How to Market your Restaurant to Senior Citizens

Updated October 25th, 2013

Marketing to senior citizens makes good business sense. Learn a few tips for effectively marketing to senior citizens in your restaurant.

Many restaurants focus their marketing efforts on young people. College-aged adults love happy hour, and young families can bring in decent margins. However it is important to not pass up on the chance to effectively market to an often neglected category of diners that can bring in large revenue gains...senior citizens!

In the next 20 years, the population is expected to grow by 60 million people. Economists suggest that half of that growth will include people over the age of 65. With the baby boomer population aging each year, it's time to consider how to market to a growing number of people who are older, wiser and retired.

Retirees have money. Younger generations will most likely not have the luck of such solid pension funds as this generation. They are financially very stable and on top of it do not have so many options of spending it. Some of their main activities count as eating out, traveling and socializing. They are smarter, more reasonable and do not have to prove anything to anyone. But F&B is a human natural must and they cherish this too.

For seniors, restaurants are not only catering but also socializing opportunities. So cater to their needs by offering them respect, good food, and a comfortable place to gather.

Marketing to this demographic is not as easy as they are used to traditional marketing channels like TV, newspapers, magazines and other offline media tools. But recent statistics show that Facebook growth is led my females between 50 and 55. This trend will go on but considering realistic tools, try out local newspapers and keep an eye on online portals and servers that will take over a significant part of the online traffic. A secret project is for example xy50plus.com and many others like this will come up in the years to come!

Here are some tools that your seniors will like:

1. Offer a Senior Discount - Many establishments offer discounts to senior citizens because it’s proven to work. According to a recent study by the National Restaurant Association in the USA, about two thirds of adults aged 55 and older said that they would take advantage of a senior citizen discount if it were offered.
2. Promote Early Bird Specials - Offer a discount to diners during the early evening. Some restaurateurs discount up to 50% off before 6pm. Not only will this appeal to thrifty retirees, but also to frugal families and young couples.
3. Watch out for your portion sizes - portion size is not the determining factor for this market when it comes to getting a good deal. In fact, the same National Restaurant Association suggests that only one third of people over the age of 65 thought larger portions meant a better deal.

Senior citizens are often neglected by other generations, businesses and even politics. They are the wisest in our society, have the longest experience in so many ways, will soon represent the biggest community on the planet and on top of it have saved up money they have to spend. We will soon wake up and see how significant this market actually is!

Written by Daniel Grossmann