Senior living community marketing for independent living: Congruence with developmental theories and aging adults’ perceptions

Abstract

This research project encompassed three overarching goals. The first aim was to identify information components older adults in the Midwest were using to inform their decisions about moving to independent senior living. The second aim was to determine how senior living communities formulate and present marketing materials to aging adults. The last aim focused on the degree of congruence between the decision-making process of the older adults, actions of the LPCs, and current developmental theories. Data were collected from older adults via a survey using two methods, Amazon MTurk and community recruitment. Data were collected from LPCs via interviews with their respective marketing teams. Results indicate that while LPCs have a general idea of the reasons an older adult may choose to move in life, organizations are missing several possible marketing opportunities. Additionally, with a new generation of consumers who have never made a move like this, it gives LPCs the opening to help write a new narrative on what they may want in a community.