3 ways to define and reach offline audiences (the older demographic)

As much as much of the world have migrated to online sources for business, pleasure and leisure, there is still a significant portion of the market that isn’t online and have no intentions of going there.  That customer group still desires products and services and businesses must find ways to define and serve these customer groups.

The first step in the process is to identify who those offline customers are.

These are usually individuals in the older demographic; 55 and over who are unwilling to replace human connections with something as impersonal as social media.  They are loyal consumers of traditional media outlets i.e. listens to the radio, watches local TV programming and prefers to go to the bank rather than doing their banking online. 

There is also another demographic within this group who is not averse to being online as they use social media to interact with friends and family, attend events and catch up on the news.  This sub-group however reverts to the original group characteristics when it comes to activities such as buying online or conducting banking activities.

Reaching this audience in the era of COVID-19 is not impossible but poses some challenges to businesses especially if they are introducing new products to the market.

The following are three, no-touch yet direct ways to reach this specific audience:

1.    Direct mail or Courier – Yes, literally send product and company information by mail or courier service to their homes.  It’s very non-traditional, maybe a little costly but it works, and its more likely to be acted on than depending on mass media.

2.    Communicate via text – While this customer group cares very little about technology, some will own smart phone while others will own simple mobile phones with text capabilities; use this to your advantage.  Engage market research companies who will be able to assist you in reaching this demographic.

3.    Use traditional media – This is the audience that is more likely to have a favourite TV show or radio programme… this is also the audience that will tune into the nightly news and generally binge watch network or free-to-air television.  Use these platforms by targeting specific timeslots to showcase your products. You are sure to attract at the very least some curious customers.