Make positive images of aging pay off for you.

When a new senior customer joins your bank, a cash register rings in the accounting department. Given the financial strength of the American senior, it is easy to see why.

The financial clout of the 50-plus population in the United States is absolutely staggering, with customers over 50 accounting for a minimum of 60 percent of commercial banking deposits nationwide. They also control:

* 80 percent of all money in S&Ls

* 77 percent of all assets in the U.S.

* 68 percent of MMIA balances

* 66 percent of all investment portfolios $25,000 and larger

* 50 percent of all corporate stocks

* 42 percent of all after-tax income.

Given these figures, it is obvious that serving seniors is a crucial aspect of successful banking.

The question is: How do you strengthen or expand your senior market share? To find the answer, try a bit of creative visualization.

Close your eyes for a moment and imagine yourself at 65 plus in front of a contemporary television set. What would you see? Probably about 80 percent of the time you'd see happy young people doing happy young things in a happy young way--at a beach party in Santa Barbara, completing a marathon in the Rockies, or on a scuba trip in the Caribbean.

Well, how do you feel? You might feel out-of-the-loop, or as though you are no longer wanted, no longer capable of keeping up, no longer interesting, no longer a valued member of society. And if you think about it long enough and hard enough you might get a bit depressed.

In a society that dotes on young images it's tough to grow old. Aging in America is viewed as a form of leprosy, a kind illness to be avoided at all costs. One recent TV commercial went so far as to advertise a facial cream guaranteed to "remove the ugly aging wrinkles."

The point is simply this: If you want to market products to seniors, you had better learn to understand them, respect them, praise them, and recognize that much of our culture is constantly working against them. Anything your bank can do to increase the joys and raise the hopes of its senior customers will not only be a great service to society, but will dramatically increase your assets. This has been proven over and over again by banks that have invested heavily in high quality, expertly managed senior programs that …