How do we attract a younger independent living demographic? 

Written by Scott Miller

This question was posed to an audience of 250 C-suite leaders at a conference I recently attended. Studies show the average move-in age for independent living to be in the mid-80s. I remember several years ago it was 82. I asked AI the question and it indicated the average move-in age has gradually increased over the last decade.  While there was some speculation from the audience about how to attract a younger demographic, no one claimed to have a good answer. 

“Given the average move-in age at Garden Spot Village, I was waiting for you to jump into the conversation,” our COO commented after the discussion. 

The average move-in age at Garden Spot Village has been 72 -74 for as long as I can remember. There are very specific reasons Garden Spot’s average move-in age is 10-plus years younger than the industry average.  

Our team just ran the numbers and as of today, 4% of the Garden Spot Village residents are in their 50s and 60s. A total of 38% are between the ages of 55 and 79. The significance of the 4% is that it includes members of Gen X. A number of years ago the Garden Spot board of directors lowered the minimum move-in age from 62 to 55 as a result of market demand.  

“I’m not ready!” is the most common objection people give to moving to a senior community.  At Garden Spot Village there is a different problem. Demand exceeds supply. Garden Spot future residents want to know, “When can I move in?” 

As with the younger demographic, there are specific reasons why Garden Spot no-longer faces the “I’m not ready objection,” and people are ready and willing to move-in. 

The key factors for both the younger demographic and the sense of move-in urgency include: 

• A detailed understanding of both the sales cycle and the customer experience journey. 

• Designing and optimizing the sales cycle and customer experience journey. 

• Identifying target markets and relentlessly cultivating them. 

• Specific visual brand standards for photography and video. 

• A highly focused value proposition. 

• Managing to a select set of high impact metrics. 

• An informed, empowered, engaged sales and marketing team. 

Back to our COO’s question, “Why didn’t you jump into the conversation?” In all honesty, my experience has been claiming the ability to attract a younger demographic or solving the “I’m not ready” problem in an open forum is received as marketing fluff. Nobody believes it. 

What excites me about ForgeWorks is it provides a way for me/us to share these proven best practices and teach you how to adapt the practices to your market (every market is different). We believe in a philosophy of abundance. There are 77 million baby boomers and another 72 million Gen X’rs. That’s a huge current and emerging market. 

Give me a call. I’m willing to help.