The Market Research Part 2

What we learnt from potential users of this old age homes gave us insight into the challenges faced by families in deciding about such senior living centers. And we began thinking of solutions that could possibly solve their problems – coming up with a new center with amazing facilities that give elders a sense of usefulness and a great social network, working on communication campaigns to get rid of the stigma associated with it, partnering with senior centers to improve advertisement & marketing, etc. But before finalizing the idea, we had another step to evaluate - Understanding perspectives of owners and managers that run the senior living centers. Thus, began Part 2 of our journey with Market Research.

Understanding challenges of senior living centers

This one did give us a lot of struggle. Our challenges on the journey to understanding their challenges began on the very first day. We began in a very humble manner, sending out emails to well-known senior living centers, talking about who we are and why we are requesting for some time to talk to them. It is often said that when you email, you must expect only a third of the recipients to respond back. Ours was worser. Of the 25 organizations we emailed to, hardly 5 responded back, some positively, some asking for more details. Even with gentle reminders, and small nudges through telephonic conversations via their receptionists, only 3 turned up for the meeting. But the three that turned up, were truly interested and shared a lot of information on what the challenges were and why it was difficult for them to advertise more for the public. They were completely willing to view a demo of our prototype app and volunteered to speak at public/mass events to inculcate awareness.

Summarizing key insights from the discussion –

• There were a lot of senior living centers in India, but they are primarily meant for the poor and orphaned adults who usually have no other means of staying, usually run by governments, NGOs and philanthropists. But there weren’t many in the luxury sector. For upper middle-class seniors like ex-armymen, ex-doctors, ex-teachers, or ex-government employees, it was difficult to find a place like home. Thus, most of the luxury senior living centers (and assisted living centers) that have come up in recent times provide 4-star facilities (with adequate medical support). These are usually run by doctors, and small-scale real-estate businesses, with full-time employees. They have no dependency on volunteering.

• Monetary challenges were almost never a concern for these places since the inhabitants shell out above 80k for their stay, per month. The centers were designed for the upper-middle class society.

• Each of the centers have its own pros and cons. While some don’t have any age limit for the incoming inhabitants, others provide complete support even in times of emergencies.

• Their biggest challenge was to deal with the societal taboo. Their customers are often guilt-ridden and come to avail these services only as a last resort. Even with well-documented evidences that describe the physical & psychological benefits of community living, young, educated people are still hesitant to consider this as a viable option. The marketing campaigns fall trap to the ideology that that such centers break up families and promote abandonment of elderly parents. This results in a market where senior living centers are seen as a sin good, thus making it difficult for elders & families to access these facilities when they need it. This leads to a vicious circle, impacting the development of this industry, where potential real estate big-heads shy away from taking up such projects due to the fear of denting their brand image. There aren’t many innovations in this sector too.

• One simply cannot book a room or a stay at such centers. The manager and the medical representative visits the elders, and spends some time with them to understand their needs, emotions and their expectations. A couple of talks and regular meetings later, a comfortable friendship is created and it is this bond that help with the final decision making, especially in cases where long-term stays are being considered. Such meetings also helps the team carefully access the medical conditions of the senior and decide whether their center would be good fit for their needs or not.

• Unsurprisingly, the elders who stay in such centers are very happy with the facilities and have broken free of the taboos and are willing to share their experiences to promote more & more people to access these facilities when they need it. They believe it provides a sense of power & control over one’s own life.

The next blog shall discuss the summary of Market Research - with Seller & Buyer personas in detail.