Many marketers believe that if you get customers to buy from you at a young age, they will stay with you for life. However, if you think about your own buying habits, you will see the error in this. Do you buy the same products, use the same services and shop in the same places you did 20, 10 or even five years ago?

Some changes occur because of lifestyle shifts. Parents of young children have different wants and needs (and financial abilities) than college students or "empty-nesters" whose children are grown. Others are the result of changing tastes as consumers age.

A study done a few years ago by the Chicago Symphony found that the average age of its concert-goers was 55. Instead of panicking that their audience was aging and would eventually die off, the orchestra's president, Henry Fogel, referred to similar research of 30 years earlier. It said that the average age of ticket buyers at that time was--you guessed it--55. According to Fogel, "There is simply a time in one's life when subscribing to a symphony orchestra becomes both desirable and possible."

The Symphony decided to target this age group by advertising on a classic rock station favored by this audience.

Does your target market seem to fall into a certain age group? Don't fight it by trying to attract younger buyers. Go where your market is, and get more of the people who want what you are selling.

Make sure that the customers you are targeting not only want or need your product or service, but also that they can afford it. There is no point in marketing to people who can't buy.