FIRST came the streetwalkers. Without fuss and fanfare they walked into Singapore’s heartlands, saw a 'business' opportunity and grabbed it, way before people realised there was money to be made from retirees.

These 'silver' consumers were perfect clients. They had just withdrawn money from their Central Provident Fund accounts and had time on their hands to spend it.

Then the banks got into the act and started targeting retirees with investment products, some of which seemed on paper to be too good to be true (a suspicion that turned out to be well founded).

Singapore's business community has a less than gleaming record when it comes to engaging older consumers. Most companies fail to grasp the value of the silver dollar and lack effective ways to tap into it.

Official efforts to raise awarenesss began with a very unwieldy sounding 'SICEX 2008 Conference' that brought together professionals, business leaders, policymakers and academics to look at ways of turning silver into gold.

That improved somewhat in January this year, when the government-backed Council For Third Age launched the '50+ Singapore Expo' with more varied consumer items to pull in the crowd.

These days, any company which has designs on the silver dollar has to the navigate a verbal minefield with regards to the proper terms of address.

Depending on where you stand - and how ageist you are - the terms 'uncle' and 'auntie' can be construed as either respectful or insulting, equated with dowdy and haggard.

Other words that raise a red flag are 'senior citizen', 'elderly' and simply 'old man'.

'Silver consumers' is out of the running because silver hair has been banished with hair dye.

And even the seemingly innocent term 'older' is frowned upon by some.

Retail consultant Marie-Louise Jacobsen states: "These customers are not older. They just have lived longer. This is exactly the point Singapore companies should get their heads around. The mind-set of a 50-plus is young."

Even, according to retail expert Lynda Wee, '50-plus' is wrong.

"Please don’t call them 50s, uncles, aunties or even silver-haired. No one aspires to be '50s'," she says.

It's a no-win situation. Salesmen are left with a paltry 'Sir' or 'Ma'am', which are almost unbefitting of our colourful, multi-ethnic and cosmopolitan environment.

While some question the use of labels, British marketing expert Dick Stroud contends that it's not just the labels which are the problem, but the type of labels used.

From the marketing perspective, it is useless to categorise someone as an older consumer without knowing about the consumer's habits and lifestyle choices.

Just saying someone is 60 does not tell us anything about what he likes to eat, how often he travels, what car he drives, which sports he plays, or his approach to life.

As the number of older people in the population swells, ageing should become less of a taboo and people will start to realise that the world need not end if others find out how old they are. Older consumers may also become less sensitive to the variety of labels heaped upon them and their lot.

In the meantime, one thing is for sure. An increasing number of people are living longer and are holding the bucks. In a capitalist economy, that is the final measure of power.

To avoid being left behind by the demographic tide, business owners need only shed their blinkers and follow the money. After all, it’s basic economics. Find out what the customer wants and then give it to him.

It can be simple and fuss-free. Just ask the streetwalkers.