“Help, I’ve fallen and can’t get up!”
This past week I’ve been largely immobile, recovering from some badly pulled back muscles, and thus had a lot of time to “just think.” In creeping around the house taking care of necessary chores I got to thinking: what about the “extremely single” market sector? Sure, some folks are beginning to catch on that us aging baby boomers are a key market and that women make most of the purchase decisions (and we don’t all like pink.) However, there is a growing segment of our society for whom single is a way of life, not a temporary condition.
Seems to me most of “singles marketing” is geared toward helping us poor desperate souls find a mate - speed dating, tons of books, etc. I just googled “Happy singles” resulting in a long, long list of dating and matchmaking services. Hmmm…if you’re so happy single, why are you working so hard to couple up? There’s a sad air of desperation around so much of this. Even the Happily Single web site is a dating service.
But what about those who are happy living alone? Now, some of my favorite people are men - among many wonderful experiences, I once spent an incredible weekend in Paris with the Love of my Life. And, I’ve got friends who would bail me out of jail at 3 a.m. - no questions asked. However, what I could really use sometimes is somebody to clean the cat boxes, do the grocery shopping, and take the car to the mechanic. There are, of course, personal shopping and “rent a handyman” services out there, but I’ve yet to see one that specifically targets “extremely single” - taking into consideration our often crazy hours and “once in a while” needs. And, what happens if and when I do fall and can’t get up?
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October 8th, 2005 at 11:47 am
For me it was the friend who bailed me out of jail at 4 a.m. that made it onto my all time favorite people list. In this case the friend was a woman, but I will love her forever for it.
There was a poll a while back that asked men and women if they were happier married or single. the men said overwhelminigly happier married. The women…..happier single.
I think you’re really on to something with this services for singles and their once in a while needs.
Badly pulled back muscles? Were you bungee jumping again? Rest up and feel better soon. Use Arnica.
October 10th, 2005 at 8:40 am
Of course, these days, it’s not even remotely possible I’d end up anywhere at 3 a.m. - way past my 10:30 bed time.
Yes, women tend to do better when single then men. We do things like buy bed linens (and wash them), cook for ourselves and just generally “nest.” Now, if we just had products and services that were specifically designed/targeted to us (the extremely single of both sexes.)