There’s no place like home! My grandmother responded no differently when we asked her to move into an assisted living home. Like most Americans, she simply wanted to stay home. The truth is that 18 million Americans over the age of 64 own their homes. According to the American Community Survey many are paying mortgages and upkeep, bringing monthly housing costs to up to $1,100 a month or more. This group remains on a tight budget and many are feeling the weight of recent price increases of up to 11% from last year.
Many senior citizens are not informed of the programs available to help ease their financial burdens. For example, my grandmother does not have access to the internet (nor does she want to) and typically does not read junk mail or the newspaper – with the exception of the obituaries. She was elated when we enrolled her in the enhanced New York State STAR (School Property Tax Exemption) program, saving her $1,000 bucks on school taxes. In fact, this situation was the basis for my three article series on the elderly and their social issues. I wondered how many elderly are not taking advantage of state and local programs.
How do we communicate with the elderly and can we do this better? Studies indicate that most elderly home owners will take the time to review critical documents such as bills, bank statements and medical statements. So, it seems logical to target promotional as well as education programs to this senior demographic, especially if it helps with alleviate some financial burdens.
Transpromo to the Rescue
Remember, TransPromo combines relevant, personalized, marketing or education messages into must-read statements. By tying together both educational and promotional messaging, Transpromo becomes a powerful tool. By understanding senior citizens past buying behaviors, customer demographics, and income levels, we could target the must reads like utility, phone, or tax statements; further, promoting Federal programs that will assist with energy and weatherization. Some programs such as (WAP) will actually send someone out to do new insulation and roof repairs if needed.
Transpromo can also build community spirit. Savvy marketers will soon realize the benefits of leveraging local businesses messaging into the senior’s profiles as well as must read statements. This further promotes company brand, personalization, and loyalty. Most local shops such as weather proofing, lawn care, gutter cleaning, and snow removal are already people your customer knows and trusts.
We should encourage government to improve their communication and out reach programs for the elderly. I believe one easy step would be to provide educational program information on utility statements, mortgage and tax statements. These programs are designed to assist the elderly; we just need to promote their advantages to the large companies which will benefit by tying the community, government, and education.
Health care is the number one concern among the elderly.
Check back soon to see my final article in this series and find out how Transpromo can help this social issue.
