You may have the best senior living community in your area, but if your marketing strategy doesn’t reach its target audience, you’ll struggle to find leads. Unique selling points (USPs) are a fantastic way to captivate your audience, establish brand awareness, and highlight what makes your community stand out from others.

Join us as we break down the details of USPs, provide tips on how to identify and use your own unique selling points, and discover how our data-driven marketing strategies at Attane can help you reach your target audience more effectively than ever. 

What Is a Unique Selling Point?

A unique selling point, also as a unique selling proposition, is a specific and clear benefit that makes your community stand out from the competition. It helps focus your marketing strategy, influences your branding, and captures the attention of prospective residents. 

A USP quickly answers the question, “What makes your community different from the rest?”

Many communities want to show they can do everything well to stand out. However, in a market where so many communities are vying for attention, it’s better to highlight just a few exceptional qualities your community can build a reputation around.

Don’t Confuse Unique Selling Points with Community Features

Unique selling points and community features may look the same, but they’re very different. While features like gorgeous granite countertops, resort-style amenities, and a full calendar of activities have their place on a website or landing page, they don’t set your community apart from others.

What prospective residents really want to know is how your community will provide a high-quality lifestyle tailored to their needs and interests throughout their retirement — because your USP isn’t about what your community looks like; it’s about how it uniquely serves its residents.

Examples of community features commonly confused with unique selling points:

• Clubhouses
• Libraries
• Fitness centers
• Swimming pools
• Areas for hobbies and games
• Stainless steel appliances
• In-unit laundry
• Parking and transportation services

Actual unique selling points:

• Culture, lifestyle and location
• Community history 
• Authentic diversity, inclusion, equity and belonging statements and recognitions
• Affordability of your community or a unique pricing model
• Quality of healthcare services
• Community achievements and awards

Some of our favorite unique selling points we’ve seen:

• We have the best dog-friendly community around. Pet play dates with neighbors, dog parks, and pet parades. Sunny patios for afternoon drinks for you and naps for your pup. Acres of wooded walking paths make for exciting morning walks full of new smells and nature.
• Our staff is certified by SAGECare and staff are specially trained to serve transgender older adults.
• We have a program with the neighboring university to have residents mentor students and provide unique intergenerational activities and learning opportunities.
• Our residents are down-to-earth advocates who are active volunteers in the local community all year round, and here are just some of the things we do every year.

Ultimately, your USP is the real reason people want to move into your community. It fills in the missing gaps your competitors can’t and makes your brand instantly recognizable. That’s where our marketing experts at Attane come in. With our brand messaging and campaign development services, we can quickly identify your USPs, build your brand, reach your target audience and help you gain new residents. 

USPs and Websites: Analyze Your Target Audience and Adjust Your Content

Behavior-related metrics, like bounce rates and page sessions, can tell you what works and what doesn’t when it comes to USPs. So how can you use your unique selling points to capture user interest and gain new leads as soon as they reach your website? By getting to know your target audience, investing in content marketing and optimizing your website to meet their needs.

Here are key questions to consider:

• Who is your target audience, and what are their priorities?
• What’s motivating your audience to browse your website?
• What single USP could change a page visitor into a high-quality lead?
• How do USPs convey your brand to your target audience?
• How can your website cater to users’ unmet needs?

At Attane, we offer A/B tests to directly compare a new landing page or web experience against a current experience. This allows us to ask focused questions about changes to your website, including mentions of USPs, collect data about the impact of that change, and adjust your website accordingly. 

Use a Customized, Integrative Marketing Strategy

Once you’ve identified what works, it’s time to launch your USP across all marketing channels and start generating leads. Here are some essential channels to include.

Social media. Social media is a key tool for brand development and awareness and showcasing your USPs. While you can find some success with almost any social media platform, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube offer the most robust audience targeting options. 

Paid search. One of the best ways to reach your target audience is to appear when they’re searching for a community in your area and show them what makes you unique. Most communities, especially those in competitive markets, need paid search ads to stay at the top of search results.

Display ads. Also known as banner campaigns,the main purpose of display ads is to drive awareness of your brand, special information about discounts or events, and to visually communicate USPs. This is a top-of-the-funnel marketing approach that works best in combination with other advertising methods. After you find out what motivates your audience, you can follow up with them using a retargeting campaign.

Advertising. Traditional advertising methods are still very effective. Incorporate your USPs on direct mail, print ads, flyers, brochures, and other traditional media marketing channels.

Website pages. Your homepage and landing pages must clearly present your USPs, so users can quickly feel encouraged to start engaging with your website. This includes captivating images to accompany copy on your homepage, easy-to-read content on your landing pages, and tasteful search engine optimizations (SEO) throughout your website. 

Content marketing. There’s nothing that can boost your rankings in search engines like quality content marketing combined with SEO. Expanding on your USPs in optimized content gives you the opportunity to genuinely connect with your target audience on page and in search results. Content marketing includes blogs, infographics, podcasts and videos.

Email campaigns. Email campaigns are a great way to follow up with leads and go into depth on USPs. If you’re hosting an event or wanting your audience to request a tour, email campaigns help you communicate to a targeted list of people using high-end design and copy.

Embracing Complexity, Delivering Simplicity, and Providing Marketing Strategies that Work

Unique selling points, A/B testing, analytics, optimization — marketing is complex. Let our experts take on every facet of the funnel and deliver a customized strategy that works for your community.

Contact our team online to learn more about our comprehensive marketing services.