Marketing to your audience means you have to step outside the box of your normal routine to gain attention and inform potential prospects about who you are and what you have to offer.
This is especially true for residential assisted living homes across the country.
America does not have enough senior living homes for the rapidly aging population, but that fact alone is not enough to fill the beds in your RAL home.
Therefore, effective marketing is a must.
According to the AARP, 86% of adults over 65 plan to stay in their homes for the remainder of their lives.
So, how can senior living homes best get prospects to consider them as an elder care option?
After all, most seniors don’t want to live in a large nursing home.
MAKING A FIRST IMPRESSION
To start, you have to make a strong first impression.
Most prospects select a senior living community within the first six months of looking. Most families are likely to only visit about three or four assisted living communities.
This means you must motivate your prospects into considering your RAL home. This is why marketing and advertising to your audience are critical to the success of your business.
3 Principles of Successful RAL Advertising
- Be meaningful
- Be compelling
- Be visible
You need to make sure your RAL home is on the top of their list of choices – and you’d better do it fast – meaningful marketing matters.
SECURING YOUR SPOT IN THE BUSINESS
Securing your spot in the industry requires making your assisted living home relevant to seniors and their loved ones.
Meaningful marketing should be one of your top priorities.
What are some of the most compelling reasons prospects should take a closer look at your home?
There are a variety of things to look for that determines what makes your RAL home different and better.
Options Prospects Consider When Choosing an Assisted Living Facility
- Location
- Size
- Services
- Transitions to Higher Care
- Cost
- Culture
Determining what makes you different and better can be a tricky proposition. It’s important to recognize that not every prospect for senior living is right for your community.
Your marketing strategy should not trick a prospect into visiting your RAL home. Be upfront about the lifestyle and services that each prospect needs and wants.
Every individual is different – all seniors are not the same – if you have met one elderly person you have not met them all.
Remember, one size does not fit all.
This mindset and approach usually lead to wasted money, time, and a defeating experience for your marketing team.
Securing your spot in the business will require an intentional effort of highlighting the unique features and culture of your RAL home.
KNOWING YOUR COMPETITION
Why is it important to know your competition?
In order to create a selling proposition that separates you from other assisted living homes, you will need to know how competing communities present themselves.
This requires a thorough market analysis of your local competitors, their marketing communications, and identifying what is your best message.
After identifying what various assisted living sources are saying about themselves, you can target a meaningful marketing message.
This message should identify distinct differences from your direct competitors.
Afterward, you will be able to create a selling message that makes your RAL home stand out amongst the competition and target the right audience.
Keeping Your RAL Home Relevant
Determining what makes your community different and better than competing options is just the start.
In order to stay relevant, your marketing methods must be compelling.
Prospective residents and their families want to hear more about your RAL home than features and amenities.
Prospects need a firsthand experience – your marketing should compel them to visit your assisted living home.
This firsthand experience will allow you to stand out as a special place for senior living.
Remember, up to 90 percent of your prospects will check out your community online before deciding to schedule a personal visit.
Your website will determine whether or not most people will even take the next step to visit your home.
This decision will be made before they even leave your home page – other pages on your site are necessary, but the home page is key.
Be competitive.
If your home page does not quickly and clearly communicate what makes your RAL home worth taking a further look, you won’t capture those prospects.
The same principle holds true for your sales literature, including brochures, print ads, and promotional videos.
If you don’t explain your “big why” immediately, you will lose the attention of your audience.
State why your community is different and better up front, otherwise, most people will not click on your subsequent pages.
Marketing That Is Meaningful, Compelling and Visible
Being meaningful is unquestionably the foundation for all effective advertising.
I. Be Meaningful
Meaningful advertisement answers the following three questions:
- Why should people pay attention to your community?
- What do you offer that will make them consider transitioning from their homes to your assisted living community?
- What makes your community different and better than others?
Answering these questions accurately and specifically will put you well on your way to filling beds in your RAL home.
Your advertising campaign must also be compelling in order to demand the attention of your audience.
II. Be Compelling
This means your message must demonstrate value. As a result, ask yourself the following questions to make sure that your marketing is compelling and quick:
- How compelling is your website?
- How compelling are your print ads?
- How compelling are your brochures?
- How compelling are your promotional videos?
Your compelling marketing should create an incentive for your prospect to take a deeper look at your RAL home.
While ensuring that your message is compelling, this means you must also make sure your communication is focused on the reader.
Always stay on point and drive home your strongest and most meaningful message.
Lastly, you cannot predict when prospects will transition into your RAL home. Therefore, it is important that your advertising is noticeable.
III. Be Visible
When seniors are motivated to move into assisted living, they expect to be able to easily find your RAL home in the advertising world.
Here are some well-known resources for marketing your RAL home to the right audience:
- Strong solid search engine marketing campaign
- Advertisement in local newspapers
- Direct mail targeting specific demographics
- Referral sources
Adherence to these three principles, “Be Meaningful, Be Compelling and Be Visible” will enable you to step outside the box with successful advertising for your RAL home.
RESIDENTIAL ASSISTED LIVING ACADEMY WILL HELP YOU BROADEN YOUR AUDIENCE
Meaningful marketing is a key component to successfully owning and operating a residential assisted living home. Residential Assisted Living Academy provides ongoing blog content, resources, and literature about best practices.
Learn everything from A-Z about meeting the high demand for senior housing by attending the 3-day course at RAL Academy.
Start by contacting www.RALAcademy.com to get connected to the leaders in the industry and stay ahead of the game.
