The community of choice strategy: ten steps to creating unmistakable value at your senior living facility.

Editor's Note: This is part two of a two-part series. "Changing Psychographics" Residents are demanding more as their perception of value changes" ran in September 2003.

Last time, this column introduced the benefits and rationale for creating a senior living "Community of Choice." A true community of choice should deliver three superior benefits: 1. Provide an attractive physical plant, 2. Offer flexible value enhanced services, and 3. Deliver an extraordinary quality-of-life experience. In return, you should enjoy higher occupancies, optimum pricing and improved financial operating margins.

The alternative is to be perceived as yet another price-sensitive commodity --just like your competitors.

Defining quality of life is, at best, an elusive concept: Most of us are on a constant search for self-fulfillment. Residents of senior living communities have more limited options and a shorter lifespan. In the course of my work, I've lived briefly in more than 50 independent and assisted living communities so that I can gain a deeper understanding of a senior's real-life situation.

While the typical stay is only several days, I always mingle and dine with the residents, Seniors have stories of a lifetime of distinguished achievements. They want to share these accomplishments with anyone who will patiently listen. Many also have untapped artistic and intellectual talents that, properly structured, would significantly enhance their life satisfaction, The ladies want me to sit and hold hands. Many men want to reminisce about war and workplace battles won and lost. I've seen the staff hug them, call them by their first names, and monitor their well-being. But as an 85-year-old lady told me at dinner one evening, "I just want to talk to someone from the outside world who is really interested in what I have to say."

Providing a value-enhanced community of choice isn't easy and it can be moderately expensive--but the payoff can be significant. Owner/operators must first create unmistakable value. Here is a 10-point program.

1. Give your community a modest makeover. Optimize first impressions of your community in areas such as signage, landscaping and interior design. The cost will depend upon the age of your community.

2. Zero-base your existing operations, Efficient operations should deliver financial ratios consistent with recognized industry benchmarks.

3. Get inside the minds of your residents. Talk to your residents, individually and in small groups, to get their practical ideas on how to enhance value and improve their quality of life.

4. Walk in your residents' shoes. Project yourself 30 or 40 years into the future and ask the defining question, "What would I really want out.... of life at age 80?" It's safe to say your answer might be, "not exactly what I find in my community today." Explore this hypothetical further by considering what's acceptable in areas such as living arrangements, services, affordability, and staff responsiveness. Use these items as a punch list for improvements.

5. Focus more activities on daily life. Quality-of-life attributes that are really important to seniors include adventures, nostalgia, new experiences, individual recognition, intellectual stimulation and self-expression.

6. Promote health and wellness activities. Don't overdo it with highly restrictive, structured programs. Provide residents with practical advice, flexible program content and realistic expectations.

7. Encourage your staff to take ownership in new initiatives. It's also time to revisit volunteerism. While successful volunteerism exists on some campuses, it has not worked for many others due to the lack of a structured master plan. The new era of volunteerism involving specific family members may be the answer. These individuals are more committed stake holders who have a vested interest in their loved one at the community. Also, consider using some of your talented residents as volunteers. Helping others could enhance their quality of life.

8. Develop a "you talked, we listened" market positioning strategy. Your market positioning could be: "The Gardens at Westridge--the Community of Choice, Anytown, U.S.A.

9. For seniors, time is not just money--it's life. Many place a higher value on the quality of time remaining in their lives. Make this your central focus when developing your community of choice strategy.

10. Every resident should have an advocate. Some progressive sponsors have assigned a specific staff member to act as a "personal advocate" to look after the unique needs and interests of each resident.

Jim Moore is president of Moore Diversified Services, a Fort Worth, Texas-based national senior housing and health care consulting firm. He is author of Assisted Living 2000 and Assisted Living Strategies for Changing Markets. He may be contacted at [e-mail].