A small business owner mentioned to me that they didn’t think their target market were big on using the web for shopping or research into products or services. They felt that the older demographic that they market to didn’t use the web that much. The “older” group they referred to were the boomers aged 45 to 60. As we chatted it occurred to me that this boomer business owner was not a big web user and was basing their online marketing efforts (or lack of ) on their own experiences and not what their target market was tuned into. That surprised me since they were normally very responsive to the buying public with the choice of products and services they provided.

Rather than inundate them with stats and surveys and online marketing industry white papers, I suggest they ask their customers what they use. Perform your own mini-survey. My suspicion is that this business owner would be surprised at the results. My other advice was to consider meeting the marketing needs of their market by using a mix of old and new media. More and more boomers are using the web but many still tap into more traditional marketing and advertising methods. With a little online activity they might even reach into the Gen X demographic, who could make use of their product or service and expand their business opportunities.

Remember – you might not Facebook or YouTube or Google (or Bing) but they do! They being the folks looking for the products and services you offer!

Dean

_Sponsors_________________________________________

Nova Media

Strategic Online Marketing

_________________________________________________

Advanced Systems

Corporate Computer and Network Specialists