Get 'em while they're young: the boomers can really impact senior living--but can we wait until 2021? (Marketing/Sales).

For more than 50 years the baby boomers have been big news. This generation, born from 1946 to 1963, has been constantly touted as our "economic saviors' because of their size.

But let's forget all the hype for the moment and ask a defining question: "We know the boomer generation has significant numbers, but what can they really do for our industry today?"

A lot! There are some very important basic demographic and psychographic traits of the boomers that have not been fully capitalized on by our industry. But, most of us can't wait until the year 2021 when the first boomers become age 75--we need to consider new strategies for this important demographic group now.

First, let's look at some important demographics. In 2003, there will be approximately 68 million boomers between ages 45 and 64, about 31 percent of the voting population. Those older than age 65 will total approximately 36 million, or 17 percent of the voting population. These two groups could stimulate some interesting strategies regarding our industry if we can capitalize on this future-voter clout at national and local levels. We need to make the consumers part of some of the solutions to our dilemmas rather than merely the unfortunate victims of heavily biased national-press news stories.

Some psychographics also work in our favor, as many baby boomers are now caught in a multi-dimensional squeeze. Many are struggling with at least five challenging issues in their personal lives: Getting their financial situation in order; putting their kids through college, due to late marriages or remarriages; saving for retirement; caring for their aging parents; and trying to live the "good life."

There is a very direct link between these mid-life crises and the future potential of our senior living industry. For example, when we assemble 10 to 12 adult children for a focus group, more than half usually tell a "need-driven" story involving significant concerns about their parent's current health status. Most are concerned about their parent's ability to continue to live independently. These focus group respondents have been screened for only one characteristic--having at least one living parent anywhere in the United States. The parent's relative health status was not a screening criteria. Yet, these randomly selected respondents frequently tell stories about the increasing frailty and declining health of their parents.

These adult children also demonstrate a lack of awareness regarding senior living and health care options. They generally know the various terminology but are clearly confused as to specific options, cost and value. By the time they reach the crisis stage, we have a very narrow window of time to tell our story.

Today, we should consider the adult children as the critical gatekeepers between their parents and the senior housing and health care markets. They are actually agents and brokers who can help us expand our market in several important ways. Here are two examples:

Expanding the market's depth

In a typical market area, if only half of 1 percent of the adult children between ages 45 and 64 convinced their parents to move back to your facility's area, this would represent an absorption of approximately 50 units for any typical project. Obviously no single community can be filled in this way alone, but significant in-migration potential has been frequently overlooked by many owner/operators.

High tech, high touch

The boomers are comfortable with today's new technologies, numbers oriented and computer friendly. We can do a much better job of deploying new technology in a sophisticated, but simplistic, manner to help adult children better plan the future for their parents. One example will be the emergence of high-impact financial planning software which will capture the complete and customized financial profile of a particular senior. It will show the family how the senior can afford to live in various senior living options without the serious threat of total spend-down.

These boomers represent a new market potential. We have an excellent opportunity to tap a much deeper market--today. Many boomers are highly motivated with clearly demonstrated needs and already sensitized--and we've got quite a story to tell them!

The Baby Boomer Demographics in Perspective

Don't wait until after 2021 to tap this market

Dates Born in                      Estimated           Year Boomers
Five-Year Increments  Age in 2003  Population in 2003  Will Be Age 75

     1946-1951        52-57        21.3 million        2021-2026
     1952-1957        46-51        25.2 million        2027-2032
     1958-1963        40-45        26.5 million        2033-2038

Total (Year 2003)                  73.0 million

Total U.S. voter "clout" as a percent of total voting age population

45-64  65+  Total

 31%   17%  48%

Soruces: U.S. Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics
Administration Bureau of the Census

Jim Moore is president of Moore Diversified Services, a Fort Worth, Texas-based national seniors housing and health care consulting firm. He is author of Assisted Living 2000 and, most recently, Assisted Living Strategies for Changing Markets