The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly pressured our entire health care system, yet the most severe impact is on the long-term care system. Residential care facilities such as assisted living (ALF), skilled nursing (SNF), rehab, and other congregate care living facilities have received negative publicity. Specifically, the news reports on the number of residents who have contracted, and even worse, succumbed to the virus in these facilities are devastating. More than 40,000 long-term care residents and workers have died as a result of COVID-19, according to an analysis from USA Today. (CMS stats shown this closer to 26,000.)

How has COVID-19 impacted your brand and marketing?

As a congregate care living facility whether offering skilled nursing, assisted living, rehab, or even independent living with congregate dining, activities and other group services, do you really know the impact that COVID-19 has, had and will have on your business? For some, how do you protect the viability of your reputable (thus far) brand and care offerings? For others, how do you resuscitate your tarnished brand? For all, how do you proceed in marketing your brand, facility and services as a strong and viable solution for care?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer.  However, there is one approach that will work well for all.

Assess your current perception and situation

The COVID-19 news reports of hospitalizations and fatalities associated with residents of congregate care communities including assisted living, skilled nursing (SNF), rehabilitation centers, and the like located in CT, NY, NJ and throughout the US, have ignited negative publicity and altered the perception for these business. Regardless if your residents remained healthy during the pandemic to date, all residential care facilities are challenged to present themselves as an excellent choice for providing health care.

To do this, the first thing you must do is really understand how your brand and services are currently perceived based on the COVID-19 impact. How do you do this?  By asking the right questions of the right people.

Learning from Your Audience 

You can do this market research and intelligence gathering on your own; however, there are some downsides to doing it all on your own. Many respondents are not as honest, transparent, and forthcoming with their input and feedback when you are directly asking the questions.  They often feel they cannot be as truthful with you as they can be with an objective third party. Secondly, you need to know the right questions to ask in order to gain meaningful information and actionable insights. Most importantly, you then need the skills to analyze the information to figure out what to do with these new insights.

Acting on Insights

Your direction and course of action are dependent on the specific insights you gained. This gets back to the reason why there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Yet the process of gathering information and insights is the one common approach to setting your business on the right path to either protecting or in some cases, resuscitating your brand and offerings.

When done properly, the intelligence and insights gained will inform your decisions on how to best proceed with branding and marketing your business as a strong and viable solution to long-term care in CT, NY, NJ and elsewhere in the US. Regardless of your current situation, it all starts by understanding how you are currently perceived by those in your market amid the negative reports and results of COVID-19.  Once you know where you stand, you can chart your course of action.

Marketing Matters based in Stamford, CT in Fairfield County serves healthcare organizations including those providing long-term care such as independent and assisted living (ALF), skilled nursing (SNF), rehabilitation services and other healthcare providers in CT, NY, NJ and throughout the US. We help you do the market research to gain the right intelligence and insights needed to effectively plan your brand, marketing, communications, and sales enablement. We also help execute and measure these areas as needed.

If you are ready to gain the insights you need for intelligent strategy development and planning, don’t wait…contact us today at 203.329.7773 or online!