In the United States, this has come to reach a total of around 30,000 companies, with a combined annual revenue of close to $100 billion. These companies operate around 60,000 nursing facilities. It is estimated that the average nursing home has an average annual revenue of around $5 million. One of the interesting characteristics of the market is the fact that it is highly labor intensive, with annual revenues per worker of less than $50,000. We have decided to compete with this in two manners: first, by increasing the average salary in our association to be included in the medium to high range, in order to stimulate and motivate our employees; and second, we emphasize the importance of quality service to all our employees, the mark on which we build our credentials.

B. Industry trends

The market itself is constantly growing, although it is still dependable on the demographics of the consumers. With the old age period of life prolonged due to medical conquests, it becomes more likely now that, after retirement, an individual may live up to 20 years after that. This means that it is now more probable that an individual may be in need of assisted care in the final years of his life.

Following this analysis, we can point out that the industry trend seems to be continuously ascending and that we are likely to see an expansion of the market in the years to come, especially as average life expectation is also likely to increase gradually in the U.S.

C. Target market

We can use the socio-economic and psychological variables to narrow the market down to our target market. In terms of demographical variables, we are generally targeting individuals over the age of 65, although this generally is extended to individuals who are well into their 70s. Since we provide assisted living services rather than full healthcare services, we tend to be able to cover a segment of the...

As mentioned, our services are not necessarily in the premium range, but rather in the average range, which means that this would be a reasonable revenue average for our customers.
In terms of psychological variables, we are targeting individuals who do not have a prejudice against assisted living, as a way of limiting their freedom and the way of life to which they are accustomed to.

On the other hand, we can also consider a much wider perspective and identify two additional potential target markets. The first one is represented by family members, often involved in the decision of assisted living for the elderly. They are generally interested in the quality of service and the price they have to pay for this. On the other hand, we have the medical sector, namely the doctors of the elderly, who generally want to be informed about the performances of the facility and the overall competence of the staff.

In both these cases, the two extra categories mentioned will play an important role in the final purchase decision, which means that they should also be included as targets in the marketing plan.

D. Competition

The competition is highly fragmented and can be seen ranging from expensive health care facilities, often offering 24 hours a day service, to small companies that are generally targeting a particular service niche and offering a reduced portfolio of services. Some of the large companies include Sunrise Senior Living, Golden Horizons, and Sun Healthcare Group. About 10,000 operators are nonprofit charities, generally affiliated with churches or local governments, which we can probably not include in the actual competition on the market.