Monday, March 19, 2007
Advertising, television, radio and the Internet are not the only channels companies can use to reach baby boomers in today’s crowded media space. According to “B2F Connections,” a Weber Shandwick survey of 502 U.S. boomers being released today, companies are overlooking the most critical boomer network – boomers’ friends. The survey, conducted with KRC Research, found that Boomer-to-Friend (B2F) communications have untapped potential for influencing consumers’ purchasing decisions and present companies with an invaluable growth opportunity.
The following are among the survey’s findings:
- Nearly six out of 10 boomers (57 percent) are asked for their recommendations on products and services almost twice a week (or 90 times per year). Of those boomers who were asked to make a recommendation in the past year, the large majority (89 percent) advised their friends, or fellow boomers.
- A sizable 42 percent of boomers’ purchasing decisions are influenced by a company’s social or environmental policies. Interestingly, boomers’ attention to social responsibility as a key factor in purchase decisions is similar to that of Gen Xers (46 percent).
- Only five percent of boomers who made a recommendation in the past year had been asked about financial services such as insurance, banking, investments and retirement.
Additional findings from the survey, and their application to your clients’ business, appear in the attached press release. Please feel free to forward the release to current and prospective clients.
You can contact
Leslie Gaines-Ross or
Elizabeth Rizzo for more information on our “B2F Connections” research.
Press Release B2F Connections Research Report