I had to stop by my doctor’s office yesterday afternoon, and was waiting with a whole truck load of other people for his speaking hours (first come, first serve – something nice in the Benelux to quickly see your GP / physician).   And my doctor is starting his retirement shortly and had posted a notice on the changes in the practice in the waiting room.

What was particularly striking to me was how many older patients he had, as we all started discussing how long we had been with the practice when we were reading the note.  The majority of his patients were well over 50.  And as a marketer, it occurred to me what a vast population of over 50s exist in my geographic area.

But as I said in a previous post, unless you need long term community care, most of the health needs of the 50-65 year old set are not obviously marketed to in Europe.  This is not the “ask your doctor” ads of the US pharma industry, but advice and services for folks who are still working and have viable incomes to pay for services.

Missed opportunity?  I think it is time that we opened the door to old(er) age as a great target audience for services.