The options for senior housing are pretty diverse. However, many of these options don’t perfectly align with the needs or wants of today’s seniors.
Ensuring that what you offer as an assisted living business is what seniors want and that you stand out from the rest of the options will only help your business thrive.
The demand is there, and it is only growing over the next two decades; the questions include:
- Are you and your business ready for that demand?
- What is your RAL brand known for in your community?
- Do you even know what people in your community are saying about your brand?
- What changes can you make to your business or how you market your brand that will put you on a better path going forward?
- While many seniors resist senior living when the time comes, will your residential assisted living home meet their desires?
- Is your admissions process easy and does it help seniors transition well?
Many times, prospective customers don’t know about your company or can’t tell the difference between your company and others.
Once you know who your best customers are, it is your job to use your brand to target the group that you’ve identified – even if you have competition.
TARGETING CUSTOMERS WITH YOUR BRAND AND VALUES
Your professional success will likely be determined based on your values.
Your personal values will exude through your work; therefore, it’s essential to identify your values.
When using your personal values as a compass for doing business, it is imperative that you invest time in prioritizing what is important to you. Evaluating your values will help you to determine a concrete brand identity that will best benefit your business – this is called brand identity.
DEVELOPING BRAND IDENTITY
To market your residential assisted living home, you must first define your brand as with anything else.
Afterward, you’ll be able to create a foundation for all your marketing strategies.
You’ll be able to use your brand identity to determine logos, colors, materials, and every other aspect of your marketing efforts.
Branding is critical groundwork.
It will determine the loyalty of your audience, retention of residents, and your competitive advantage.
It is called your brand identity because it is how your audience will perceive you.
Ultimately, no one person is the face of your business more than your brand – your entire audience may never know you personally – but they will connect to your brand.
Use it to establish the personal connection you’ll need to thrive – brand identity leads to effective branding.
To do so, use the following four components to maximize the brand identity of your residential assisted living home:
- Your Visual Identity
- The Voice You Use
- The Value of Your Brand and Business
- The Kind of Personality You Have
These elements come together to create a unique look and tone that will cause your business to evolve.
So, what is your brand identity?
Create a baseline profile of your business that defines who you are, not just what you want your business to be about.
YOUR BRAND SOLVES A PROBLEM
People are typically interested in companies that solve a problem or make it easier to cope with the difficulties of life.
In the residential assisted living business, you are helping to solve the major issue of the nation’s lack of quality living options for seniors.
Market your brand in a way that immediately tells a customer how you can help solve their problem.
Does your business offer peace of mind?
The cornerstone of your residential assisted living business should be like any other business, solving a problem, and your marketing should reflect that effectively.
EVERY BRAND HAS A PERSONALITY
A brand personality should personify your business with a set of human characteristics.
As a result, your brand will attract counterpoint archetypes.
For example, Apple’s brand is for the tech-minded, and Whole Foods is for the health nut.
A good brand has a well-defined personality.
A quality brand is personally relatable, which causes consumers and customers to connect on an instinctive level. Having a well-designed custom branded uniform also helps promote the company’s corporate image.
Once your brand is fully developed, people believe that they need what you have to offer.
CREATE AN EMOTIONAL IMPACT
Actively listen to what customers have to say about you. As a result, you will learn more about the message that your brand is sending to others.
You cannot connect with your target base without listening.
Listening to your customers will give you a strong sense of how people feel about your brand.
Be open to the idea that your brand might produce any one of the following emotions:
- Comfort
- Security
- Creativity
- Solace
- Benevolence
- Inspiration
What are the keywords you want to describe your brand? You’llYou’ll learn how effective you are at achieving your expected perception by any questions and listening to responses.
ASKING KEY QUESTIONS WILL BENEFIT BUILDING YOUR BRAND
Use the following exercise to help identify the brand identity for your residential assisted living home.
Typically, these questions are answered best amongst small groups of 4-6 people.
Be sure that you aim to narrow the focus of your brand.
8 Questions to Ask
- What are the specific qualities of the services and products you offer?
- What are the core values of your products and services? What are the core values of your company?
- What is the mission of your company? This is often a question of ethics and standards.
- What does your company specialize in; what is your niche?
- Who is your target market audience?
- What is the tagline for your company? What kind of message is your motto sending to your prospects?
- What qualities set you apart from the competition? Is the personality of your company innovative, traditional, hands-on, creative, energetic, or sophisticated?
- How does your personality react to your target market audience? What characteristics stand out to your audience? Which characteristics and qualities get the attention of potential prospects?
BUILDING YOUR BRAND WITH RALNA RESOURCES
When creating a profile for your brand, describe the personality by choosing words you would use when writing your biography.
Remember, people need to feel connected to your brand on a personal level, which means they’ll need to know what makes your residential assisted living home unique. Be creative.
Contact the Residential Assisted Living National Association today for more information on how you can get connected and build a lasting brand for your assisted living business.
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