Building Trust: The Foundation of Nursing Home Marketing
While relationships and trust matter in all industries, it is of critical importance in the elderly care industry. Families looking for a retirement home for a loved one may have price considerations in mind, but first and foremost they want a caretaker who will look after one of their own like family.
But building trust is more than just saying “trust us.” Trust needs to be woven into the very fabric of your brand: when potential customers listen to your brand’s stories, they imagine your brand as reliable, as a source of delight for your residents and their family. Trust has the power to elevate your brand beyond a mere cost consideration, and can become the most important characteristic of your brand identity.
To create a strong brand identity built around trust, you have to infuse every aspect of your business with this identity, then communicate it through every story you tell. This ranges from the design of your logo and the name of your company, to the handshake of an elderly care specialist, the communication tools you put at the disposal of your residents, or the design of your website. Simply put, trust has to power every single aspect of your business.
With trust firmly implanted at the heart of your brand, potential residents and their families will look to you as much more than a service provider. They’ll follow the lead of your lead and enter into an enduring relationship with you as caretaker for a loved one. In other words, they’ll trust you as family.
Nursing Home Marketing in the Digital Age
As the baby boomer population enters retirement age, it is up to the millennials to help them find a home in their elder years. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that by 2050, 86.7 million Americans will be 65 years old or older, and their sons and daughters are now media-savvy and more informed than ever.
This is why the elderly care industry, often perceived by the public as resilient to change, is nothing of the sort. Today’s nursing homes are the epicenter of a digital revolution connecting residents, families and caretakers. Residents can use a variety of adapted online tools to stay in touch with loved ones, access on-demand entertainment, and even complete degrees online. Technology allows our seniors a rich, full life. And in a rapidly-evolving digital world, even elderly care centers have to keep up the pace.
But how exactly do you go about marketing nursing homes in the digital age? That’s where WATSON CREATIVE comes in.