When Morton Yulish walked into a showroom loaded with cars recently, the salesman tried to pitch the 51-year-old as if he were 25.
The young salesman told Yulish that it was ”time to move up to a `92”
and pushed the power of the radio and the engine. Problem was, Yulish wasn`t buying for the same reasons as a 25-year-old, and he wanted to hear instead about the car`s safety and integrity.
Wake up, corporate America!
The population is aging, and companies also must change to survive, experts said at a recent seminar on the ”The Graying of Philadelphia.”
”As people mature, they more and more need to see the value and benefit of that product or service,” said Yulish, who operates a consulting firm in Swarthmore, Pa., that focuses on the mature market. Businesses faced with demographic change ”can either benefit from it or be a victim of it,” he said.
The size of the mature population has grown over the last decade and will grow even larger as the Baby Boom generation ages. The Baby Boomers this year include people between 27 and 45.
The demographic shifts should be viewed as opportunities to gain customers as well as experienced employees, according to speakers at the seminar, sponsored by the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging`s Business and Aging Partnership, a not-for-profit agency.
As the Baby Boomers age, expect even more older men and women to hold down at least part-time jobs, the panelists said.
Why work? Because today`s workers are better educated, derive more pleasure from working and want to feel productive rather than simply retired, the panelists said.
”We`ve cleaned the closets. We`ve visited the grandchildren. Now we`re ready to come back to work,” one retiree who wanted part-time work at Provident National Bank told James Duffy, the bank`s assistant vice president for human resources.
In the future, the business world`s ”passion toward the younger consumer will change,” Yulish said. No longer will there be such a massive market for designer jeans, fast food or housing for growing families. Instead, popular products and services will be cosmetics and cosmetic surgery, travel and medicines.
