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In the course of a day, I probably use the term “senior living” a hundred times. I am sure many of us do. In a recent discussion about a community’s brand position, someone said senior living as casually as I do those hundred times a day. However, this time, when I heard it in the context of the conversation, I didn’t hear senior living, I heard senior
LIVING.

Not really a light bulb moment, as the trend toward wellness and successful aging has been moving our field in this direction for more than ten years. But it got me thinking again about the power of words and their ability to communicate. When I heard LIVING, I heard enrichment, engagement, freedom, independence, connection, comfort and security. I heard all these ideas in that single word, because I know what this particular community and organization does for residents. I have experienced the culture when visiting the community. I have been told, firsthand, about what living at this community means to someone.    

The term senior living caught on many years ago to replace senior housing, a term that best describes the business rather than the benefit. Yet how many senior living providers changed the word, but not the experience. Can you convey living as LIVING? If you think you can, do your communications materials project that? Does a visitor to your community experience it? Are residents telling others about it? Is your marketing focused on bringing this to life for those who don’t know your community?

At your next staff meeting, write Senior LIVING on the board and ask, “If we made that claim, could we stand behind it?” If you can, you have something special.

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