Book Review: dot BOOM — Marketing to Baby Boomers through Meaningful Online Engagement

By: David Weigelt, Jonathan Boehman and David Wolfe

Keith Heberling, Relationship Manager                                                                       Rating:

Recession rates, unemployment rates and technological advances are changing by the minute, and since we are seeing a paramount shift in how our society gets this information quickly, it can greatly affect consumer spending habits and perceptions of brands. What are marketers to do? Well, to say this book was a keen insight into an untapped consumer segment is an understatement. Marketers just have to recognize it. And, with the right understanding of this segment and a willingness to break free from traditional marketing tactics and techniques that historically have focused on the younger demographic, there lies a tremendous opportunity.

According to the authors, marketers need to rely more on the tenets of behavior than on statistical arrays and data points. The Boomer segment in particular processes information differently and is experiencing more significant life events than any other generation.

For the first time in history, the majority of the United States population—more than 60 percent—is over age 40. These adults think and act much differently than their younger counterparts due to the dramatic changes that happen at age 40. Their purchase behavior is unique, and traditional marketing lacks the perspective required to understand the needs of an aging adult. While Boomers’ net worth and home equity may have taken direct hits during and after the recession, they still control the lion’s share of buying power over the younger Generation X and Millennial demographics combined.

What I like best about dot BOOM is that it does not simply propose opinion and theory. This book is prefaced with scientific study of the older psyche and pays off with a framework for replicable success in marketing to this lucrative part of our society.

Opportunity waits, no matter what product or service you offer. This book is a must-read.

Rating:

A must-read! Thought leadership. Highly relevant.

Worth reading. Offers many helpful insights.

Good ideas. Put it on your reading list.

Similar to other books on the subject.

Disappointing. Would not recommend.