Targeting baby boomers online can lead to a business boom, part 2 of 2 { series: small business marketing tips for the home building industry }

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Originally published in Toolbox Magazine [ Charleston Home Builders Association ], Apr 2009
By Tiffany Jonas

Last month we addressed the stereotype of computer illiterate baby boomers and seniors. The reality is that the boomer generation represents 23% of the nation's online audience, and about three-quarters of white, college-educated men over age 65 (who are likely to be more affluent than many other audiences) use the internet.

We also found that 26% of baby boomer households expect to move from their current home in the future, many in order to find a better house, a better climate—which Charleston certainly has—or a home that's closer to family and friends.

Once you have a product that offers what baby boomers and senior are actively seeking (think single-level homes, no-step showers, elevator access, and the like), it's time to take the next step: appealing to this affluent age group online.

Seeing through their eyes

When you're young, it's difficult to grasp the physical changes that come with age. Organizations from Ford to MIT use "age suits" for just this reason. Engineers designing products for older adults wear head-to-toe suits that reduce their hearing, mimic the natural yellowing of the eye lenses, decrease mobility, and restrict movement of the fingers. (The curious can see MIT's age suit here.) 

In your case, you'll need to imagine how an older adult interacts with your website. The US National Institutes of Health note that changes in vision as a person ages can make it more difficult to read a computer screen: less light reaches the retina, fine details are less clear, and contrast is less obvious.

Simple website tips

Making your website more usable for men and women over 50 doesn't have to be rocket science. The following recommendations, courtesy of the National Library of Medicine, are simple to implement.

1 } Use simple, sans-serif fonts rather than more complex serif or novelty typefaces. Common examples of web-safe sans-serif fonts are Arial, Verdana, and Helvetica. (As a real-life example, this website uses a sans-serif font for almost all its content. It uses the opposite kind of font—a serif font—in the menu bar beneath the header, starting with the link named Finding the right web designer.)

2 } Increase the size of your text. Use 12-point or even 14-point type for your site's informational text. If you're concerned this will turn off younger audiences, ask your web designer to include a link that older adults can click to enlarge the text. (For a real-life example, scroll up to see the "enlarge this text" link under this article's title.) 

3 } Increase spacing. Don't condense your website fonts, and add generous space between lines of text, perhaps even double-spacing. (Again, for a real-life example, notice the extra space between lines of text on this website.)

4 } Simplify text treatment. Write your informational text using normal capitalization, just as you'd see in a book, reserving all capital letters for headlines only. In general, stay away from italics; it can make text harder to read, especially on a computer screen. Reserve underlining for links only.

5 } Use left-justified text. Left-justified text is optimal for older adults. (My note: centered text is hard to read for any age group, and full justification on a website can result in large, awkward empty spaces.)

6 } Be careful with color. Avoid using yellow, blue, and green in close proximity; as people age, these colors become more difficult to distinguish. Ensure your website uses sufficient contrast for older eyes; text and graphics should be easily distinguishable when viewed on a black and white monitor. (My note: you can use this free color filter tool to simulate this. Type in your web address and select the grayscale option from the dropdown menu.) 

7 } Avoid patterned backgrounds. Using dark type and/or graphics against a white or very light background is best. Avoid busy patterns in the background. (This also works well in web design appealing to affluent women consumers.)

8 } Make navigation clear. Carefully label your links, making it clear where they lead, and keep the organization of the website simple and straightforward.

9 } Keep navigation consistent. Use a standard layout, and keep it consistent throughout the entire website. (My note: place your menu links where users expect to find them: at the very top of the page, at the bottom, and/or in the left or right column. The more comfortable you make your visitors feel, the more positive feelings you’ll engender, and keeping them from feeling lost can go a long way.)

10 } Offer a variety of ways to get help. Offer a phone number for those who would prefer to talk to a human being in real time, or provide an email address for freeform questions or comments that won't fit easily into a form.

And last but not least, a tip from Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability: make any call-to-action buttons large, obvious, and logically labeled. Your older adult visitor should be able to quickly spot the button, realize what it's for and where it leads, and easily click on it.

Here's to a business boom for you… and a website that's easy to use for the boomer generation and beyond!

About the author

Aio Design founder Tiffany Jonas graduated magna cum laude from the Missouri School of Journalism, a top journalism school, with a degree in advertising. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and has taken coursework toward an MBA. She is a member of Mensa, an organization for those who have tested in the top 2% of the population on a standardized intelligence test, and is also a member of the American Marketing Association and the eMarketing Association. She has been the two-time recipient of an 11-state award for design, honored at the Chicago Book and Media Show, and the New York Times called one of her book designs "well-produced and elegant." In 2008 she was named one of the Charleston Regional Business Journal's Forty Under 40, an honor recognizing individuals who have achieved professional success while contributing to the Charleston community.

What would you like to know next?

• For other articles on small business marketing online (and off), go to our list of available articles
• To learn about web design for affluent women consumers, visit our affluent web design article
• If you’d like to find out more about Aio Design or our pricing, start with our about Aio Design page
• If you’re looking for ways to find the right web design company for you, order our free report
• If affluent women are your target market, visit our marketing to women page
• If you’re a woman entrepreneur, visit our page for women business owners