Marketing and PR Agency Reveals Who is Searching for Senior Living in 2021
Senior living marketing and public relations agency Craft & Communicate (C&C) dove into a year’s worth of data to see who is more likely to look into senior housing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This past year brought a lot of change due to the COVID-19 pandemic. There is no doubt that it has touched every person’s life in some way. The senior housing industry felt the changes in many ways as well, and one of them is how customers or leads are searching for us.
Who exactly is looking into senior living nowadays—the senior or the adult child on his or her behalf? Which services are they looking into when they begin to search?
How This Year Shaped Families Looking into Senior Living
After the recently-published consumer research by ASHA and ProMatura, C&C wanted to expand on what their data revealed. It states that the pandemic had no impact on a senior’s or adult child’s likelihood to consider senior living.
It also states that 75 to 85 percent of the respondents are seniors making their own decisions, typically about independent living. Adult children are more often looking into assisted living or memory care.
“The majority of prospects who responded to the survey were shopping for an independent living community while the majority of adult children responding for a parent or loved one were shopping for an assisted living or memory care community.”
—Impact of COVID-19 on the Seniors Housing Industry Report
We were curious about our own numbers and if they would corroborate the report. Are seniors or their adult children more likely to search for senior living? Here’s what we found.
The Customer’s Journey in Senior Living
Before presenting our findings, it is important to describe the customer’s journey in senior living. Our audience typically folds two ways, the senior him or herself or the adult child.
Who is the senior?
- 65 years of age or older, however, seniors typically start to look into communities when they’re in the 70–90-year age range.
- Seniors may start to look into communities for a variety of reasons, but we found the main ones are that they no longer want to live alone and wish to have more of a social life, or their health (or a spouses’) has started to decline. Seniors looking into a community could either be by themselves or with a spouse.
- Every day, demographics are changing as baby boomers start to become the ‘senior demographic’.
Who is the adult child?
- The daughter or son of a senior.
- Typically between 40–60 years old, which makes them mostly in the Gen X age group. The Gen X folks are typically self-sufficient, value independence, and maybe a bit stubborn (all are characteristics from which we as senior living marketers can learn and use in our materials to help sell our services to them). They are also pretty tech-savvy since many frequently use their computers and smartphones to interact with others or engage on social media.
- It’s important to build your website with high-quality, informational content, substantial visuals, and reassurance. It is also important for adult children to see their mom or dad in a photo or video on social media. Frequent posting to Facebook, Instagram, or other social media builds trust.
What were the results?
From our own client’s sample of approximately 2,200 online inquiries, we found that around 1,171 leads were looking on their mom or dad’s behalf. Most were looking for their moms. About 1,100 form fills were looking for themselves. People also look for their husband or wife despite making up a smaller percentage, typically after a health diagnosis or situation has occurred. In the comments, all typically ask for services, pricing, and amenities.
Out of all the inquiries, nationwide, the results on who is searching for senior living these days were divided fairly evenly, with adult children slightly in the lead.
Which senior living services are people looking for the most?
Out of the same form fills mentioned above:
- 322 were looking into independent living
- 1,241 assisted living
- 563 memory care
- 27 were personal care, which is a specialized, licensed service in a couple of states like Georgia.
Here’s the interesting tidbit: 22 percent (about 487) simply selected all of the services available in the form and/or the ‘Unsure’ option.
What do the results mean?
Because senior living is an alphabet of different services ranging from active adult and independent living to skilled nursing and assisted living to memory care, the verdict is truly this: many of our leads coming in really don’t know what they are looking for.
Another factor to remember is that we primarily cater to two different audiences and must present accessible, helpful, and trustworthy information to both.
When they start searching for information about senior living, many people do not realize that the industry offers a range of services. It can become overwhelming at an already stressful time in their lives.
When a senior is looking for him or herself and is mostly independent, it is easier to determine that the potential resident needs a 55+ or independent living community rather than assisted living.
When an adult child is looking on a parent’s behalf—whether the search started because of a fall, a recent diagnosis, behavioral changes, or other reasons—it might become a confusing process. The family member may not know how to identify which community is right for his or her loved one’s unique needs.
How does this help me as a senior living operator?
As a guide and educator when it comes to senior housing, we are responsible for defining what each service means for a senior or family member and which one would be the best choice.
The data we analyzed should cause operators to take a step back and consider whether they are explaining their services thoroughly enough through their marketing materials, website, and social media—especially in stressful times, when we are still battling the pandemic.
Are you providing reassurance and helpful information? Does your website have an interactive quiz, blog, or FAQ page to help someone determine which service is right for them? Now more than ever, leads are looking for trust, transparency, experience, and reassurance before committing to a community.
Let C&C Be Your Guide
C&C has years of experience in senior living, web design, content strategy, and more. We make operators’ lives easier and establish trust for people looking into your services. Contact us today to see how our agency can help elevate your brand awareness and strategy.
