Chapter 9 : From theory to practice

Unless Marketers and other corporate managers take the increasing economic power of the over-50s seriously, then all the facts, research and theory discussed in this book are worthless.

The sad reality is that most companies do not list this subject in their strategic and tactical priorities. When it does appear in a company's business plan it is most likely hidden away in the section titled PEST (Political, Economic, Sociological and Technological factors) and then as a by-line in the list of sociological facts along with things like "ethic and religious" and "changing regulations".

Marketers and corporate managers are not stupid people, so why don't they "do something" about exploiting the business potential of this opportunity? Once companies take the issue of the 50 plus seriously then formulating and implementing tactical marketing actions is a 'relatively' straightforward matter.

How can the single question of "what do we do about the aging population" get onto board agenda and the Marketing Director's to-do list?

This chapter seeks to answer both of these questions.