Care marketing strategy that directs the work, not just describes it
Before campaigns, before a new website, before another social media post: a clear view of where you are, who you are for and what will move occupancy.
What we usually find
Many care groups are busy with marketing activity but cannot say what it is for. Budgets go on whatever was done last year. Homes describe themselves in the same words as the home down the road. Enquiries arrive, but nobody knows which activity produced them.
What changes
A strategy gives you commercial objectives, a position families can understand and a plan that says what to do first, what to stop and how you will know it is working.
What the work involves
Marketing audit
Website, search visibility, directories, brochures, social channels and your enquiry process, reviewed against what families actually experience.
Audience and competitor research
Who your self-funding families are, what they worry about, and how competing homes present themselves in your catchment.
Commercial objectives
Occupancy mix, fee levels and enquiry volumes translated into marketing targets per home.
Positioning
A clear reason for families to choose you, grounded in what you do well rather than what sounds good.
Marketing plan and campaign priorities
A 12-month plan with quarterly priorities, budget split and the order of work.
Evaluation
The measures we will report on, and how often, so the plan can change when the evidence says it should.
Why this matters in care
Care is not retail. Families are making an emotional decision under time pressure, often after a hospital discharge or a fall. Local authority mix, CQC ratings, fee transparency and the showround all shape the decision in ways a general marketing agency rarely accounts for. Our strategy work starts from the care journey, not from channels.
How it fits
Strategy sits at the top of the ongoing partnership. It sets the priorities that the rest of the work follows, and it is reviewed every quarter. If you would rather start with a bounded piece of work, the Marketing Review and Action Plan covers the audit and priorities as a standalone project.
From local authority reliance to a steady flow of self-funding enquiries
A family-owned group with strong care and weak marketing. Within a year of joined-up work, self-funding enquiries were the norm rather than the exception.
Sally is endlessly enthusiastic and knowledgeable. Today, we're seeing a steady increase in occupancy each week.
Questions about care marketing strategy
How long does a strategy take?
Do we need a strategy before you do anything else?
Will you work with our existing marketing plan?
One practical idea, every week
Written for owners, directors and marketers in care. Each edition gives you one thing to do that week, one example of it working and one question to ask your team. No spam. We're too busy filling empty beds.
Let's talk about care marketing strategy
Tell us about your homes and what you have tried. We will say plainly whether this service is the right place to start, or whether something else would move occupancy faster.