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If you’ve been following this topic, you’ve read about the importance, especially among operating communities, of maintaining consistency with your marketing efforts. Next, let’s look closely at how these program tactics can be most efficiently delivered. 

Sometimes, we hear about the desire to “cast a wide net” with marketing messages, to reach out far and wide, both geographically and demographically. Yet in today’s information-saturated environment, targeted marketing efforts are shown time and again to be most effective. When retirement communities identify and hone in on new prospects who are most likely to have an interest in their particular product offering and location, they benefit from less wasted coverage (and the dollars that go with it), higher closing ratios and shorter sales gestation periods. Think about it this way: If birds of a feather flock together, then you need only determine which species fits your resident profile, find out where they nest and take your net there. 

Certainly, any senior living community would appreciate deep-penetrating, market-wide awareness. However, the effort to achieve that level of brand recognition – and to sustain it as the prospect base turns over – is not only immense, it’s unnecessary. By strategically defining your target audience and communicating consistently with them, versus blanketing the market with a shotgun approach, I think you’ll find that the number of qualified, interested prospects coming through the door won’t be much different. The real difference will be in the saved time and money spent communicating with the “just looking,” “too expensive,” “we’ll wait and see” crowd. This, of course, does not rule out the possibility that prospects outside your target profile may move to your community.  It simply means that you won’t be wasting resources searching for that rare needle in a haystack.

So how do you go about defining and reaching your target market? Operating communities are in the enviable position of having a wealth of customer data from which to build a buyer profile.  Your current residents can tell you a lot about your future buyers, from geographic response patterns to socio-economic trends that go beyond age and financial qualifications. This information can be applied to purchased-list criteria for direct mail tactics – the most targeted of them all – so you can deliver your message directly into the mailboxes of prospects who match the characteristics of a likely buyer. This data can also help you evaluate and select the right traditional media vehicles to reach your target audience. Then it’s just a matter of delivering messages that address their motivations and concerns.

Speaking of message: There’s no sense in going to the trouble of targeting your audience if you don’t craft a message that speaks to them specifically. Don’t try to be all things to all people. Stand in the shoes of that prospect and see what your community looks like through their eyes. What do they really want, and how can you best communicate that your community will deliver it? Identifying your target market makes positioning and promoting your community easier, more successful and ultimately more cost-effective. Anything else is a waste of time and money.