St. Louis Missouri (MO) Small Business Social Media Marketing

Originally from the New York Times:

http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/29/the-caring-collaborative/

A Caring Collaborative
Jane Gross

Charlotte Frank, co-founder of the Caring Collaborative in New York City, helps Grace McCabe with her computer in 2005. (Nicole Bengiveno /The New York Times)I’m single. I’m childless. I cared for my mother at the end of her life and for a friend, years before, through 10 months of brain cancer. If, as the saying goes, everything that goes around comes around, someone will do the same for me.

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From The Boomer Blog at www.theboomerblog.com

Boomer’s At A Glance

Twelve Important Facts About Boomers For Marketers

• Baby boomers make up, at approximately 78 million, the largest generational demographic in history.
• They are a diverse group, spanning 18 years (1946-1964), representing a broad spectrum of cultural, economic, psychosocial and global influences.
• Outnumbering the 50 million Gen Xers, over the next three years, the population of 45-64-year olds will have grown 30 percent, compared to the stagnant growth of 25- to 44-year olds.
• Even beyond the sheer size of the demographic, boomer households spend an additional $10,000 more every year on consumer goods and services than their younger cohorts.
• Boomers spend over $2.1 trillion/year of this unprecedented wealth on consumer goods and services including $79 billion on home improvements last year alone. They have $28 trillion in assets and control 67% of the nation’s wealth.
• 80% of boomers use computers, one third of them going on-line every day. Direct catalog marketers estimate that 70% of on-line purchases are made by women, the majority in the boomer demographic.
• They also represent 50% of car purchases and 74% of all prescription drug purchases.
• With more established careers than younger generations, many boomers are at the peak of their earning potential. What’s more, eight out of ten boomers say they don’t plan to retire.
• As a result, over the next seven years, there will be 80% growth of 60-69 year-olds, the leading edge of the boomer demographic, working full or part-time creating even more assets and wealth.
• Not only will they continue to earn income, but within the next decade, many boomers will be managing inheritance windfalls.
• 55% of boomers agree that they have no particular brand loyalties, with 68 percent of women over 35 saying that “the older they get, the more they enjoy trying new things.”
• As they age, boomers will be vocal about their needs and are on the verge of flexing their combined social, economic, and political muscle. They are a force with which non-profits, institutions, the government, politicians and society as a whole will both want to and have to reckon.
• In other words, baby boomers are not only the greatest market opportunity today, but a powerful force shaping the future of our society.