Patient NEWS
Phone Icon
Login

Dental Health, Money, & Digital “Seniors”

Boomers, Gen X – What’s a senior?!

Google commissioned a research study to collect qualitative and quantitative data on the digital habits of boomers and “seniors.” According to WHO, most developed countries characterize old age starting at 60. Boomers, Seniors, and Gen X. This data is important to dentists because these generations have historically been the patients that contribute the highest value in production to a dental practice and knowing their buying preferences is key to an effective dental marketing strategy.
Google found that 86% of online seniors spend up to 6 hours a day online and own an average of 5 devices. They are sophisticated, engaged folks, 80% educated beyond high school, and more than 80% use their smartphone every day.
Why are they online (and say that the pandemic ending will not change their habits)?

To stay in touch with friends/family (91%)
Organize finances (87%)
Improve health and wellness (73%).

Many said being online and staying up to date with technology is an imperative.
Find out your patient generation mix and patient values in Practice ZEBRA dental software. Schedule a free demo today.

SCHEDULE FREE DEMO

This information indicates that having a multi-channel marketing program in place is key for attracting both Boomers and Gen X. Boomers like to get direct mail and trust it more than online ads, but they will also go online to research your dental practice and check reviews and comments in relation to your direct messaging. Gen X heavily dig into research and reviews before purchasing and want to trust their local provider.
Smart, successful dentists recognized the impact of Boomer spending power when the oldest Boomers began hitting their 50s in the 1990s … but as Boomers get older, is their spending slowing down? And where does Gen X play now that they’re hitting 55?
Here’s the thing. Both Boomers and Gen Xers have money for dentistry. They’re typically the highest-revenue patients for our clients. These generations are working longer, they’re focused on health and wellness, and want to look great as they age. They’re getting divorced, married, going back to school, traveling, becoming grandparents, starting new careers, and are really staying active. According to Nielsen, Boomers spend more than the average consumer in almost every category. That’s why Boomers remain a critical group to continue to target with your dental marketing campaign.
Boomers respond to a multi-channel marketing mix because they’ve grown up with newspapers, TV, and technology. Your niche dental newsletter is more likely to engage a Boomer, who also puts more trust in print than online ads, but who will then also look you up online before calling to book an appointment.
So what about Gen X now that they’re hitting the 55+ age category?
Like Boomers, Gen Xers come with significant spending power: in the prime of their careers with higher-than-average household income, they aren’t slowing down. A study from Generation Pay shows that Gen X likes to shop locally and using a known and trusted brand is an extremely important factor in retail choice.
There’s an opportunity to target your direct mail to your Gen X and Boomer population, but just remember that Gen X and Boomers both read online reviews, so include positive reviews in your direct mail, have a dedicated page on your website, and work to obtain more reviews from patients.
A study by the University of Michigan revealed that 82% of people over 50 experience at least one type of ageism every day, and 65% said they’re exposed to messages (like older adults and aging) that are unattractive or undesirable.
Doesn’t this give a dental office a niche opportunity for positive communications to these big spenders in your target area? It’s another way to become THE known and trusted and STAND OUT dental provider in your local area for what you might call your “ideal” patient, because they want to look good, they want to be healthy, and they have the money to pay.
Do you know your generation stats and patient values? You can find out the value of each demographic in Practice ZEBRA, our dental software, where you can benchmark patient values and see exactly where those good-value patients live with our GEO mapping – just a click away. A great tool for targeting your marketing campaign effectively.
Here’s a sample of the type of information you can look at in Practice ZEBRA. Patient value by generation and patient households geo-plotted on live mapping (patient value indicated by the pin-point color dots which allow you to click/sort and see where your most valuable patients are located). This is an amazing tool to assist with targeting your dental marketing campaigns to attract more patients like your highest-value patients.

So, who are YOUR most valuable patients? Do you feel like you should be attracting a younger crowd just because your younger team thinks you should? Think again. “Seniors” are online, they’re savvy, they’re spending, and they want to feel great and look great. Are you inadvertently attracting a ton of Millennials when your Boomer patients spend twice as much?
You can know exactly what you should be doing by using the data in Practice ZEBRA.
When you know exactly who you want to attract, you open up a tremendous opportunity for production growth at your dental office. Maybe it’s not all about your case acceptance numbers; maybe it’s just going after the right patient to start with.
So before you say, “I’d like a younger demographic” … know who you are attracting to your practice now, what they are contributing to it financially, and which demographics live around your practice, and then design your marketing plan around that.
Talk to your Account Manager or Marketing Consultant about your demographics and ensure your marketing plan is on target.

SCHEDULE FREE DEMO

We’re here to help you STAND OUT & Grow by creating campaigns that resonate specifically with your targeted audience.Image

Share: