If you say one thing today and then someone else on your team says a different thing tomorrow, it’s going to put doubt in the mind of your client, and doubt is the last thing you want someone to feel if you want to manage their money. Make sure that when you’re marketing financial services to anyone, you and your colleagues have the same information and resources in case more than one of you ends up working with the same client.
2. Go offline
That’s right. We said offline. While marketing financial services (and pretty much everything else) has gone online, electronic media still isn’t, and probably never will be, very popular with the generations that didn’t grow up with it in some capacity. In fact, research conducted in 2011 by a private investment firm found that 34% of their clients found them by word-of-mouth, 33% through offline media, and another 15% through non-event media, like television and radio.
What this means is that, while online is the new shiny thing all the young people want to touch, there are millions of people out there who don’t go online for anything at all, let alone purchasing financial services. It’s important that those prospects find you to be as accessible as the technology generations find you, otherwise they might feel passed over or like their needs are secondary to those of younger people—which is a stellar way to get a senior to tune out rather than in.
So what’s the takeaway here? Incentivize customers to send you referrals, refamiliarize yourself with mail merge, and don’t go shredding that broadcast script just yet.
Reach them offline, but track them online with state-of-the-art CRM software. Schedule a free demo today to see what we can do for your business.
3. Get personal, speak plainly
Remember what that research said about word of mouth? That happens because people are talking, in person. That’s how Boomers and seniors communicated for most, if not all, of their lives. If you plan on marketing financial services to them, you’ll want to do the same. Host seminars. Invite prospects out for coffee. Not only does such behavior help build trust and establish a relationship, but it also speaks a language seniors are more accustomed to hearing.
That brings us to another point, which is to speak plainly. Don’t use a lot of technical jargon or scare tactics to make the sale (that’s not a good idea for any market). It may work a few times, but there are significantly more opportunities through using layman’s terms and encouragement than there are in making the elderly anxious about their futures. Talk up the security of the industry, the wisdom behind investing, and the returns they’ll likely see if they work with you.
4. Be available
Finally, make yourself available as often as possible to answer questions, even before you make a sale. Show seniors that you’re their ally, that you have their best interests in mind, and that you’re not marketing financial services just to make a buck. You want to be a consultant to them so they’ll feel comfortable with their financial decisions.
And remember that part of being available is being responsive. If you receive a phone call or an e-mail from a prospect, return it within twenty-four hours, however busy you might be. Send follow-ups after initial consultations, and check in periodically with clients just to see how they’re doing. These simple gestures make people feel that they’re more than numbers, and that’s much more likely to garner a sale (and a referral) than using high-pressure tactics and then disappearing when the prospects have questions.
Reach them offline, but track them online with state-of-the-art CRM software. Schedule a free demo today to see what we can do for your business.
What strategies do you use to market to seniors and other older generations? Is there anything you’ve done that hasn’t worked? Share your experiences in the comments below.