Chris Young
It may sound silly to ask about the ideal target market for assisted living centers since the answer is usually assumed to be senior citizens.
However, when you begin to dig down below seniors in general, there are other key stakeholders and even micro-markets that can be targeted to increase sales in assisted living. Seniors are most frequently the target market for nearly most assisted living centers, but the decision about which center and when is one that’s often made in a family context, making the family part of the target market.
Furthermore, there are seniors that require different types of care such as Alzheimer and Dementia care, palliative care, and other seniors who are largely independent but still need a helping hand with some tasks. Even beyond identifying which target market your senior living center should focus on, the question of how and where to reach them follows close behind. In fact, finding the right market and then reaching them in the right way at the right time is one of the biggest factors in finding a continuous stream of growth.
The target market isn’t nearly as well defined as just saying “anyone above the age of 75.” Finding an assisted living home for a loved one is one of the biggest decisions a family can ever make; it’s the same caliber as the conversation that a younger family with children would have about the school district and the neighborhood they’ll live in. In other words–it’s a family discussion where a number of voices are heard to do what’s in the best interest of the parent or grandparent. With this information in mind, assisted living centers should focus on the family as a target market since they frequently have a say in where their loved one will live. Neglecting to create marketing materials and messaging for them would be a grave mistake.
The messaging for caretakers, while it should share some central points with the messaging directed at seniors, will differ somewhat. Right now, the Baby Boomer Generation–those becoming residents–is most concerned about being able to carry on their legacy and feel a sense of purpose, even while in an assisted living environment. Interestingly enough, even creature comforts and amenities often take a back seat to this desire. These facts should be noted when planning marketing campaigns directed at seniors.
The current caretakers of seniors, on the other hand, are far more concerned about the quality of care and the quality of life that their aging parents and grandparents will have. Centers should take care to make materials speaking to both seniors and their adult children with the messaging that most directly addresses their concerns and needs.
Another way to identify different target markets for seniors is to focus on different types of care that seniors need. Seniors can run the spectrum from palliative care patients who need intensive attention, to seniors that are almost totally independent and may even still drive and run their own errands. A target market for an assisted living center that focuses on memory care will differ significantly from a center that focuses on palliative care or independent living.
Assisted living centers will generally specialize in one or a few of these areas and this specialization will help to determine what the target market is. The messaging should be tailored to the different kinds of care that a center can provide and the corresponding pain points.
Attracting assisted living residents requires a combination of creating the right messaging, disseminating that messaging on the right channels, and sending it to the right people. Digital marketing has by far become one of the most popular and effective ways to achieve this end.
Search engine optimization for assisted living centers is one of the best ways to reach new residents and their current caretakers. SEO focuses on elevating a website’s organic ranking on the search engine results page (SERP). This organic approach requires a significant investment into the user experience, content creation, and the “technical” side of website creation. However, the results, once achieved, are relatively easy to maintain and don’t require a continual flow of advertising money the way that paid advertising does. Implementing an SEO strategy for assisted living will help facilities to reach their target market whenever a prospect searches a relevant keyword on a major search engine.
Lead generation and PPC for assisted living facilities is one of the most powerful ways for centers to increase inquiries and residency. Lead Generation works by using PPC campaigns along with specialized landing pages to attract individuals searching for assisted living centers in a given geographical area.
This works first by leveraging the power of search engines such as Google and Bing and creating pay-per-click (PPC) advertisement campaigns. These campaigns target keywords such as “assisted living facilities near me” and other relevant phrases for which your center may appear. After a prospect clicks on the advertisement, the lead generation methodology will send them to a customized landing page where they can get more information and then take further action. This method is effective for reaching both seniors and their families in the initial information gathering stage. The key during this phase is to create an excellent first impression by becoming a valuable and trusted source of information. If assisted living centers can achieve this, there’s a fair chance they can convert the prospect into a resident.
Content creation for assisted living involves creating blogs, videos, guides, and more regarding the assisted living and care process. At the beginning stages the different assisted living target markets will be looking for information to help inform their decisions about all of the options available. Creating content that addresses these different questions and concerns is a great way to brand yourself as a trusted authority and generate interest in your assisted living center.
For example, Alzheimers and dementia care may want to create content around coping with the diagnosis of a family member and different ways to care for a family member who’s been diagnosed. Palliative care may want to create resources around end of life care and the process of helping a loved one make the transition into palliative care. More independent-living facilities may want to create materials about the benefits of independent living and all of the activities that their residents can enjoy. The most important aspect to consider is creating content that addresses the different questions and concerns that many seniors and their families may have. As an added benefit, many of the different pieces of content will help with search engine optimization which increases the organic ranking of a website.
Selecting the right target market for assisted living facilities requires a combination of planning, stakeholder identification, and reaching the right people through the right channels. When all of this is planned with the proper data and proper execution, the results can bring in new residents by the dozen, ensuring a continual flow of revenue and satisfied families. Identifying the right market will sometimes be as easy as choosing a speciality (like palliative care or independent living). Other times there is far more thought that must go into choosing a target market.
Regardless of your strategy or speciality, reaching the right assisted living target market requires a good deal of expertise with implementing the right strategies in the right ways. Partnering with an assisted living marketing agency can go a long way towards helping to identify the right target market and reaching them with a compelling message. Get in touch with Be More Digital today to learn more about how we can help your senior living centers grow consistently and predictably, or take a look at one of our senior living case studies to see past success stories.
.png)
