The care home sector is highly competitive, and even a well rated facility needs a good marketing strategy to attract interest and maintain full occupancy. Here are a few ideas to ensure that your care home is well promoted and makes a positive first impression on visiting potential residents and their families.
Target the right audience
In most circumstances, you will probably be reaching out to the families of potential residents, rather than the residents themselves. Therefore your marketing literature should make it very clear that you will be treating their loved ones with the very best care and respect.
Ask yourself if you would be willing to place your own parents in the facility, and if so, what is it about the home and the staff that make it special? Focusing on some individual stories of past residents can make your marketing materials sound more personal and convincing.
The more unique selling points you can find, the more reason people will have to choose your care home over a competitor.
Make a strong first impression
Most people make up their minds about a place within the first few minutes of entering. Therefore, it’s important to create a positive first impression. Make sure that the reception staff are well trained to greet each visitor attentively and assist them promptly to look around and meet key members of the staff.
The decor and furnishings should be in good condition and tastefully chosen to create a comfortable and welcoming atmosphere. The smell is also important, as the right fragrance can trigger emotional connections much more powerfully than any of our other senses.
An air freshener for nursing homes can mask any unpleasant odours and create the impression of a clean and well run care facility.
Have a strong online presence
It is important not to ignore the power of digital marketing, even if your target audience is more senior. In most cases, it will be the children or other younger relatives who are doing the research on behalf of their family member. A professional website with user friendly and helpful content is therefore a must-have.
Ensure that the web content is written in a welcoming manner that is clear and easy to understand. Choosing a care home is a huge decision, both emotionally and financially.
The tone of your website should therefore be reassuring and friendly, to help the user feel that this really will be a home from home where their loved one will be treated as part of the family. Accompany the written content with high quality images that show the facilities off to their best advantage.
Offline marketing channels
In some cases, residents may carry out their own research, or the relative doing the looking may be more senior themselves. Therefore it’s important to have some more traditional marketing outlets. A high quality brochure or leaflets that can be left at doctor’s surgeries, community centres and so on is a good starting point.
