Assisted living marketing: the 10 essentials.

It's a different challenge for the nursing home operator. Are you ready?

The variety of definitions for assisted living generally describes a program of care and service that falls between independent living and long-term care. This broad description translates into a program designed for a small market segment - individuals who need and want assistance with activities of daily living, and who will use assisted living services for an abbreviated period before requiring higher levels of care.

Long-term care operators who plan to develop an assisted living program should know that such a program presents unique marketing challenges on several counts:

1. Consumers either do not fully understand or are confused about the assisted living concept. This confusion is perpetuated by the industry's use of so many different terms, definitions and service models.

2. There is a brief timeline for consumer decision-making. If the marketing message reaches the consumer too soon, their reaction is "I'm not ready yet." If the message reaches the consumer too late, the individual may need a higher level of care than that traditionally provided in an assisted living environment.

3. Assisted living promotions require an informed blend of referral-based marketing and the use of technical advertising vehicles such as newspaper and direct mail marketing. For operators who are not accustomed to these more advanced marketing strategies, assisted living can be a formidable endeavor.

While the marketplace may be primed for the assisted living concept, a traditional long-term care operator may not be ready for the marketing investment this program requires. It involves ten essential elements that make this process different from long-term care marketing. Long-term care operators should:

1. Use market research to determine if a demand exists for assisted living services and if the consumer is willing to pay for them. While there is generally a demonstrated need for ADL support among the older adult market, research indicates that a good portion of this market will use the services of a family member or home care agency. In essence, the first lines of competition are programs and people who enable consumers to remain in their own homes.

2. Design a market-driven service package. The industry is learning that three meals a day and a semiprivate room are not the consumer's idea of the American dream. Choice is the name of the game in assisted living marketing. The consumer must be provided with a variety of options in accommodations, ranging from studios to two bedroom apartments, and a flexible service package, from meals to ADL support. Accommodations, services and financial programs must be tailored to the consumer's needs and desires.

3. Draft a marketing plan and mobilize all marketing resources eight to twelve months in advance of facility opening. The physical launch of the premarketing program should occur three to four months prior to opening. One implication of this timetable is that the operator is spending money well in advance of realizing income from occupied units.

4. Because the health status of this market is so variable and subject to rapid change, operators should anticipate a 50% or greater attrition rate during pre-sales and post-opening marketing phases. The marketing goal must therefore identify the number of sales required to offset attrition and realize census targets. Be prepared to sustain an ongoing marketing program.

5. Educate the market early and often through a multifaceted marketing program. Education occurs at three levels: 1) building awareness about the assisted living concept; 2) communicating how assisted living is an attractive alternative to the consumer's current situation; and 3) describing how the operator's program differs from competing assisted living offerings.

6. Employ a full-time staff person who is responsible for marketing and sales. Assisted living marketing is time-consuming, what with its responsibilities for community outreach and multiple sales contacts with prospective residents and family members. This position should not be burdened with administrative tasks that detract from the primary goal of census stabilization. As a rule, 70% of staff time should be devoted to working with prospects and the balance allocated to strategic networking with important influentials in the medical, legal and financial fields. (For a "snapshot" of the audience you'll be marketing to, see Target Market Groups, p. 31).

7. Include strategies in the marketing program that target the audiences for assisted living: the prospective resident, the adult child and decision influencers (e.g., personal physicians). These three audiences have different information needs and utilize different information sources - e.g., prospective residents are interested in comparisons with their home environment; family members are interested in costs; the decision influencers want to know about the competence of staff.

8. Implement an aggressive strategic networking program - an organized community outreach effort aimed at introducing the facility to prospective residents and people in the community who may ultimately lead these residents and their relatives to the facility. It is important to cast a wide net in order to reach various community, civic, health care, senior and other social groups that can furnish potential residents and their families with information about area service options.

9. Supplement strategic marketing with direct mail or newspaper advertising, especially in the initial marketing stage. Though eventually a majority of assisted living inquirers will come from referrals, this occurs after an assisted living facility has established a quality reputation. These powerful communication tools, used upfront, will educate and engage the interest of multiple audiences until the product matures.

10. If at all possible, use a marketing information system (MKIS) to catalog and analyze data about prospective resident demographics, marketing program performance and the productivity/performance of the sales team. These data are used to determine which aspects of the program need to be modified to meet census goals. One such software package is marketed by Ideal Software, Inc., of Tampa, FL.

In general, the assisted living product does not move as quickly or as easily as the need-driven product of long-term care. The ten essentials described here represent the minimum standards for an operator to observe to ensure facility success. If one can't tolerate or afford the time and expense involved, assisted living is not a realistic option.

RELATED ARTICLE: TARGET MARKET GROUPS

Health Care Professionals

Doctors Discharge planners Home health agencies Hospital volunteers Nursing homes Assisted living communities Retirement communities Case managers

Religious Community

Senior Bible study groups Clergy Ecumenical groups Church social gatherings

Senior Networks

AARP Area Agency on Aging Senior centers All supports groups Senior educational programs (i.e., Donovan Scholars, Elder Hostel, Life Enrichment)

Legal and Financial Community

Bankers Trust officers Financial planners Estate planners/Attorneys

Business Professionals

Employers Media officials Auctioneers Morticians/Funeral home directors Library Chamber of Commerce Real estate appraisers/Brokers

Philanthropic Groups

Universities Vocational schools College alumni

Phyllis M. Thornton is President of Signum Marketing Services and a principal of Ethos, Inc., Louisville, Kentucky, firms which specialize in marketing programs designed for the long-term care, assisted living and retirement housing industries.