The Oregon Business Coach

Looking for recession proof business activity? There are still under served markets where competitors work cooperatively to serve their customers!

One of the first rules of marketing is to identify groups of people that have needs that are not being met, and then move to satisfy the need you have identified.

Strange as it may seem in this economy, there is a large market who's needs are not being well met. Ellen Brant PhD, in her article Recession, What Recession, points out that population demographics are key to understanding where there is a profitable and burgeoning market.

According to Dr Brant, the senior services sector is growing at an accelerating pace even now! Based on my own experience with an aging mother, there is a real need for those who can help seniors when family cannot (or will not) give immediate aid.

Brant points out that, while senior services does not have the allure of high tech industry, neither did computers or the geeks that programmed them in the 70s.

When I think of senior services, the image in my own mind is helping someone down the hall. This image is unfair and is limiting. Brand has a business called Lifestories Unlimited, videotaping the autobiographies of "ordinary" (often extraordinary) elders, ultimately enriching the lives of all of us. She points out that, while elders do have some specialized needs, they also have core needs for many of the same services as the rest of us-- Legal, medical, social workers, skilled and unskilled.

Others with temporary or permanent disabilities share needs with the elder group. A year ago I had some knee problems and it was hard just getting groceries on a budget or making a trip to the hardware store to make a household repair...

Addressing these needs is not glamorous but it is personally rewarding for the provider, and it produces genuine value for the customer-- a substantial increase in quality of life for the person served. From a marketing point of view, an additional benefit is that the highly relational service can generate intense customer loyalty.

Take a look at Ellen's article!

The Coach

http://oregonbusinesscoach.net

References:

Brant, E. (Aug 2009) Recession? What Recession? Not in the Senior Services Sector.Retrieved on 17 Aug 2009 from http://elleninteractive.wordpress.com/2009/08/01/recession-what-recession-not-in-the-senior-services-sector