THE
NEWSPAPER.COM
TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2012
AS19
COMMUNITY UPDATE • NOVEMBER 2012
targeting Boomers is this group is becoming fed-up with the hassle-factor of typical retail shopping. Boomer women are busier than ever. They spend most of their waking hours working/commuting and dealing with their Millennial children who don’t appear to ever want to move away from the concierge service they receive at home. At the same time Boomer women are caring for aging parents. They’re run ragged. In today’s soft economy they may not be buying luxury; but they’re still buying quality. The implications for retailers targeting this group are several fold: • Reduce the hasslefactor for your Boomer
women customers. Offer easy on-line ordering. Offer to gift-wrap. Offer that you’ll put together custom baskets of your goods and ship anywhere for them. Don’t wait to be asked to do this; proactively announce it (pick up the phone and start dialing during your slow periods). Your customers’ money is plentiful. Their time and energy is scarce. • Don’t offer cheap novelties that will end up in garage sales. Sell unique products that provide real quality and lasting value. • Hire mature employees who can relate to your target market… not students who have no interest in the products they’re trying to sell.
Customer service strategist, Jeff Mowatt is a Calgary-based professional speaker and bestselling author of Becoming a Service Icon in 90 Minutes a Month. For customer service tools and tips, or to inquire about engaging Jeff for your team visit www.JeffMowatt.com or call 1-800-JMowatt (566-9288).
Silent Auction In Support of Our Arts Community The Chamber will be holding a silent auction of artwork by local artists Marilyn Hurst and Chris MacClure of The Golden Cactus Studio. The artwork will be on display at the Chamber’s Membership Appreciation Night on Wednesday, November 7, 2012 at The Rotary Field House and at the Taste of the Peninsula Thursday, December 6, 2012 at the Pacific Inn and Conference Centre.
CLOSING TIME: Taste of the Peninsula 2012 - December 6, 2012 - 7:30pm WINNING BID ANNOUNCED DECEMBER 11, 2012 To view artwork and access bid sheets go the Chamber’s website at www.sswrchamberofcommerce.ca/pages/SroundtheCommunity
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When it comes to retailing, it’s easy to get distracted by the hype about selling to the upcoming Millennials (twenty somethings) or Gen Xers (thirty somethings). Fine if your products are meant for these groups, but if your target-market is Baby-Boomer women, you’ll need to operate quite differently from the current practices of most retailers. The good news is you’ll likely be richly rewarded. Baby-Boom women (aged late 40s to early 60s) represent not only a massive portion of the North American population, but one that will inherit more wealth over the next decade. The challenge for retailers
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Recovering from an Illness Can Be Costly. Help keep your assets healthy with critical illness insurance. With advances in medicine and medical technologies, your chances of surviving a heart attack, a stroke, cancer or another serious illness have increased – but recovery can mean significant and unexpected costs. Critical illness insurance may be the best way to help manage through these financially challenging times. Insurance and annuities are offered by Edward Jones Insurance Agency (except in Québec). In Québec, insurance and annuities are offered by Edward Jones Insurance Agency (Québec), Inc.
To learn whether critical illness insurance makes sense for you, call or visit your local Edward Jones advisor to schedule a complimentary appointment. Rubina Q Karim
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New rules for retailing to these harried customers
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What Boomer Women Want
The bottom line – your business can’t be all things to all people. Targeting Millennials and Gen Xers and Boomers is attracting none. Pick a lane. Forget trying to go cheap to be affordable to young people… price-wise you’ll never beat Wal-Mart or China. Be a specialist providing quality and remarkable customer service that your target market actually appreciates and is willing to pay for. By Jeff Mowatt