You are Ayala Rahav, co-founder and CEO of Senior Touch Ltd. based in
The purpose of Senior Touch is to bring older age related needs and factors as primary considerations into the world of products, services environment and multimedia, enabling a positive total user experience. – We focus on the product usability and the extent to which the product can be used by older users to achieve specific goals with effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction.
Senior-Touch encourages companies offering products and services to the mature population to consider the various changes in aging people (ages 55+) and strive to accommodate suitable products and services to fit their life-style and needs, by understanding the progressing decline in their sensory, cognitive and motor skills. The message is that mature people do not wish to feel excluded from the overall population; they strive for an “ageless” lifestyle where their needs are met in a transparent and friendly.
We believe that senior-user oriented design must be integrated purposely into the R&D and design process and claim that “what is very good for older adults – is excellent for the younger”. Lack of adaptation to the needs, preferences and accommodation to usability capabilities, can be the make or break of a mature user’s choice to interact with a product/service.
It is crucial to understand the different state of mind of an older consumer. A younger person that does not have a satisfactory experience in interacting with a product/service will blame it on the design and usability of the product and will choose an alternative brand. An older consumer will interpret the frustrating experience as a personal failure and will avoid using this product out of a personal sense of incapability.
The awareness in today’s mature market is still mostly on the HOW – how to market, how to communicate. We focus on what we consider to be a more significant and fundamental element – the WHAT – what needs to be done to make the usability, adaptability and user friendliness of a product/service adapted to the mature populations, and especially aspects of universal and inclusive design, and usability considerations in order to make it user friendly and thus ensure the consumer’s satisfaction and loyalty. In that way we hope to diminish the big discrepancy that exists today in the products, services, communications and offerings for the elderly consumer.
In your opinion, is the Israeli government concerned by the consequences of population ageing on economy?
In my opinion the Israeli government is concerned by the consequences of population ageing mostly from welfare aspects – such as pension, healthcare, hospitalization, social security, and decline in resources to maintain a former standard of living.
The private sector is beginning to be aware of specific needs e.g. we see a rise in the building of protective housing for the ageing population – but again – it is still for a minor segment.
And what about companies? Do you think they are conscious of the impact of population ageing on consumption?
Companies are still far from being fully aware of the big potential of mature consumers, both in the significantly growing segment they represent and the fact they are the wealthiest, most demanding and savvy consumers.
Banks e.g put a great emphasis on switching to electronic banking and IVR based dialogs, but they do not facilitate the process for mature consumers who are often technophobes and incapable of functioning in the new digital world.
The marketing world still mostly belongs to the young, and this can be seen in advertising of new commodities such as digital communication, cellular etc.
Although there are special 3rd age supplements in magazines they are mostly about medicines, mature housing and offerings of an assistive nature.
First buds of advertising awareness can be seen by using more mature models, and first attempts to offer specific pension and financial plans for people ages 55+, but largely the awareness is still very low and therefore there is very little tailoring of offerings suited and adapted for that population segment.
It is a pity because as savvy consumers mature people will willingly pay a lot more for products/services that are suitable and adapted to their life style and yet tailored from a universal design perspective that will enable them to remain part of an ageless lifestyle.
In what fields of ageing your team of experts can provide expertise and knowledge?
As we focus on the mature usability aspects that are relevant in almost all consumption areas, our team can accommodate companies in diversified areas– from consumer products through medical and digital devices and services, and up to e-banking, packaging, senior friendly instructions manuals etc.
Our multidisciplinary expert team encompasses a wide range: design, technology, usability, gerontology, medicine, ergonomics, engineering, psychology, marketing, research. For each project we build a relevant ad-hoc team that is put together to ensure that all relevant age related aspects will be taken into account, accommodating the adaptation of the offering to the special needs of the mature population. E.g. we have just concluded an extensive in-depth research on adapting a new generation of sleeping environments for baby boomers and are now looking to implement the design ideas with a leading sleeping environment company.
We put a special emphasis on the new electronic, medical and digital world, due to the age related technology gap of mature users. Adaptation of the digital world can bring many new potential clients to manufacturers, marketers and service providers on whom they today miss –out. Interfaces, appliances, applications and services should be adapted to the modified skills of more elderly users.
Older people, who are usually technophobes, tend to give up on offerings with which they feel uncomfortable. Their desire for a total user experience is shadowed by the fear of not being able to properly apply the necessary skills or not be able to interact with the application in a timely manner. They would rather give up on the potential, in order not to feel inferior. It is our challenge to envelop sophisticated technologies with very simplified, easy to use designs and interfaces to overcome this gap.
What services do you offer to companies that want to reach the Elderly?
Senior –Touch assists products and/or service providers to adapt usability of their product/service to the mature market and enable the total user experience, encompassing the product/service, the user and the environment.
We are involved in designing, versioning, R&D and marketing of products and services for the senior market.
We offer full outsourced services or work as a 3 age expert house in consultation and expert analysis with existing R&D, development and design functions within the organization.
Senior Touch provides the following services for 3rd age market:
Design, research, versioning and out-sourced development of 3rd age products.
Expert analysis and 3rd age related Strategic Consulting services.
Usability tests, User Interfaces, man-machine interaction,
3rd age related research.
Are you active in the Israeli market or do you see yourselves as an international expert house?
Senior Touch is definitely an international expert house. Mature people are a horizontal segment with needs and decline in performance that is universal
We originally started out in
My partner, Prof. Ron Nabarro is one of the world’s renowned industrial designer who specializes in 3rd age related universal design. He lectures in conferences, does workshops world wide on design for older adults, and acts a jury member in important international design award competitions. We also are active in international organizations dealing with design, ergonomics user interface and gerontechnology.
Additionally, in todays global markets developing a products or services is done in many cases with a global view in mind. E.g. we were recently involved in an interesting project where we had to built a universal multi-cultural instructions manual for a medical device for home usage that had to overcome age and cultural barriers and simplify set up, activation and monitoring for home users. Home based medical devices require complex skills, especially with elder patients. Reading instructions on a digital screen and understanding the meaning of sound and visual alarms, remembering steps and planning ahead. Ageing home users may have many contingencies that complicate their understanding – such as age related decline in cognitive, physical and mental capabilities, condition related, impairments, technophobia, medications, language and visual communication barriers, etc.
We solved it through simplified visually based directions that answered both age and cultural gaps.
Are you interested in co-operations and alliances?
Senior Touch strongly believes in cooperation, joint ventures and alliances. We are developing proprietary concepts and design products platforms. Being a 3rd age expert house we cannot develop expertise in all vertical niches. We strongly cherish co-operations where we, together with a strategic partner in the relevant niche will conceptualize, design, develop and market the product/service.
As we have a strategic focus on bridging of the 3rd age related digital divide. especially in areas of IT, digital information and communication platforms, devices, products and services, medical devices, self-diagnostics, tele-medicine we will be happy to join hands with high-tech, appliances manufacturers and service providers to adapt Interfaces, appliances, applications and services to the modified skills of more elderly users, enable accessibility and man-machine interaction based on age-related ergonomic, sensory and cognitive factors, adapt user interfaces to age-related contingencies and offer new services that will enable independent living in the natural surrounding.
How would you estimate the potential growth of the 3rd age market in
In my opinion the potential growth of the 3rd age market in
To conclude –our pioneering offering of enabling usability and user friendliness can significantly enhance results to manufacturers and marketers. We see great importance in advocating the need to adapt to the needs and life style of mature consumers. I will be happy to engage in a dialog that will further this awareness from which all can benefit.
I can be reached at ayala@senior-touch.com