 |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
||||
 |
|
||||
|
Mature Market Is Huge But Still Untapped ..."In the next 18 months, physical fitness centers will begin to market themselves more to seniors," said Colleen Benecke, publisher of the Hampton Roads Area Senior Source magazine. "Everything from moving companies to banks will begin to advertise to the mature market." In addition to the increase in obvious services for seniors like home health care, an industry that has had explosive growth in Hampton Roads recently, the region also will see the proliferation of new specialty professionals that pitch a product or service directly to the mature market, said Benecke. Her own quarterly magazine, a collection of area resources for seniors that especially targets housing, was launched in the fall of 1999 by Fairfax Publishing Co. Inc., a northern Virginia Company. In February of this year, Targeted Publishing, a division of Pilot Inc., introduced Seniority, also a slick quarterly that blends useful lists for seniors on everything from housing to volunteer opportunities with retail ads and stories. "We sensed the need for a magazine of this population," said Russ Kostinas, general manager of Seniority. "We designed it as a resource guide for family members to start a search of services on the day they get a call that an older parent is in trouble." Kostinas said the magazine has been overwhelmed with calls from retailers who want to participate and industry people in search of copies. "We're increasing the press run by 10 percent a quarter because of the demand," he said. Attorney groups that specialize in elder law, financial professionals who pay a senior's bills, caterers who deliver home-cooked meals and movers who have been trained to pack up a beloved 50-year-old household are just some of the products and services that will continue to proliferate as the Boomers age. Sue Cunningham of Virginia Beach is a Certified Senior Advisor, a designation created by a group of medical and other professionals specializing in senior services in 1996. Several days of intense study of the aging process from many angles culminate in an exam before certification from the Society of Certified Senior Advisors is conferred. Cunningham, whose company is the Senior Resources Group, connects seniors and their families to available local resources when they don't have a clue. The first step is usually several meetings with the senior and / or family members. "This person has never been a senior before so thy don't know where to find anything," said Cunningham, one of about 8,000 who have enrolled in the CSA course nationwide. "My job is to fill the 'what now' gap. I find that housing is just the tip of the iceberg. A senior may not want to cook but also doesn't want Meals on Wheels. I present other options"...
|
 |
 What should I look for in an assisted-living community? Find the answers to this an other questions in our Frequently Asked Questions area.
Get your free monthly E-zine
|
|
|
|
|||||
 |
|
||||
