Today, I was interviewed by Lori Bitter, CEO of Continuum Crew and host of the radio show “The Business of Aging.”  We talked about the 65 million family caregivers and their importance and value to Corporate America.  Click here to download the podcast from “The Business of Aging”.

The first part of our discussion was about caregivers in the workplace – the trends in employer support for a life event that many employees will be facing – caregiving.  The second half of the discussion focused more on marketing to caregivers – how this seemingly elusive segment is extremely influential and valuable to companies representing an $800 billion annual marketplace.

Caregivers in the Workplace

The first part of our discussion focused on what is happening in the workplace.  We know from National Alliance for Caregiving studies that 68 percent of caregivers work full or part-time and we also know that U.S. employers are facing an aging workforce where almost half (48%) of all employees are currently over the age of 40.  However, a 2010 report from the Society for Human Resources Management showed fewer employers are integrating an elder care or caregiving support service into their EAP or work-life programs – from a high of 22% a few years ago to most recently only 11% of employers offering this type of support to employees.

Caregivers and Marketers

We know that caregivers make or influence 79% of the purchasing decisions in the home.  We also know that the caregiving marketplace is an $800 billion annually.  So how do marketers find and attract caregivers?  I talk about tips and advice for attracting caregivers and keeping them loyal to your brand.

Hopefully conversations like this will help Corporate America see that caring for the caregivers makes sense and is an increasingly important issue.