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Retail SMART |
Business to Business: Retirement Communities |
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By:
Dennis A. Conforto
Chairman & CEO of A-Z Media Group, Inc. |
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There are not many retail store business formulas that offer the
options to conduct Business to Business commerce (B2B). The
scrapbooking industry has many options; because of this, we have
dedicated April’s Retail articles to B2B relationships for a
scrapbook store. This week we will discuss Retirement Community
accounts.
Scrapbooks are so much more than a fun way to store photos of
family members. In the last article we discussed Funeral Home
accounts and the great potential for expanding the scrapbooking
category to provide additional value by honoring the deceased’s
life. It is, however, even more natural to look back on one’s
own life to create a scrapbook.
Consider our current population: baby boomers are heading
quickly towards their golden years. As a result, more adults are
moving to retirement communities than ever before. Whatever the
stage of retirement – from early to assisted living –
scrapbooking is the perfect hobby for those looking back on
their lives. It gives them an opportunity to have their lifetime
of memories preserved for future generations.
All across the United States, retirement communities have
activity directors who serve the aging population. They are
always looking for programs that are creative, therapeutic, and
fun for the members of this community.
This new group of retirees has the highest disposable income of
any other retirement group in recorded history. In addition,
they are living longer and are healthier than past generations.
As a result, they have time on their hands to start reflecting
on their past and how to share their stories with future
generations.
Every person has a story to tell; however, few stories are
recorded and remembered. There is a huge market opportunity
here: to help people tell their life stories. To do this, the
industry has to address the needs of the retirement communities.
What can manufacturers do?
We all know that scrapbooking is about chronicling life events.
Some scrapbookers create books for specific occasions; others
create books that tell stories. If manufacturers are going to
capture market share, they must build complete product
collections around occasions and telling life stories. Because
this community is interested in telling a series of stories, a
very different kind of scrapbook is required. Manufacturers
should consider a series of scrapbooks that tell the story of a
full life. The programs would include all three parties: the
activity director of a retirement community, the retiree who
wants to now tell their life story and the retailer.
From a practical standpoint, the retailer needs to provide to
the activity director the class or activity plans for building
the life story scrapbook. The planner will help the activity
director to identify and support each individual’s needs,
occasions, and other pieces of that person’s life that should be
included in the scrapbook. SMART manufacturers will create a
flexible program to build the life series scrapbook.
In a profound way, we can introduce millions to the world of
scrapbooking by providing an impact on the elderly and the
generations to come. This will help the public to comprehend the
deep meaning of a scrapbook. Working with retirement communities
is one of the more profound ways to grow the public interest in
scrapbooking. It is my hope that those of us in the scrapbooking
industry will add this new full-service category.
B2B is the new breath of life the industry needs at this time.
The time has come for us to push harder and faster; to be
smarter and bolder; about products and services. I still
believe, before the end of this year, many in the industry will
understand the needs of this unique industry segment and will
have started to implement a new idea whose time has come… And
that is what being retail SMART is all about. |
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