Turning Silver into Gold: How to Profit in the New Boomer Marketplace

by Mary S. Furlong

As they age, America’s 78 million baby boomers will live more active, creative, inventive lives than any generation before them. This represents a truly enormous business opportunity. In this book, the world’s number one authority on marketing to “post-50” baby boomers offers a complete blueprint for profiting from that opportunity.

Dr. Mary Furlong reveals breakthrough product and service opportunities, and gives you the tools, resources, techniques, and data you need to capitalize on them. She offers powerful insight into baby boomers’ new lifestage transitions in housing, health, fitness, finances, family, fashion, romance, travel, and work–and the new brand choices they’re about to make.

Throughout, Furlong combines extensive, authoritative market research with inspirational stories about passionate, tenacious entrepreneurs and brand leaders who are blazing new trails in these fast-growing markets. You’ll learn how to segment boomer markets, and identify opportunities to innovate entirely new categories of products and services. You’ll discover which sales and marketing strategies really work, and even uncover opportunities in the surprising worldwide boomer market.

Five trends shaping the next baby boomer revolution

Global markets, longevity, lifestage transitions, technology, and spirituality

From concept to product to financing, and beyond

All you need to execute on your baby boomer product/service opportunity

The new healthcare revolution, the new healthcare business

How boomers are using the newest innovations to take control over their health futures

Sex and romance: I’ll have what she’s having

The new sexual revolution: making it feel like the first time–or better

Choosing families, making connections

Powerful new opportunities in helping boomers reach out and connect

About the Author

Dr. Mary S. Furlong is the leading authority on the baby boomer generation as it moves beyond 50. She founded Mary Furlong & Associates to help socially and consumer-conscious companies reach this growing market. She is also Executive Professor of Entrepreneurship and Women in Leadership at Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business.

Before launching Mary Furlong & Associates, Dr. Furlong founded the nonprofit organization SeniorNet in 1986. She founded Third Age Media in 1996, ultimately reaching more than two million members. Throughout the course of her work for both organizations, she raised $120 million in venture capital funds. She has advised President Clinton, Congress, the AARP, and corporate clients including IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Merrill Lynch, Procter & Gamble, and Microsoft.

With the American Society on Aging, Dr. Furlong co-produced the successful 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007 What’s Next Boomer Business Summits. She was Executive Producer of the 2005, 2006, and 2007 Silicon Valley Boomer Venture Summits and $10,000 Boomer Business Plan Competitions. She is a member of the Leadership Circles of the American Society on Aging’s Business Forum on Aging, the National Council on Aging (NCOA), and the AARP. She is also an advisor to several start-up companies all focused on the boomer market.

Dr. Furlong has appeared on CBS, NBC’s Today Show, PBS, and NPR to discuss trends in aging andtechnology. She was named one of the top 50 businessleaders by Time Digital, and has also been honored by Fortune Small Business Magazine. Her books include Grown-Up’s Guide to Computing.

304 pages, Paperback

First published January 31, 2007

About the author

Dr. Mary Furlong, Ed.D, is a leading authority on the longevity marketplace. She has guided the business development and marketing strategies of leading corporations, emerging companies, and nonprofit organizations for more than 30 years. Currently, she is president and CEO of her consulting company Mary Furlong Associates.

Before pivoting to longevity consulting, Furlong was an Associate Professor of Education at the University of San Francisco.

Reviews

[E]

Creative ideas for selling to baby boomers

Most books that address the impact of the baby boom generation contain too many statistics and not enough insights. Mary S. Furlong tries to fight that trend with this slightly disjointed look at data and stories about companies that cater to this demographic group. She relays interesting sagas about entrepreneurs, but sometimes omits the richness of detail that would give them the practical impact they deserve. She weaves five baby boom trends (“global markets, longevity, technology, life-stage transitions and spirituality/giving back”) through each chapter of her analysis, as she discusses what the boomer generation might buy, how many of them might buy it and how you might market it. getAbstract finds that she offers good information and solid coverage of her subject.

[Leader Summaries]

Desde Leader Summaries recomendamos la lectura del libro El nuevo mercado de la tercera edad, de Mary S. Furlong.
Las personas interesadas en las siguientes temáticas lo encontrarán práctico y útil: innovación, nuevos mercados y sus oportunidades.
En el siguiente enlace tienes el resumen del libro El nuevo mercado de la tercera edad, Modelos de negocio para satisfacer las necesidades de las personas mayores: El nuevo mercado de la tercera edad

[Doug Ross]

Mary Furlong says tyhe Boomers are still going to influence the marketplace after the "retire". Furlong suggests that we forget that word. Boomers with want to keep working and need to keep working. There are linkss toi many useful web site that help people turn there aged wisdom into income!

[Louise]

Excellent. Highly recommend.