You walk the halls of your senior living community and are proud of the amenities, cleanliness and the recent updates to the community and resident apartments. The cuisine is top notch, and the activities provided during the week are well attended. So, why is your occupancy falling behind?
Well, when it comes to senior living, your community’s branding and positioning is everything! Your community needs to stand for something in order to attract the right residents. To your ideal resident, the community should have an obvious and immediate appeal - it should feel like home. So, what to do?
First, focus on your ideal resident. What kind of person are you trying to attract? What do they value? What kind of lifestyle do they want to lead?
Talk to your current residents. Who are the residents that are the most happy and why? What are the characteristics that they share in common? You will quickly start to discover themes that make your ideal resident clear.
Next, evaluate the experience you are providing. Are there activities, experiences, or physical improvements that could be made to attract more of your ideal resident? These experiences confirm your brand position. It would be a terrible waste of time and money to promise future residents an experience that does not exist within your community.
Finally, leverage current ideal residents’ experiences to attract new ideal residents. Determine where and how these seniors interact with marketing material and meet them where they are. Invite them to visit and spend an afternoon in your community. If you checked-off step one and two, they will feel like your community is a safe space to call home!
Example in the industry. As a final note, if you ever wonder what a clear positioning looks like - visit Priya Senior Living website https://www.priyaliving.com/. I had the privilege of meeting Crissy Tohey, VP of Sales at Priya Senior Living, at SMASH and had the opportunity to congratulate her for their amazing work in bringing the right experience to a very specific consumer target. They know they have a very clear target resident and as a result they are able to market in a very niche way, and consequently attract their ideal resident!
Straight to your inbox
