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💡 Very niche: Jimmy Buffett retirement living
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In this edition of Very Niche!, check out The New York Times’s recent roundup of niche retirement communities popping up all over the US. (← Free gift article) It’s not just bingo and shuffleboard anymore. From horse lovers to arts enthusiasts to Jimmy Buffett stans, there seems to be a place for everyone as communities seek to attract the massive (and wealthy!) Boomer generation with open arms. Georgetown professor Andrew Carle points to a “Baskin Robbins” effect — suggesting that in every decade, the Boomer generation has set off an assortment boom across product categories simply due to critical mass. “I mean, we’re the reason that Baskin Robbins came up with 31 flavors of ice cream,” he continued. “So when it comes to senior living, why would we settle for vanilla, chocolate, strawberry? We needed more flavors.” But interestingly, in this example, it’s not variety that’s the selling point here. If it were, the communities would be focused on the variety of activities within one community, which is what you’ve seen in the space for decades. Laps in the morning. Tai chi in the afternoon. Mahjong after dinner. Etc. Etc. These new communities may well have those activities, but they are no longer the differentiator. That variety has in itself become generic. What you see here instead is a true niching based on affinity. These communities have stopped trying to appeal broadly (and crudely) to any 62+ senior with a nest egg. Instead, they seek to find a tiny sliver of the mass market, and build a product uniquely for them. On the Latitude Margaritaville website, for example, you won’t find any mention of holistic wellness, or even onsite doctors or staff ratios… What you do see (along with a handy widget to increase the page’s font size) are pictures of drink-swilling 60-somethings living their best life poolside. And why? Because they’ve realized that even if it seems very, very niche… Even if you think “who would want to live in that environment all day every day for YEARS?”… They’ve realized they don’t need millions of residents. They need 3,700 who want *that* life. And guess what. They found them. And now they're building two more locations. 💡 -Wes P.S. - I’m back in Palm Springs this week, taking a break from the sprint schedule and focusing on an outline for my first book! Back to the regular Lightbulb schedule next Monday. ☀️ ⛰️ 📕 |
💡 The Lightbulb
A daily email about monetizing your corporate expertise. Give me ~1 minute a day, and I'll help you turn what you know into your most differentiated and lucrative asset.