Marketing and Management for Business of Assisted Living Facility

Question: Describe about the Marketing and Management for Business of Assisted Living Facility. Answer: The business of Assisted Living Facility is concerned about providing suitable and conductive facilities which are exclusively designed especially for the elderly people who are in dire need of assistance and care (Greeley, 2016). The company Union Family First is based on New Jersey with well furnished apartments decorated with beddings, necessary furniture and other facilities that will add up an extra bit of comfort to the facility services. In other word this can be defined as a place that is conductive for the aged people. The basic principle of Union Family First is to provide accommodation only to the elderly people who will need assistance in carrying out some the domestic works which they are not able perform on their own. Starting an assisted living facility business requires a broad overview of the dealings associated with the business and related anticipated steps required for building up the business successfully (Kossover et al., 2014). Therefore, it is quite essential the business will involve dealing with a number of people and this will definitely require excellent efficiency in this trade. Hard work and serious planning is essential for setting up assisted living facility business (Goto et al., 2013). The permit and license for running the business should be obtained from the government. Again, the facility centre should meet the health and safety standards specified by the government for running the business. Moreover, running an assisted facility business may involve extensive cost. This is because a number of other factors are associated with this. Such as, renting facilities, paying the workers and furnishing the facility that will effectively suit the elderly persons. Feeding those elderly persons and many more other essential factors that cannot be neglected (Grabowski et al., 2012). Keeping all these things in mind the Union Family First has been established. The business is established in New Jersey, United States as the population of older people is very dense in this region and its still growing. It will be located at the Cape May, New Jersey in an especially renovated and secured housing arrangement facility. As there is a number of assisted living facility centers in the United States. However, with the proper facilities and infrastructures it is expected that the business will secure substantial profit and therefore run successfully (Kisling et al., 2015). The business of assisted living facility is a service providing business it provides the elderly people with well furnished and well equipped residential complexes. Here these people will be able to live peacefully and comfortably. A number well trained nurses and doctors are also appointed who will be responsible for taking care of the residents of this facility centre. Again, these elderly persons are also assisted in their daily domestic works by the staffs as these people are unable to perform all of these tasks on their own. Environmental Analysis of the company and determining the primary and secondary target markets (4Ps, 5Cs and STP): PESTEL analysis: PESTEL analysis is an analytical tool that is used for determining the analyzing the external environment of a company or organization. Political factors: For ensuring the successful and profitable operability of any company it is quite essential to get a broad overview of the political environment of the region where the company is operating. In New Jersey, there are no political disturbances and therefore the business will solely focus on the political framework that is essential to follow for operating in this region (Liu, 2013). Economic factors: Economic factors again play an important role behind the success of any company. Recently there is a global economic crisis prevailing all over the world, this may affect the business of the company adversely. This is because the global economic downturn is reducing the disposable income of the individuals (Kaskie et al., 2015). On a positive note it can be said that in terms of the global economic condition the United States is currently in a very good shape and therefore, the business will not be affected largely. Social Factors: The social factors are also intricately associated with the business. As this business deals mainly with the elderly persons it is quite essential to address the needs of these persons effectively. These needs may be regarding their social interactions or cultural activities, the staffs of this organization are so trained that they will be able to cater these needs of those individuals quite effectively (Kaskie et al., 2015). Technological factors: Technological factors include using the advanced and appropriate technologies in the business. Such as collecting data about the population distribution more effectively by using newly developed technologies (Kaskie et al., 2015). Analyzing these data on effective and efficient software packages and thereby gathering information about the population distribution. This will specifically be helpful for this business as it deals with customers within a specific age group. Developing a website will inform the management of the company about the number of visitors and therefore determining the number of interested clients. This will in turn help to recognize the business development curve. Environmental factors: Due the increasing awareness about the environmental effects of every business Daddy and Mommys Assisted Living Facility is also concerned about its environmental impacts. The company is strictly follows the green environment guidelines (MaloneBeach Zuo, 2013). It cooks on natural energies so as to reduce depletion of the exhaustible resources. Again the company focuses on the recycling of waste in order to establish a green environment. Legal factors: The business has followed the entire legal framework established in the concerned region. It has obtained the permit and license from the government for continuing the service business effectively and profitably. Again the company is also aware about the recent legal developments so that it can follow every part of it (MaloneBeach Zuo, 2013). For determining the primary and secondary target market the company again makes use of some analytical tools such as the 4Ps, 5Cs and STP (Beeber et al., 2014). This process will be described step by step below, The 4Ps model is concerned about the four main components of the market, Product- The first and foremost component, it can either be tangible good or an intangible service. It this case of the Union Family First the product is service. Price- The price of the service product will be determined by analyzing the pricing strategy of the competitor firms as well as purchasing power of the potential customers (Ilic Cekic, 2014). Promotion- Here the product will be promoted by website advertising, search engine optimization, video marketing to spread awareness among the individuals about the product or service. Place- The place of promotion will those places where the elderly persons visits the most, such as the parks and the areas where the population of elderly people is higher. This will help to attract the potential clients more effectively. According to Ilic and Cekic (2014), the 5Cs model of marketing is as follows, Customer- Determining the needs and desires of the clients appropriate so that these can be catered more effectively. Company- In this stage the market position of the company is examined. This is done by investigating the key strengths and weaknesses of the organization. Competition- This is another crucial part, here the key competitor of the company are identified. Information about their products, strategies, strengths and weaknesses are also determined in this particular stage. Collaborators- Determining and obtaining any help from the third party such as the suppliers or distributors. Context- Determining if there is any limitations because of the political or legal issues. STP or the segmentation, targeting and positioning activity is explained below, In the segmentation process the entire market is divided into a number of segments based on a number of factors such as the purchasing power, age, buying behavior etc. The aim of the company is to select the appropriate segment (Thomas, 2013). After identifying the appropriate segment the organization then targets the segment with its products. Finally in the positioning stage the company decides where to position its product or service in the market. It is the most essential part of the entire STP framework. Based on these tools the primary target audience before the organization are adults aged between 45 to 55. These people are generally earning professionals. A brief will be given to them regarding the health and safety issues of their parents and how this assisted living can improve the mental well beings of their parent (Kisling-Rundgren et al., 2016). The secondary target market will be the people above 70 years of age, they are retired and may be suffering from some health issues but do not require regular treatment. They will again be briefed about their personal health issues and safety conditions. Moreover, the luxurious living they can enjoy in this company. Short term and Long term goals: Short term goals: Goals Measures Increasing the spending on advertisement and promotional activities with every passing month. This will be measured by analyzing the response to advertisement. Increase the revenue of the company in each month by $500 at least. This will be measured by looking at the accounts section of the company. Attract new clients more frequently This is also measurable by analyzing the website visits or phone call received to fetch information about the services and the information contents downloaded from the company website as well. Long term goals: Goals Measures Doubling the revenue of the company by the end of the recent fiscal year The cash analysis will help to measure this. Increase the market share of the company by a significantly large amount i.e., 50% by the end of this fiscal year Studying the market share will help to measure this goal effectively Increase the traffic in the company website by 50% by the end of this current year. This can be measured by analyzing the website visits. SWOT analysis of Union Family First: The SWOT analysis is an analytical tool that analyses the internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats of the company (Kisling-Rundgren et al., 2016). It is described as follows, Strengths: The primary key strength of the company is the well built facility that helps the elderly persons to live as independently as possible if they wishes to do so. Such as more spaces on the lower level drawers, installing liver style door. Walk in style closets not only depict luxury but also help the seniors to examine very easily what they want to wear. The company offers special care for persons with Alzheimer, Dementia or memory loss. All the needs of the residents are catered by trained professional staffs to ensure effectiveness. Weaknesses: Building up of this assisted living facility requires a lot of money, therefore this capital intensiveness may lower the business growth. There is lack of availability of trained workers which sometimes affects the company adversely. The company has to pay higher wages to trained professional due to lack of trained personnel. Pricing strategy of the company may be more effective. Opportunities: There is continuous growth in the aging population in the United States. From the population of the New Jersey it is quite evident that the seniors in this area possess disposable income and therefore it is a good opportunity for the business to attract these people. The company has an onsite pharmacy and doctor on call service it is an added advantage for the company. The visual picturesque around the organization puts the company a few steps ahead from its competitors. Threats: Due to the huge increase in costs the promotional activity for the company is getting expensive day by day. Increasing competition in the concerned region is also a potential threat. Increased legal regulation may impose some barriers to entry in the market. As the seniors and their family may recheck the prices of other companies and shift to other companies, it is also a potential threat for the company. Need Analysis: Needs for Safety: Examine the safety of being alone for 24 hours without supervision Regular contact is needed if it is found unsafe to be alone for 24 hours (Galik et al., 2015). Frequent contact is required and close supervision will be provided. Need for Nutrition: Determine whether able to prepare own meal or not and eats without assistance. Can prepare simple meals/ assistance is required for preparing meals. Unable to cook, assistance required for eating. Need for Mobility: Can move independently Occasional assistance is needed for moving about (Abbott et al., 2012) Complete assistance is required for moving Mental Needs: Normal mental condition and able to identify all the environmental needs. May occasionally forget something. Sometimes cannot identify the needs. Assistance is required all the time. Feasibility Analysis; According to the US Census Bureau data, the population of the individuals between the age group of 65 to 84 is estimated to increase by 38.8% from 2010 to 2020. Moreover, the population above age 85 is expected to increase by 18.7%. Therefore, this will create a business opportunity for the Assisted Living facility industry (Chao et al., 2013). Union Family First on the other hand will be able to gain competitive advantage because of its well equipped rooms and other convenient facilities along with the professional and well trained nurses. The elderly persons will feel homely and comfortable at this place; therefore from this aspect as well this business plan seems to be feasible for the company. Reference List Abbott, K. M., Bettger, J. P., Hampton, K., Kohler, H. P. (2012). Exploring the use of social network analysis to measure social integration among older adults in assisted living.Family community health,35(4), 322-333. Beeber, A. S., Zimmerman, S., Reed, D., Mitchell, C. M., Sloane, P. D., Harris Wallace, B., ... Schumacher, J. G. (2014). Licensed nurse staffing and health service availability in residential care and assisted living.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society,62(5), 805-811. Chao, Y. Y., Scherer, Y. K., Wu, Y. W., Lucke, K. T., Montgomery, C. A. (2013). 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