Dental implant marketing is important because we want to reach everyone who is missing teeth. But it is especially important that we, as dental implant specialists, remind ourselves that our primary audience is the senior citizen community.
Since the differences between generations have never been more stark, analyses like this are needed, lest we forget some important facts about the older adults in our community.
Why You Should Sharpen Your Senior Focus in Your Dental Implant Marketing
1. One simple reason to focus on seniors is that the demographic is growing. Today, those over 65 make up 16.9% of the US population. By 2060, however, the number of adults over 65 is expected to reach 98 million and make up 24% of the population!
That’s an almost staggering number of people! None of us recognize what it will actually be like to live in a society where one in 4 people are over the age of 65. In fact, to get an idea of how large a number 98 million is, consider this: only 16 countries in the world had populations greater than this in 2023!
Whole nations will be needing your services in a matter of decades, but that’s not all.
Read on for even more reasons that you should sharpen your dental implant marketing focus on seniors and those approaching this age.
2. Older Adults Need the Most Dental Implants.
Although almost everyone would recognize this as obviously true, it bears repeating because most people are staggered to realize that 1 in 5 adults over 65 have lost all of their teeth! If we take only those over 75, that number increases to 1 in 4 people fitting the description of edentulous, which simply means “without teeth.”
For Americans ages 50-64, the average number of teeth lost is almost 6 out of the 28 regular adult teeth. This age group counts 10.13% of its members as already having lost all of their natural teeth!
3. Older Adults Have Greater Discretionary Income Than Younger Generations.
Older adults – ages 50 and above – are hands-down the most financially well-off patients that your practice can attract. At about 120 million strong, they hold a disproportionate share – approximately 75% – of the household wealth in the United States.
They are also the most generous spenders. Those over the age of 50 spend more than 50% of all US purchasing dollars!
Since they expect to live close to 30 years longer than their predecessors of a century ago, they are quite willing to spend that money on their healthcare and appearance. Dental implants, which give them back the ability to confidently smile, dine, and mingle in company are high on their list of priorities. Again, their sheer abundance of discretionary income is key here.
4. Older Adults Have Greater Trust in Authority Figures and Institutions
Although dentistry is a profession, not an institution, its image as an older profession predisposes it to rise or fall with institutional trust levels in the population. And as you can see from the following graph, reaching out to older Americans is going to be at least somewhat easier for almost every sector than reaching younger people.
According to this 2018 research, almost half (46%) of those under the age of 30 fall into the category of “low trusters” compared to only 19% of those over 65.
There is a flip side to this loyalty and trust however. When dealing with seniors, you shouldn’t put all your focus on the latest and greatest in dental technology. Although seniors want the best and you will, of course, highlight the tremendous advantages of dental implants, keep in mind that this age group responds very positively to tried-and-true brand names and familiar concepts.
This is why getting them to even consider implants over dentures can be difficult if they have never been exposed to the idea. Sometimes, one of the most important jobs of dental implant marketing is simply to show seniors that dentures are NOT the only option for those without teeth!
Would you like help to better reach the seniors in your community with your dental implant marketing?
For help getting this message out to those most ready and willing to benefit from it, reach out to Client Connection Group Today!
We have years of experience in educating seniors and all others through our non-salesy social media advertising, and we will help you improve your dental implant marketing to them today!
Further reading by Stennett Eberly
5 Proven Reasons To Tell The Truth In Dental Implant Advertising