10,000 people per day are turning 65.
This makes the baby boomer generation the largest demographic with disposable income…to the tune of 8 billion dollars.
On today’s episode, Quinn and Kinsley host Mary Van Orman, Director of Project Strategy for Dawn House, the wellness division of Ergomotion.
Orman discusses the habits and expectations of this aging generation. There’s been a significant decline among people who are comfortable going to assisted living and nursing homes. This generation is bringing assisted care amenities into their private homes, starting with sleep products (think: adjustable bases with health monitoring features).
Listen or watch as they discuss the mindset of the aging consumer, technological advancements, and ways to incorporate these products into your sales strategy.
FULL TRANSCRIPTION
mark_kinsley: 10,000 people a day, turn 65 years old in the United States. It’s happening now. The silver tsunami is a wave you can’t afford to ignore. How can you serve this swelling customer base? Their needs are unique and you need to be prepared. It’s a huge opportunity. And Mary van Orman with the wellness division of ergo motion is here to help us make sense of one of the biggest bedroom.
That you’re likely not addressing the dose. Marco show begins right now.
Welcome to the Dos Marcos, Show. I’m Mark Kinsley. This is Mark Quinn when you’ve been traveling and it looks like if [00:01:00] you’re watching, you picked up a polka dot shirt in your travels, along the way.
Yeah. I remember you had that pirate shirt for a while. That was a good[00:02:00]
mary_van_orman: Polka dots are always in fashion. Okay.[00:03:00]
mark_kinsley: I’m Mary. I saw a video the other day, Mary, that I thought was brilliant. thief was coming at a woman to steal her purse she threw it on top of a building. cause she’s like the thief’s not gonna be motivated [00:04:00] enough to go on top of the building. I can come back and get my purse later. So she just threw it on top of the building. Yeah, it was brilliant. Isn’t that smart? No, I have some, I had to connect some dots here real quickly. And number one, I have lost my briefcase and we’ll put a video up that I shot after I lost my briefcase. But Quinn let’s let’s close the loop on what happened with your briefcase. The robots stole it.
Didn’t they
mary_van_orman: Right.
Well, thank you. I am quite excited to be here.
no, I’ve flossed a purse and [00:05:00] found it. So just as vital for, for us, for women. So yes, all.
Better that than
good for her. Yeah.
mark_kinsley: We’ll put the link in the show notes. How about that? And we’ll also link up in the show notes. Thank you, Dan, uh, right. Global graphics. Um, and, and I’ll put the link to the video where Mike Magnuson and I were in San Francisco and we walked across the street. Somebody busted out the window of his car, stole both of our briefcase and ran away and we ended up getting the briefcase back.
The only thing that was gone [00:06:00] were both of our computers. So it ended up working out. Okay. But anyway, right after that, in the chaos of that moment, I ended up shooting a video I’m like, this needs to be documented in some way. Anyway, it’s, it’s, it’s pretty funny. Um, and, and
mary_van_orman: Right.
mark_kinsley: what did happen was there, there was a guy that was nearby we found him later on a couple of blocks over, I jump out of the car and run up to him. I’m like, Hey, I saw you whenever our bags got stolen, he’s like, Hey man, I didn’t do anything. Are you a cop? Are you a cop? And I’m like, no, I’m not a cop.
Why do you think I’m a cop? Cause I had a blazer on so I looked like a detective or something, I guess five. Oh yeah.
mary_van_orman: Okay, that would be good.[00:07:00]
mark_kinsley: Turned 65 in the United States of America. Mary drop. Let’s start there, drop some data on us, that frame up what is happening in the world and why ergo motion launched a wellness division. And under that wellness you have the Don house living brand. And the Don house bed product, which is focused on this aging population that all accounts wants to stay at home.
Give us some of that, some of that meat to chew on in terms of data and why you got into the space.
mary_van_orman: Yeah.[00:08:00]
Yeah,
they do.
Right.
Yeah, absolutely. So the interesting thing is that we ergo motion and this whole division started [00:09:00] as a passion project and not because of the numbers. So the owner of, of our parent company and manufacturing actually had a personal story where he lost someone, they passed away in their sleep and he, it really affected him and he felt like.
Where we were with the, the adjustable base and then the technology with sensors and being able to monitor information and our health and everything that we should be able to put something together that really could make a difference. So put, put a product together that allowed people to. age well allowed people to monitor their health and everything else.
So it, it, it was around aging because that’s a, a change in condition, but it was really about how to make life better. It, that was the, the baseline. So from there. It was [00:10:00] the, uh, ergo motion put together a team. So I got recruited from, I had been in senior living. Three of us came from senior living. Others came from the, the product side and we really did our research to understand what we could put into a product that would make a difference and pull all that together.
And so there are, yes, so 10,000 people turn 60. every day, the, and this is not just here. Those are the same demographics in Australia. Those are the same de demographics in EU. So it’s really an interesting time across the board. So, you know, we’re looking at all of that. You also have the fact that, um, as people age, um, They will have one to 10 different health issues could be very small, you know, might be that they, um, have a, a bad knee or something along those lines.
But, but as we age, there are these [00:11:00] components that change with your body. And so how do you, you know, adjust for that? Um, and so the, the goal is to put this all together and, um,
mark_kinsley: And
mary_van_orman: really build, like I said, to build this product.
mark_kinsley: of different
mary_van_orman: The other, uh,
mark_kinsley: a, a
mary_van_orman: interesting piece is, you know, people that have aged are not focused on in marketing, you know, everything is geared towards that younger consumer,
mark_kinsley: So I,
mary_van_orman: the hip or cooler,
mark_kinsley: a, a
mary_van_orman: whatever it is.
Well guess what 70% of the disposable income is with the 65 and up population. So,
mark_kinsley: of them
mary_van_orman: you know, there’s this,
mark_kinsley: home
mary_van_orman: these are the, the, the demographics we gathered after we started the project.
mark_kinsley: $8 billion will
mary_van_orman: And so,
mark_kinsley: has
mary_van_orman: um, the other big piece is that, you know, 70% are higher of people as they age, wanna stay in their home.
mark_kinsley: here we
mary_van_orman: so, you know, when you look at those kinds of numbers, when we first started with the project,
mark_kinsley: at
mary_van_orman: um, they were really looking to put, build a product that would go [00:12:00] into let’s say, assisted living or something along those lines.
That’s not the market. The market
mark_kinsley: most of
mary_van_orman: in people’s homes. The market is, you know, how do you build something that’s going to help make a difference for them in their home and help them stay there longer and stay healthier.
mark_kinsley: on
mary_van_orman: So,
mark_kinsley: might
mary_van_orman: those were just some of the, it was just, we had all of that backup information from demographics, just to help explain to retailers and others what we were building and.
mark_kinsley: what is it? 30% of falls ha happen in the bedroom and people wanna stay at home. So is this an issue the mattress the furniture and mattress to address, or is it an issue for the
mary_van_orman: Yeah.
mark_kinsley: to address.[00:13:00]
mary_van_orman: Absolutely.
Thank
so.
So, no, essentially.
Right.[00:14:00]
Uh, I would say it’s a combination, but. Even the healthcare would prefer that people stay at home. It’s, it’s, it’s more look at there’s key things that, that make a difference as you age and help you age in a more healthy environment and which again, costs insurance less and, and everything else. And, and that is, you know, your ability to exercise and stay healthy, your ability.
The, the, the population that’s aging. Now, the baby boomers, they’re so much more informed. They have a completely different mindset than our parents did, and they want to go out and they want to be proactive about it. They wanna own their own destiny. They don’t want to have to, um, Be put in an, you know, an assisted living or something like that as they age.
So [00:15:00] the, the, the mattress industry, the furniture industry, home building industry, all of that is if they aren’t in tune with that, then you know, it’s, it’s a big miss. So people who are in their fifties, maybe they’re gonna downsize cuz their kids are gone. Guess what? They’re going to buy a ranch. Just because down the road, they know they might not wanna have a lot of steps in the house.
They might do remodeling in their, um, home. They might widen their doorways a little, just in case down the road. They, they need to have more
mark_kinsley: 75 years old,
mary_van_orman: They will.
mark_kinsley: their lifespan in half.
mary_van_orman: Redo their bathrooms and we’ll do a walk and shower versus a lip shower
mark_kinsley: years old
mary_van_orman: and put support in the walls so they can put a cist trails in there.
If you know, they need it down the road. So there’s this whole focus on being proactive.
mark_kinsley: somebody’s life
mary_van_orman: Um, and then there’s this whole focus. Adult [00:16:00] children looking out for their parents who have already aged. And so, you know, we’re seeing early success with adult children. Buying our product because they want to have a comfort level that their parent and or parents are being able to support themselves as best possible.
And this is the, our sleep system is one component of that. And so it’s something that a absolutely we need to because it’s, so it, the falling getting in and out of bed is a significant, um, issue. You know, when you get into assisted living, it was more like 70% of the falls happened in the bedroom, you know?
So it just, it’s, it’s a, a way of really looking forward and protecting yourself as long as possible.
It does.[00:17:00]
So really interaction activities.
Uh, it well, it is. And, and let me add another component to it. If, if you don’t even have the, you know, the emotion around the falling in your overall health, there’s the cost. It’s a, you know, you can, you can purchase a sleep system that, and do some things in your home and invest that, make it safer. Um, That is a lot less expensive than having to pay to go and live in a, in assisted living or something along those lines, because the, those costs are high that they have to be because of the labor involved and everything else.
So, no, no, go ahead.[00:18:00]
Right
that.
right. Um, yes. And I would love to, cuz I’m really excited about what we’ve done with the technology. There’s I can talk about the physical design of the product and everything else. The technology piece is, is something that I think when you talk about the mattress industry and wanting to accept some of that newness, this is, this is a key component.
So we have the sensors in the base. So, you know, it is all someone has to do is lay down on their bed and the, the sensors are, are, um, tracking. [00:19:00] you know how well you slept, of course, all the basics of a, of a sleep report, but it’s heart rate, heart rate, variability movement. How many times you got in and out of bed?
Um, there’s, there’s some just, these are key markers for health. And so you can get up in the morning and you will have this report each, each morning that will show you, you know, what your sleep performance was. Inclusive of things. Like I said, movement alone. I just read an article yesterday that that could be one of the key indicators of a change in a health condition is if the movement during the night accelerates, for example, Or if you’re getting out of bed more often, that’s a health indicator.
If your heart rate changes, your heart rate, variability changes. Those are all health indicators. So the, the app allows you to look at your daily report, your weekly report, your monthly report. Another key component is [00:20:00] you can share that. Daily report with your loved one, um, or a caregiver. So that, which is really important and piece of this, so that they’re also being able to look at that information and just, it’s not an alarm system.
What it is is, is looking for a change in condition. And so, you know, if let’s say someone starts getting up a lot more during the night. Okay. Do, do we need to check for UTI cuz that’s such a common occurrence. Um, as people age, you know, is the movement going way up? Are they on new medication? That’s maybe.
Interacting with current medication. That’s not working so well for them. Are they in pain? And they’re just not sharing, you know, those types of things.
That that’s a moment. Right, [00:21:00] right. And you can also get real time data live sharing. So, you know, if you wanna say, wait, mom usually calls me by, you know, eight in the morning. She hasn’t called. I’m just gonna check up. She’s still sleeping. Okay. That’s fine. You know, she was up late the night before or something along those lines.
And you know, you have to be careful. You don’t want it to sound like big brother. That’s not the point. The point is that it’s a shared. response and a shared, um, goal of taking care of each other. And so, um, that’s, that’s a big component of it. Um, the other great thing about the technology is. You know, we got so much pushback in the beginning because people were like, Ugh, you know, my, my mom, isn’t going to use the app.
My mom isn’t on, you know, on email or whatever. Well, I begged to differ, um, because you know, and COVID exacerbated this and took it to a whole new level, but guess [00:22:00] what? They’re, they’re doing zoom calls with their family.
mark_kinsley: user, the person
mary_van_orman: doing, uh, remote calls with their doctors.
mark_kinsley: and the
mary_van_orman: We did. We, we had the gift
mark_kinsley: life
mary_van_orman: of when we were doing our research and developing our product of some time and we did focus groups and we went into, um, and it was an independent living community and met all these delightful people that were.
mark_kinsley: argue
mary_van_orman: Eighties and up.
mark_kinsley: it is the
mary_van_orman: I, you know, I mean, we were gonna give them beds to test the whole thing and getting to know them and meet them. It was,
mark_kinsley: it’s gonna
mary_van_orman: um, well, do you want me to call you?
mark_kinsley: out
mary_van_orman: no, just email me. You can email me or text me. Here’s my information. You know, I mean, it was that type of thing. They were totally linked in and we had one woman 98 years old.
mark_kinsley: communities.
mary_van_orman: if she wasn’t getting her report, we got our phone call because, you know, she wanted to make sure she got her report every morning.
mark_kinsley: hours of
mary_van_orman: took it in, into her cardiologist and shared it with him. You know, it was look it’s a [00:23:00] different day and it’s a different time. and, um, our audience, um, really does want to know.
They want to be proactive. They wanna pay attention. And some of ’em just like to see the information and know how they’ve slept you
tolerance policy. Right.[00:24:00]
I.
right. Well, and that’s, that is absolutely true. And, and several of the studies have said the fact that, that the sleep piece is so consistent, same bed, you know, same, you know, that type of thing. Um, that it is one of the best ways to track the information. And you. We’re also tying into, let’s say they wear a smart watch because they’re counting their steps.
I mean, they’re, again, they’re paying attention. I say they it’s, you know, all of us and, um, the, the sleep piece of this is going to be able to tie into their apple health, for example, um, or Google health. So that allows them to have a 360, uh, on their information [00:25:00] and, you know, their. Piece. So, um, you know, we had a customer, one of our first customers in their early sixties and he had a stroke and, you know, they, uh, for him to come home, they wanted them to have a hospital bed and she’s like, I’m not having a hospital bed.
In our bedroom, you know, that was just so our product, which is new it’s, there’s not anything else out there like it right now. And so they found it, they bought it and she just, she was, it was so helpful for her husband with
mark_kinsley: I,
mary_van_orman: being able to raise,
mark_kinsley: I mean,
mary_van_orman: know, up, uh,
mark_kinsley: you know,
mary_van_orman: the bed up and down.
mark_kinsley: and egress, you know, getting in and
mary_van_orman: Um, so it helped him as he was recovering.
mark_kinsley: and
mary_van_orman: Um, but you know, she learned from her health data that,
mark_kinsley: you can
mary_van_orman: gosh, if I
mark_kinsley: the
mary_van_orman: exercise in the afternoon, I don’t snore nearly as much,
mark_kinsley: and your rear
mary_van_orman: um, as I did before, you know, so you, you, it’s not just about [00:26:00] monitoring your heart and everything else. It’s also just learning
mark_kinsley: you’re,
mary_van_orman: what works for you.
mark_kinsley: know,
mary_van_orman: You know, we have the ability with the app to,
mark_kinsley: you’re somebody who’s dealing with
mary_van_orman: Set a reminder to go to bed and you know, that’s not a bad thing in that sometimes you’d start watching TV or people are doing whatever they’re doing now on their phones.
mark_kinsley: and,
mary_van_orman: it’s just like this, you know, you set this time and it’s like, it sets down, you know, goes to sleep,
mark_kinsley: things.
mary_van_orman: um,
mark_kinsley: I
mary_van_orman: ties into if
mark_kinsley: into
mary_van_orman: so,
mark_kinsley: idea of,
mary_van_orman: know, if you’re already in bed and it’s like, oh gosh, I don’t know if I turned the lights out. Guess what? You can just go on your app and. Phone and double check. And if you’ve got smart lights, you can turn ’em off.
If you’ve got smart locks, you can lock
mark_kinsley: information that
mary_van_orman: lock the doors or double check
mark_kinsley: Don house bed?
mary_van_orman: and it eliminates another getting out of bed, you know, risk type of thing too. So.[00:27:00]
Okay.
Oh,
Mm-hmm.[00:28:00]
So we’ve just really launched into retail. And so a couple of key partners for us have been, uh, Ms. Kelly’s adopted it and they, um, could here’s the deal, you know, I’ve been at market. Couple of times now making those presentations that you know, you’ve seen and to make a presentation to an audience. Where every head is going like this and relating to what we’re saying about the design of the bed, about the app and everything else.
We’ve had buyers circle back around after the presentation later in the day and say, okay, I need to order it for my mom. I mean, that’s the, the resonance that we’re getting with the retailer audience now, do we, are we working to make sure we get the right floor space and everything else? Absolutely. But.
City mattress, um, has put it into all their stores. [00:29:00] We just did the training in Florida.
mark_kinsley: say that
mary_van_orman: Uh, they’ve sold like six beds.
mark_kinsley: we
mary_van_orman: Now.
mark_kinsley: remember
mary_van_orman: It’s not, you know, this isn’t a $600 program.
mark_kinsley: of Google
mary_van_orman: it’s a more expensive program because of everything that put that we put into it, but they, their sales team has been wonderful. And
mark_kinsley: sleep,
mary_van_orman: again,
mark_kinsley: question. We
mary_van_orman: everyone’s got a parent, a grandparent, someone that they can absolutely relate to and understand what this product offers.
mark_kinsley: the
mary_van_orman: And so it’s.
mark_kinsley: in
mary_van_orman: Um, we’re we, we’re learning, we’re learning for example, to
mark_kinsley: solving
mary_van_orman: the support rail on the bed, that’s on the floor because that’s a conversation opener. People do not know that we have this
mark_kinsley: bed
mary_van_orman: there yet. You know, we haven’t gone full out marketing and everything else.
mark_kinsley: problem.
mary_van_orman: And so
mark_kinsley: and getting
mary_van_orman: it’s
mark_kinsley: It
mary_van_orman: about educating
mark_kinsley: So I
mary_van_orman: sales team on the floor
mark_kinsley: the
mary_van_orman: so that they’re comfortable having the conversation.
mark_kinsley: groups are facing,
mary_van_orman: consumer, as they walk in and being able to see that this is really different. [00:30:00] See that there’s the high low,
mark_kinsley: there every
mary_van_orman: see that there’s a support rail. Those are the kinds of things that just open up that conversation. And so some people are buying it for themselves. Some people are buying it for their parents, but the
mark_kinsley: get in
mary_van_orman: response once the sales team was educated was, has been
mark_kinsley: Quinn, you, you you’re on,
mary_van_orman: So.
mark_kinsley: your seat.
mary_van_orman: Yeah, so.
Prior.[00:31:00]
Right.
Mm.[00:32:00]
Hey, I live in that denial, so it’s all good.
Yes.[00:33:00]
Right.
Right. Right. And, and thank you mark for bringing that up because that’s been one of our. Core guiding points as, as a team is that, you know, we really want to with dignity build a product that makes a difference. This isn’t a, you know, from the beginning, it’s not a marketing message. It’s a [00:34:00] product that we do the research on and it does make a difference.
And so for us, one of the key things was that it was a really pretty bed. It needed to, you want to have this in your bedroom and we. Pill to product that, that, you know, your existing nightstand will look great with it, but it’s a pretty product that, you know, you can, the design is to the earlier conversation about walking in, it’s an inset base.
You can walk right up to the bed. Everything is soft sides so that you, you know, you don’t, we tend to get bruises more easily and all that stuff as we age. So there, there is all of that and our whole message. When we did our research and, and just to explain how we even got our name, Don house, it was it.
I, I mean, I came from senior living most recently until this. So I, I, I understood it, but when we asked all these people that were in their [00:35:00] seventies, eighties and nineties, about their day about sleep, you know, there here’s was the overall response. We know we’re older. It’s okay. Um, We want a good night’s sleep and here’s why they want a good night’s sleep.
They want a good night’s sleep so they can get up in the morning. And, um, one was like,
mark_kinsley: I
mary_van_orman: I’m really competitive at bridge. And I play better when I get a good night’s sleep and someone else was like, you know, I wanna be able to go on the bird,
mark_kinsley: uh,
mary_van_orman: I wanna feel like I got a good enough sleep night sleep so I can go do that.
mark_kinsley: should matter
mary_van_orman: I wanna spend time with my grandchildren.
mark_kinsley: that
mary_van_orman: It is about having a great next day.
mark_kinsley: grandpa,
mary_van_orman: know, it, it’s not about, oh my aches and pains. It’s about getting a good night’s sleep
mark_kinsley: health in
mary_van_orman: so that you have this quality of life, the best quality of life you can each day.
mark_kinsley: product
mary_van_orman: And that was so impressive to us. And that’s actually where we got Don house.
It was sort of the
mark_kinsley: wake up
mary_van_orman: more, less about [00:36:00] sleeping and more about the message
mark_kinsley: go
mary_van_orman: of.
mark_kinsley: baseball
mary_van_orman: Of
mark_kinsley: and
mary_van_orman: well,
mark_kinsley: they, they
mary_van_orman: aging with dignity.
mark_kinsley: to do and
mary_van_orman: If you’ve, if you’re in your seventies or eighties, you know, you’ve lived a life, you’ve seen some things you bring a tremendous amount to the table
mark_kinsley: better
mary_van_orman: and that experience is, is, should be so more valued than I think we often do as, as a population.
mark_kinsley: product,
mary_van_orman: And so to build a product that this is about a.
mark_kinsley: to side and ingress and egress and all
mary_van_orman: Focus on aging. It’s about a
mark_kinsley: love, how it
mary_van_orman: focus on living your life. And so that is really important to us.[00:37:00]
Right.
mark_kinsley: Excellent. Mary van Orman. And that is Don house living Don house living. Dot com. Awesome. Well, Mary, uh, Mary van van Orman is with the wellness division of ergo motion. Thank you so much coming on the dose Marco show. And thank you all for listening. get tapped into these trends, understand
mary_van_orman: Okay,
mark_kinsley: heading. We’re gonna be able to serve populations of people who have these needs. And
mary_van_orman: right.
mark_kinsley: trying to solve problems as it relates to sleep. And we’re always trying to help you solve those problems with all the content we put together for the dust Marco show [00:38:00] and up on fam.news. Make sure you are subscribed, uh, you know, subscribe to the podcast on apple, Spotify, you get the goods Quinn.
Did I miss anything besides that? Beautiful polka dot shirt?
mary_van_orman: Yeah. It’s the whole team is that way. Yeah.
Yeah. Um, uh, my email is M van Orman, Don house, living.com. So that’s the best way or, and you can go through the website and send us a message as well. We’re we’re we’re reading everyone. yeah. Don has living com.
Yeah.[00:39:00]
Reviews are important. This they are
Nope. Thank you, gentlemen. It’s always a delight and really appreciate it.
