toward youth, the facts of the aging baby boomers tell a different story about
economic influence, growing healthcare issues, lifestyle changes and gener-
ational transfer of wealth. In America alone, 76 million baby boomers (those
now in their mid-40s to mid-60s) have an annual spending power of $2 tril-
lion. This group exerts a huge influence over worldwide cultures, behaviors,
values and the industries that covet them most.
The biggest mistake entrepreneurs can make is in thinking that a boomer’s
age is perfectly predictive of where he or she is in life. If your business wants
to appeal to and attract this powerful age group, do not focus on their age.
Instead, focus on their life stages, lifestyles and values profiles. Know them
before you engage, so you’re talking to boomers in terms that are relevant
and compelling in relation to where they are in life and what matters most to
them and their situation.
A Greener World: The 19th century was powered by coal, and the 20th cen-
tury was powered by oil. Recognition of what past and current human behav-
iors are doing to our planet have us now moving into an era that will be
powered by the sun, the wind, wave motion and renewable energies.
And while large companies tend to hire established renewable energy ven-
dors, a huge untapped market exists for products and services that are designed
for those small businesses and homeowners who have a desire to go solar
or geothermal.
According to The Economist Intelligence Unit ( www.eiu.com), North American
venture capital investments in clean technology more than doubled in the past
two years to $2.9 billion in 2008, making it the third-largest category after biotech
and computing. More than 4,000 clean technology patents were registered dur-
ing that time. What were the reasons? Consumers and businesses are demand-
ing green products, and there’s money to be made. Seventy percent of us now
feel that we have a responsibility to make the world a better place when it comes
to the environment. Nearly 60 percent of us buy from companies that give back,
and more than half of us purchase so-called “green” brands.
“The silver
lining behind
the mess that
the world is in
right now is
simple: An
opportunity
exists for
game-chang-
ing innovation
that could
be once-in-
a-lifetime.”
In America alone, 76 million baby boomers have an
annual spending power of $2 trillion, designating them
as huge influencers of consumer trends.
So if you are an innovator, or work for a com-
pany that values or supports innovation, the sil-
ver lining behind the mess that the world is in
right now is simple: An opportunity exists for
game-changing innovation that could be once-
in-a-lifetime.
Cheryl Perkins, founder and president,
Innovationedge LLC ( www.innovationedge.com)
is a CGT Research Advisory Board member.
To read her last Insights article, titled “Changing
the Light Blub,” visit www.consumergoods.com/
