By Steve Moran

This is a wake-up call …

When Nvidia, now the leading player in the development of graphics and AI chips, was about 10 years old, they faced a daunting challenge. Despite their success, they were walking a razor’s edge — a single misstep, a single bad chip, could sink them. They simply needed a better understanding of their audience.

The Power of the Right Product With the Right Story

In order to be on top and stay on top, they needed to do two things:

  1. Understand what would thrill their diverse audience
  2. Tell the story in a way that resonated with each group

Nvidia’s audience was composed of three distinct groups, each evaluating their products through a different lens:

  1. Engineers who understood technical specs and jargon, who could see beauty in the chip design and capabilities themselves
  2. Business leaders in sales, marketing, and the C-suite
  3. End consumers looking for faster, better graphics for gaming and entertainment

Their mission? Wow all three groups.

This same insight applies to senior living. Our world is just as complex. We often operate with broad assumptions about our audience instead of a clear, data-driven understanding.

Who Is the Senior Living Audience?

In senior living, we serve three interconnected audiences:

  1. Residents: In active 55+ and independent living, residents are critical decision-makers. But in assisted living and memory care, the residents themselves often aren’t the driving force.
  2. Family and friends: These are the people advising, paying, and ultimately deciding on move-ins — and potentially move-outs.
  3. Community influencers: Hospital discharge planners, local referral agencies, physicians, and others in the aging services ecosystem hold sway over perceptions.

Here’s the kicker: All three audiences want the same thing. They want an exceptional experience for the residents.

The Challenges We Face

But here’s where it gets tricky:

  • A “great experience” varies from person to person.
  • The way we tell the story must change depending on who we’re speaking to.

We’ve made strides — organizations like SageAge (a Foresight partner), with their recent report on the use of direct mail; Mather; and ProMatura have explored audience insights — but we’re far from a comprehensive understanding of how to target each group effectively.

Why Understanding Matters

When we understand our audience better, magic happens:

  • Our offerings become more tailored and irresistible.
  • Our marketing efforts drive phenomenal financial results.
  • Most importantly, families feel delighted to invest their hard-earned dollars with us.

Nvidia cracked the code by focusing on audience clarity. Now, it’s our turn. Imagine the possibilities if we fully understood the desires, fears, and hopes of our residents, families, and influencers — and told our story in a way that speaks to each of them.

The future of senior living depends on it.