Which (local) Market?
by admin
Thinking about market development always leads to me to ponder “which market?” exactly – this cropped up again when reading Marketing Extra Care Housing found over on the DH Care Networks.
This is important because the more we know about “which market” exactly we’re talking about the more meaningful our conversations will be with all the different groups and individuals involved. I’ve paraphrased below – interesting points for market development people in local authorities as well as service providers.
The report suggests that there is no single care market governed by a set of unifying principles and/or by constants in supplier and consumer behaviour. Rather, it is a quite disparate collection of providers bound loosely by certain regulatory, policy and financial imperatives. The result is that marketing itself tends to be site by site. ‘Localism’ is central to marketing strategy.
Marketing is also conditioned by geography, especially in promoting the value of being a ‘local’ provider. This is seen as reinforcing links with the community, demonstrating local knowledge, providing local employment, an ability to offer outreach services and a reassurance that the provider is of a scale where the individual resident still matters. This was strikingly evident in the development and marketing strategies of charitable trusts and RSLs who place great store by their ‘localism’ and community roots.
