The latest trading performance reveal significant untapped potential in how later living and care homes attract and convert prospective residents.
Presenting later living and care homes effectively is not just about showcasing services—it’s about creating emotional connection and trust. Families and potential residents are making difficult decisions in emotionally charged situations, which requires a sophisticated approach to relationship-building and conversion.
Retirement villages and care homes are offering something no one truly wants or need, making the challenge even greater. To truly drive sustainable occupancy growth, communities must focus on transforming the customer journey—from raising awareness to handling enquiries and guiding families through to admissions. Many providers are still missing key opportunities. Too often, communities fall short in delivering the basics well, leading to lost enquiries and missed revenue potential.
Critical areas needing improvement include:
- Generating Quality Leads: It’s essential to attract the right audience from the outset through targeted campaigns, high-value content, and strategic outreach across multiple channels, including community out-reach, digital marketing, partnerships, referral networks, local events, print ads, and door drops.
- Empathetic First Contact: Enquiries must be handled with care, expertise, and emotional sensitivity, recognising the difficult decisions families and residents face.
- Personalised Tours: Showrounds should go beyond listing services, highlighting quality of life benefits such as personalised care plans, engaging activities, and the warmth of community life.
- Showcasing the Lifestyle: Highlighting the warm, vibrant community where residents enjoy meaningful connections, engaging activities, and a fulfilling lifestyle
- Clear Value Communication: Families need transparent, outcome-driven explanations of the value of care—focusing on dignity, well-being, and peace of mind, not just amenities.
- Consistent Post-Visit Engagement: A large number of communities do not follow-up effectively after visits, losing potential residents and families who may need further reassurance or time to decide.
Data is king – tracking the right metrics:
To ensure the customer journey is effective, businesses need to track key performance metrics, including:
- Monthly Lead Generation: Number of leads that meet predefined criteria indicating genuine interest or fit.
- Monthly Visits: The number of on-site or virtual tours conducted within the month.
- Monthly Admissions: The total number of new residents admitted each month.
- Lead Source Performance: Breakdown of leads by marketing channel (e.g., online ads, social media, referrals, events) to identify the most effective sources.
- Average Cycle Length: The average time from initial lead generation to a confirmed purchase / admission.
- Monthly Marketing Spend: Total amount spent on marketing each month.
- Website Traffic: Total visitors to the website and engagement rates for the month.
- Social Media: Total followers and engagement on platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
The Opportunity:
Investing in marketing and relationship-building efforts is not a luxury—it’s essential. The cost per acquisition is often minimal compared to the hundreds of thousands in lifetime revenue generated from new residents. By focusing on consistency and excellence throughout the entire customer journey, later living and care homes can significantly impact both occupancy rates and short- and long-term growth. The data is clear: doing the fundamentals well is not just good practice—it’s essential for both immediate results and lasting success.
It’s time for operators to move beyond filling rooms and start focusing on creating an inspiring customer journey that builds confidence, trust, and emotional connection with families.
If you need an expert in this area, contact Ali
