m-cause

As Boomer consumers head into retirement everyone knows they are going to present a huge market opportunity. In a recent blog post called I Do Love you Lee…BUT, Tom Peters noted:

“We (BOOMERS) are the fastest growing, the biggest, the wealthiest, the boldest, the most (yes) ambitious, the most experimental & exploratory, the most different, the most indulgent, the most difficult & demanding, the most service & experience obsessed, the most vigorous, (the least vigorous,) the most health conscious, the most female, the most profoundly important commercial market in the history of the world—and we will be the Center of your universe for the next twenty-five years. We have arrived!”

Tom also goes on to say that pretty much everybody is doing a horrible job serving the boomer consumer. In his words:

Here is my current report card on the market’s (manufacturers, retailers, designers, marketers, product and service developers) effort to understand and encompass and exploit this Incredible-Humongous Expanding Market Opportunity:
Awful.
Dumb.
Disgraceful.
Insane.
Stupid.
Pitiful.
Embarrassing

So, OK Tom the gauntlet is thrown. You have issued a challenge. Agreed, companies do need to wake up a bit more to this huge opportunity, though ironically many of the companies you are referring to are themselves probably run by Boomers.

I would argue that in fact many big companies do work very hard to understand consumers. A recent book by A.G. Lafley (P&G’s CEO) outlines the “Consumer is Boss” thinking that has helped P&G succeed during his time as CEO.

What I would love to see in the future is a Boomer consumer revolution. Wouldn’t it be great if Boomer consumers brought back their flower power idealism and started buying green/consuming consciously to help the fight against global warming? As Joel Mankower highlighted and I noted in an earlier blog post, consumers aren’t yet fully changing their behavior despite the flood of new products from companies making it easier to “go green.” I believe that once consumers start really demanding change and voting with their wallets, companies are going to be forced to listen even more. With all of their capital, Eco-Boomer consumers are perfectly positioned to lead and tip the scales toward real change.

So my friendly challenge to Tom: Put the bell bottoms back on and be an agent for Boomer consumption change. Take a cue from fellow boomer Al Gore and inspire your generation to go green with your outstanding writing (I have a couple of your books) and stage presence. And, inspire your Boomer friends currently in top management to not “green wash” as it will cause consumer backlash.

If you are already doing this apologies in advance (please do it more). Please help start another revolution with your talent & skills. Future generations with thank you.

Help bring back your generation’s hippie soul–put on the platform shoes and help bring the Boomer love back.