As people, it’s easy for us to assume the details about someone else. It is in our nature to fill in the blanks in our minds. We could have an idea of how someone feels, looks, or dresses, but at the end of the day, we won’t really know until we ask and seek to understand.
In marketing, not just in senior living but with our industry as a whole, these are important considerations. Asking the right questions about our audience is essential to succeed, especially when learning how to market to baby boomers effectively in an age of growing AI.
As we continue our journey of defining what retirement means to baby boomers, and to know of their lives in general, we are reminded that we do not always think the way they think. And if we do not know what they think, we must ask. And ask we did, with questions about their retirement plans and what they think of senior living, which provides important insights for marketing to retirees.
Growing and Changing With Our Next Senior Generation
Buckle up, folks. Because the answers are not always pretty. Our guests who answered our questions do not always say what we advertise.
We at Craft & Communicate see their answers, however, as a learning curve, an opportunity to refine our baby boomer marketing strategies and show older adults that life is grand in senior living. Life can be purposeful, meaningful, and enriching with kind people ready to assist them as needed.
With AI becoming more common in daily life, as baby boomers adapt to these tools, we should, too. AI-powered tools can help us analyze feedback, spot trends, and better understand how baby boomers make decisions.
The concept of senior living is to cater to our greatest generation in an attractive environment with quality services and the peace of mind to families that we will be there for their loved one. We know that. But we must challenge ourselves to educate our next senior generation as well and be present to acknowledge and understand their feedback.
Our Questions About Retirement: The Results
Now let’s dive into our answers. You may be surprised… But we are grateful for their honesty, for their truths, and for our willingness and flexibility as senior living professionals to take a fresh look at our approach. In our surveys, the 208 people we presented these questions to were 60 or older with different incomes and living in various regions throughout the U.S.
When You Think of a Senior Living Facility, What Comes to Mind?
- The Results
- Positive: 26
- Neutral: 35
- Negative: 152
- To the people who responded, senior living facilities meant a range of definitions. It means assisted living apartments with handicap-accessibility. Community. Good food. Participatory exercises and fun activities. It means bright colors, lots of windows, and plants. It’s about living in a building with other seniors. But it means something else to the majority of our participants: ‘nothing good.’ ‘Loss of independence and privacy.’ ‘Expensive.’ ‘Nothing I plan on having to do.’
Messaging for marketing to baby boomers must address these negative perceptions, highlight independence, and showcase quality of life and social opportunities.
The Road to Retirement: How Prepared Are You?
- The Results
- 6.8% – Not at all
- 11.65% – Not very much
- 16.02% – Somewhat
- 28.64% – Fairly prepared
- 36.89% – Very much so
- Seniors could be more prepared than we think when it comes to retirement. The majority of answers from the 208 people we surveyed said they were very much prepared for retirement with pensions, social security, savings, investments, solid Medicare Advantage programs, and/or a good 401k with employer matching, as well as regular appointments with financial advisors.
- Others say they worked for this preparation, one saying she worked hard for 50-plus years with 18-hour days, putting in her time working three jobs and going to school. More said that they were very prepared until the stock market crashed in March and had to put off retirement one more year.
- On the other side of the coin, some people relayed that they had to go on disability and it changed their monetary retirement plans. Others say they didn’t start saving soon enough. Things are more expensive every day and it takes more money to live.
Understanding their retirement plans and priorities also helps us see how baby boomers search for information, research communities, and make decisions.
Baby Boomers, Search Behavior, and AI
As digital habits continue to evolve, it is important to understand how baby boomers search for information and make decisions. Many boomers regularly use search engines, read reviews, and explore community websites before ever reaching out. AI-powered tools like ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini are increasingly part of that experience, even if they do not consciously think of it as artificial intelligence.
Boomers value convenience but continue to rely on trusted sources and verify information before acting. While some may not actively seek AI, many interact with AI-enhanced search results, summaries, and recommendations. Trust is key. Overly automated or impersonal messaging can reduce credibility.
For senior living communities, this means technology can support retirement marketing and marketing to baby boomers, but human authenticity must remain central. Boomers tend to value credibility, clarity, and trust over flashiness when it comes to AI-enhanced content. Content that is helpful, trustworthy, and easy to navigate meets boomers where they are and builds the confidence they need to take the next step.
At the End of the Day
Regardless of how our world operates, we can continue to do better for our seniors. That is, and always will be, our mission in senior living. Feel free to reach out to us for more information and how we can serve.
~ The C&C Team
