Aged care and retirement living: How to stand out in a crowded market.
Australia’s ageing population brings with it lots of opportunities.
For smaller providers and new market entrants alike, a sharp focus on developing your brand offers great benefits. This sets you up for success in the ongoing change to come.
If your organisation can differentiate itself from its competitors in a unique way it will have a competitive advantage. This positions you to be able to accelerate growth and harness market expansion.
The right aged care marketing strategy clearly communicates your organisation’s appeal and points of difference in a compelling way to consumers.
How to define your aged care or retirement living organisation’s point of difference
Defining your organisation’s point of difference is a broader, deeper observation than simply one or two features of your service offering.
This process starts with a deep appreciation of what sets you apart. In our retirement living and aged care consultancy relationships, we advise clients on the following:
- Understand your competition
Who are your direct competitors, indirect competitors and substitutes for your service (e.g. staying put or downsizing)?
Your competition may include direct and indirect competitors. For example, while other villages might be your direct competition, retirees seeking to downsize may be looking at apartment living in their local neighbourhood — not just retirement villages.
Customer research can be helpful here. What comes to a customer’s mind first when they think of each brand within your competitive set? What service features or attributes do your competitors emphasise on their websites?
- Work out your competitive positioning
Once you know who your competition is, you can map your organisation’s position in your relevant aged care market. Put simply, you now know what you’re up against — which, in turn, helps define your point of difference.
The positioning matrix is a good tool to map out where you stand in your market segment. In comparing key characteristics of your village or home care service, consider price and perceptions of quality. Decide where your competitors fit on the matrix vis-à-vis your service offering.
What you learn from this exercise will bring together all the elements that comprise your business: your brand, values and services and how they interconnect with your strategy and culture. This is your special sauce — your organisation’s unique and enticing offering. Your brand promise.
- Hone your aged care marketing focus
When you hone your marketing focus, customers will know why they should buy from you and not your competitors.
Remember, while tangible benefits are essential, it’s the intangible features that often have the biggest influence over whether a prospective resident will choose to move to your aged care organisation or retirement village — or purchase your home care service.
The intangible benefits you offer might include an active lifestyle, a warm social community, peace of mind, pride and security.
What attributes do you want your brand to own? What can you say that is truly authentic to your village? What do existing residents tell you? The answers to these questions will define why customers purchase from you.
Retirement and aged care marketing consultancy
Offering a breadth of strategic and tactical marketing services, Edmonds Marketing is trusted by long-term clients in Aged Care, Retirement Living and Home Care across Australia.
Our Edmonds Marketing team combines strategic industry counsel with highly skilled aged care marketing consultancy experience. We have supported leading brands across the Australian aged care and retirement living market for many years.
Our background in strategic marketing allows us to help our clients navigate a changing market environment and expand through new market development.
Visit us online to find out more, or read our most recent blogs including
How to attract and retain the best with a stand-out employee value proposition.
Stay ahead of the competition in a changing Aged Care market.
