Introduction
Nowadays, most baby boomers born during the post-World War II baby boom from 1946-1964 are retiring. According to the Bay Area Medical Practice, 40% of its patients are baby boomers (57 to 75 years old); thus, an elaborated marketing plan is needed for the customers. The world has changed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and new trends in healthcare should be considered. In this paper, three recommendations will be considered: providing additional hearing aid services via telemarketing, promoting active leisure time for baby boomers, and emphasizing later education.
Main body
To begin with, after the pandemic, baby boomers became increasingly interested in telemarketing, especially in video calls, over health issues. Williams and Leppla (2021) suggest that to address such a trend, “audiologists may conduct hearing aid fine tuning and troubleshooting over video calls” (p. 50). Thus, the product is the audiologists’ services over the hearing aids’ tuning. The place for this product must be television or websites, so that baby boomers will easily get recommended the services and supply them at their homes. Accordingly, promotion should also concern telemarketing; for instance, audiologists’ websites might be suggested to clients with the help of Google Ads.
Audiologists may also cooperate with other specialists who provide aid through video calls, so customers will not spend much time doing additional research. Concerning the price, it should not be more than the money spent on the “core” treatment by video calls. However, specialists may sell additional products to their tuning service, such as hearing aids or batteries for them.
Moreover, the pandemic increased the time baby boomers spent in front of the TV, which raised the necessity to promote healthy leisure time. As Williams and Leppla (2021) claim, before the pandemic, baby boomers averaged three hours of TV watching every day, and after COVID-19’s self-isolation, the time increased. Thus, instead of promoting exercise and at least some physical activity, people try to find benefits from retiring people watching TV.
In particular, audiologists get an advantage from patients watching TV by selling hearing aids to them (Williams & Leppla, 2021). From the Biblical perspective, a person should follow moral order and help others, which the cited marketing recommendation contradicts. Thus, healthcare providers should encourage baby boomers to exercise instead of making the static body position in front of the TV more comfortable. Promoting fitness apps and bracelets via the TV might be suggested not only for patients but also for their children who may be interested in providing aid to their caregivers. I recommend lower-than-average prices and programs in which children may buy a fitness bracelet and get a discount for the same product to gift their parents.
Finally, educational institutions are recommended to promote possible student loans and other services, making studying for 50+-year-old people more affordable. According to the research conducted by Hardy et al. (2019), critical thinking and health literacy will preserve Australian baby boomers’ mental health. Remarkably, a subgroup of 57 to 75 years old considers intellectual stimulation to increase good health (Hardy et al., 2019).
Thus, universities are recommended to acknowledge baby boomers of later education’s benefits, such as “enhancement of their: health literacy, decision-making for healthcare options, self-management capabilities, and quality of life” (Hardy et al., 2019, p. 601). Therefore, later education is the product, universities are places, acknowledgment programs are means of promotion, and the price for clients is the same as for other students. However, the possibility of getting loans should be emphasized in this marketing plan.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is necessary to state that the above-discussed interventions are a part of the marketing plan for baby boomers, most of whom are hospital clients. One should not forget about the moral order and follow recommendations about the lower price for customers. Thus, interventions concerning additional hearing aid services, active leisure time promotion, and emphasis on later education’s benefits should be implemented within the following five years.
References
Hardy, M., Summers, M., Millear, P., & Oprescu, F. (2019). University education: a potential health promotion intervention for Australian baby boomers. International Journal of Lifelong Education, 38(6), 589-601.
Williams, N. M., & Leppla, M. (2021). 4 Key Post-pandemic Trends for Marketing Hearing Care to Baby Boomers. The Hearing Journal, 74(8), 50-51.