One of the core principles of successful marketing is having an established audience, but sometimes that audience includes segments of people who are not the end users of your product or service. Enter gatekeeper marketing– a technique businesses can use to reach their target audience through the people in that target audience’s lives.
If your brand is marketing to seniors, do not overlook marketing to their “gatekeepers.” These are the people in seniors’ lives who influence their purchasing decisions; think of them as a gate in a fence–they have the potential power to let your business’s message through or lock it out. Overlooking these gatekeepers when marketing senior products or services could cause your brand to miss out on a very lucrative market.
At SN:D Agency, we have over a decade of senior marketing expertise and extensive experience building and running successful gatekeeper marketing programs. We can help your business boost its senior marketing success by utilizing gatekeeper marketing. But in order to utilize it, you first have to understand it.
What is Gatekeeper Marketing?
Gatekeeper marketing is built on the premise that people make some buying decisions that are influenced by others. The concept of a “gatekeeper” is based on the image of an intermediary who controls access to something, such as an agent at a security check-in area. This person decides who gets in and who doesn’t.
In the context of marketing, the goal is to convince these gatekeepers that your service or product will solve the problem of the person they are gatekeeping (your end user). Your business will purposely target the identified gatekeepers of the people to whom you are ACTUALLY trying to sell your product, with the hopes that those gatekeepers will become advocates of your brand to the end user. This can ultimately result in the sale of your product or service to the individual for whom it is meant.
What is Gatekeeper Marketing for Seniors?
Gatekeeper marketing can be used for seniors by targeting the individuals in older consumers’ lives that are most likely to influence their purchasing decisions.
Seniors’ gatekeepers are usually close family members (often adult children or spouses) or trusted friends who have a lot of influence over their purchases. This can also include medical professionals who have regular contact with seniors, as well as financial planners and attorneys who are trusted for advice about money matters. These gatekeepers play a close enough role in your target seniors’ lives that they are aware of their needs and pain points and may be on the lookout for products or services that can help meet those needs.
As the senior population continues to grow, so does the role of gatekeepers within their social circles. The aging population relies on these individuals for everything from transportation and healthcare to information about local events and activities. For this reason, it’s important that you get your brand’s message in front of this large segment of people who have sway over older adults’ purchasing decisions.
While gatekeeper marketing is not the only way to reach seniors with your message (read our blog post for 23 Digital Marketing Tips to Reach Seniors), it is a lucrative opportunity to add to your marketing strategy.
How Can You Utilize Gatekeeper Marketing for Your Business?
To reach seniors with gatekeeper marketing, the first step is to determine their primary gatekeepers. Chances are that you already know who these people are–you probably speak to these people once they have come through your funnel. If not, think about who your target end user is and start to figure out which people in their life may have sway where it pertains to your particular product or service.
Once you know who the gatekeepers are, it’s time to create some content that will resonate with them, not necessarily the senior end-users. You should be talking directly to the gatekeeper rather than the senior in your messaging. Furthermore, you should address the pain points of the gatekeeper in relation to the senior, as well as the pain points of the seniors themselves.
For instance, if your brand sells hearing aids for seniors, in your gatekeeper messaging, you may address how frustrating it can be for an adult daughter when her aging parents repeatedly cannot hear her speaking to them. If your business is providing in-home care to seniors, your message may address the worries and fears an elderly husband feels watching his wife need care beyond what he can provide.
Gatekeeper marketing should be a prioritized aspect of your senior marketing strategy. By reaching the people in seniors’ lives who have influence over their purchasing decisions, you’re ensuring your product or service is being advertised effectively to the people who can “make or break” the decision for your audience. If you’re not sure how to begin identifying who your target seniors’ gatekeepers are or what messaging approach to take, we’d love to help! SN:D Agency has over a decade of experience with senior marketing and building strategic gatekeeper audiences to target for organic content as well as strategic lead generation marketing campaigns and strategies. Reach out to us today to get started!
