20 November 2008
Senior Customers: a Significant Market Segment
Services for Seniors Benefit All Your Customers
 According to Statistics Canada, there are over 4.4 million Canadians aged 65 and older, and that number is increasing daily. Is your shop prepared to handle this important sector of the marketplace?
Marketing your business to seniors, and making your shop and your service attractive to older customers, should be an essential part of your business plan. A well-rounded strategy that takes into account the diversity of older drivers will reach this segment and ultimately benefit all of your customers.
Marketing to seniors
Setting up your shop: While it isn’t always possible to retrofit, your store should be easily accessible to all of your customers. This will include older seniors who might not be able to get around easily, but it will also benefit others, such as disabled customers or parents with strollers. If it’s possible, consider large parking spaces, barrier-free doors, assistant handles in the washroom, and waiting-room chairs that are comfortable but designed so that it’s easy to get out of them.
Discounts: If you can, offer discounts to seniors, especially if your competitors do. You can also use discounts as timed incentives, offering them during traditionally slow periods to encourage a steady flow of customers.
Advertising to seniors: Most people want a repair shop that’s convenient, and seniors are no exception. If there’s a retirement residence near your store, target your advertising there. If your shop is associated with an automobile club, Chamber of Commerce, or Better Business Bureau, make sure this is prominently displayed.
You should also watch the calendar to make sure your advertising dollars are well spent. In late summer and early fall, market your maintenance specials heavily to snowbirds, who will want to have their tires and vehicles in top shape for the long trip south.
Explaining repairs
Never underestimate them: Today’s seniors are as Internet-savvy as their grandchildren are. Chances are good that your older customers have already gone online to research their vehicles, price their repairs, and shop around with your competitors. They may have grown up with carburetors and bias-ply tires, but today they’re up-to-date.
Be ready with an explanation: Of course, there are two sides to the Internet, and anyone with a computer can set up a Web site. There are a number of sites making money by warning seniors about “repair rip-offs,” and while some post legitimate concerns, a number of them portray auto shops as scams, telling people that important services such as alignments and brake inspections aren’t necessary. Make sure your advisors are always ready with a thorough explanation of why any service is needed. It doesn’t hurt to surf these sites occasionally yourself and see what you’re up against.
Time is money
Realize their time is valuable: Don’t put seniors’ vehicles to the back of the line because you figure they don’t need them right away. If you offer a shuttle service, don’t automatically think you can drop them off last. These customers may be retired, but that doesn’t mean they have nothing better to do.
But be prepared: That said, you will get the occasional older customer who views a trip to your shop as a day out. Your staff needs to ensure that extended pleasantries don’t leave other customers waiting, and that customers don’t walk into restricted shop areas to talk to the technicians.
Respect seniors’ time, money, knowledge, and needs, and in return, you can command a respectable amount of business from this vitally important customer segment. | 
