In the early 70’s a laborer on a construction site could afford a house, a new pickup, used motorcycle and his wife could stay home with the kids if she so desired. Now a laborer lives in an apartment with a bunch of other laborers and they don’t have a chance. The truth is the dollar isn’t worth much anymore. You want to know what is?
Time.
Previous generations winded down as they reached their 50s, but this generation has really embraced the “live life now to the fullest” attitude to and beyond that mark. Seriously, age is one of those things that has become a sore point for many. It is like we need cerebral botox to prove we are young enough to be involved in motorcycles or the digital world. Generalizations can cause some serious alienation. For example, in the movie Gran Torino, there is a powerful scene where Clint Eastwood’s character, Walt, receives a telephone “for old people” from his son and daughter-in-law with giant buttons and numbers on it. He angrily kicks them out of the house. The generation that sang along to Zeppelin’s “D’yer Mak’er” and popularized innovations like the personal computer are becoming senior citizens — but they don’t want to be called “old.”
I’m just back from Laughlin, NV and the “River Run” and couldn’t believe the number of ‘trikes’ buzzing around the event. They weren’t being driving by 30-somethings!
You are likely thinking, hold on there, Mac… boomers are not going to do well with your association with the elderly. 50? Really? C’mon kids, 50 is the new 40 is the new 30 is the new 20… hell 10 is the new fetus for goodness sake.
It turns out that organizations ranging from retailers to motorcycle manufactures to consumer electronics makers going into those motorcycles are being forced to rethink how they market and make products for older people. As Harley-Davidson looks to the future, they must start to realize that things are going to be different and they need to pay attention and listen. Speaking of paying attention, where was H-D this year at Laughlin? Polaris and Yamaha were there in a big way with lots of demo rides and chatting up the attendees about what they liked or didn’t.
H-D hasn’t ask for my advice, but here are some takeaways for them to consider:
- A growing number of older adults are taking advantage of social media now. Don’t ignore or alienate them.
- As our society and the web mature, H-D needs to make sure they are building it to empower everyone, not just the young and overtly tech-savvy.
- As H-D rolls out new technologies and web services they will need to be intuitive and easy to use but not insulting to the older generation.
- Accessibility has to be built into the planning processes for new projects from the beginning, including consideration of design, text size and physical usability.
- Once new products and/or services are ready for public consumption, education is key to make sure older adults don’t fall behind and become a victim of some “creative divide.”
I’m curious if H-D has nothing but young creative’s trying to relate to older adults in a stereotypical way—do they think the older demographic will remain brand loyal no matter what they design? Unlikely, especially if another company fulfills or empowers older adults that they can better relate too. How dedicated is H-D to immerse the designers in all sorts of research to studying the habits and needs of the Baby Boomer generation? With numerous condescending reports of motorcycle ageism (some of which I’ve written!) and H-D’s desire to focus on the youth demographic, won’t they need to redefine what it means to “get old” and own a H-D? How does the Harley-Davidson and H.O.G. world change when seniors get engaged with design?
Now, don’t get me wrong, anyone who has made it through the first week of Econ 101 knows that the scarcity of a commodity drives its value. To this end, if H-D doesn’t put money into listening they can’t learn and they have to keep learning from customers… even if it doesn’t deliver on retention and acquisition.
Photo courtesy of internet.
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