Because many baby boomers are healthy and expect to live active lifestyles for years to come, they don't like to be referred to as senior citizens, seniors, mature or elderly.

In other words, generational marketing has fallen by the wayside, according to Cyndi Marty, organizational development director for the Madison, Wis.-based Image Works, a marketing firm that serves banks and credit unions.

"What we're finding is that we can't put these generations into buckets at all," Marty explained. "We can't say the boomers don't want technology when we know they are the largest growing demographic on Facebook and close to 80% of boomers have cell phones and 65% have smartphones. What we are finding is that it is less about trying to market to someone based on their generation and more about trying to build a relationship with that person and offering options."

And when marketing to baby boomers, never underestimate them, Paris Chevalier, chief marketing officer for the $933 million Xceed Financial Credit Union in El Segundo, Calif., said.

Boomers don't want be reminded of their age or treated as if they have one foot in the grave, she said. And many are not retiring – some because they need the income, but others because they're passionate about the work they do.

"They're physically more fit than previous generations, so they're able to take on new challenges at an age when their parents settled into rocking chairs," Chevalier said. "As marketers, that means that we need to shape our messages to reflect a focus on possibilities and opportunities, and we need to utilize the full range of channels – from direct mail to social media – to reach boomer audiences."

About 42% of Xceed Financial's 58,000 members are boomers.

"When some people think of boomers, they think of the Me Generation, but the reality is much more complex," Chevalier said. "In fact, at Xceed we're seeing a lot of our boomer members as part of the Sandwich Generation – many of them waited until their 30s or 40s to have children, so they're facing the dual pressures of raising children at the same time they're caring for their aging parents."

Because some members may divert their savings to pay for a child's education and support their parents, they are at great risk of falling short of their retirement goals. To help those boomers, Xceed Financial hosts educational webinars on these issues while marketing some specific Xceed Wealth Management Group products and services, Chevalier said.

Gallup Analytics research reported earlier this year that only 27% of boomer customers say their primary bank looks out for their financial well-being. Promoting free and highly visible educational programs to improve the financial well-being of customers could create a competitive edge for financial institutions in retaining and attracting consumers, according to Sean Williams, a principal researcher for Gallup Analytics.

What's more, slightly more than two in 10 boomers with investment accounts (21%) say they use their primary financial institution, which represents another opportunity for credit unions.

According to Gallup Analytics data, half of baby boomers hold more than $100,000 in investable assets and nearly one in five have more than $500,000 in investable assets. In addition, through 2040, boomers stand to inherit trillions from their parents.

"This financial security, combined with boomers' physical fitness, youthful attitudes and sense of adventure puts them in a position to travel a lot when they retire," Chevalier said. "So, one of the things we're doing is working on creating a very specialized credit card that will cater to these folks."

Zubair Rana, chief marketing officer for the $18.6 billion PenFed Credit Union, said his Alexandria, Va.-based cooperative is seeing a broad demand from boomer members for home equity lines of credit, second mortgages, auto loan refinancing, new car auto loans and investments. About 30% of PenFed's members are boomers.

Just like everyone else, today's boomers have busy and stressful lives, and PenFed believes it can play a critical role in making the lives of their members a little less hectic and easier by continuously improving member experiences and accessibility.

For example, PenFed is retooling its auto loan program to streamline the loan application process and give members decisions on their loans quickly.

"All of those projects are designed to make members' experiences online and in call centers a little bit better with quicker access to information and a seamless process, so that they have a positive impact on the brand," he said. "Our belief is if we can start a relationship with them on an auto loan level or a deposit account level, we feel like our chance of engaging the members for their other financial needs increases a ton."

To win more business with baby boomers, financial institutions should resist the temptation to simply sink money into costly technology or short-term promotions, according to Gallup Analytics. Although these tactics may woo some new members, they are unlikely to foster memorable member engagement that can create a long-term emotional connection with a credit union.

Although it's generally believed that customers base buying decisions on rational thinking, Gallup Analytics research suggests emotions strongly influence a customer's buying decision – and those emotions are formed by the experiences members have with the credit union and its employees.

In addition, when strong emotional connections lead to member engagement, members tend to do more business with that credit union. According to Gallup Analytics, retail banking customers who are fully engaged bring 37% more annual revenue to their primary bank than actively disengaged customers do.