Last week we spoke with the leading marketers of retirement villages, Kerry Lehman, CEO at Brand Partners and Marketability’s CEO, David Lo Russo. Both run ‘potential retirement village resident’ focus groups.
They explained that over the last twelve months they’ve witnessed a shift in consumer attitudes towards villages.
Participants are cynical – instead of retirement village operators being viewed as providers that will look after you as you age, they are increasingly being viewed as money hungry businesses where residents have become financial prisoners.
"We all know that the offering has never been an easy-sell – with confusion about retirement living/aged care, contracts, the overall offering… but 2017 really brought a whole new level – almost hostility to the market response," says Kerry.
Obviously, there is a lot to be done to educate the public. 204,000 residents have made their investment decisions for a new life – they are responsible, sensible and competent people. The operators should be listening to residents, learning and improving.
We recently arranged an interview with 2GB’s Steve Price and Lawrie Robertson, President of Residents of Retirement Villages Victoria (RRVV). Lawrie explains villages very simply and succinctly. Watch the full interview here.
Kerry Lehman, along with 29 industry experts, is presenting at this year's Leaders Summit in March. A key focus will be on how to manage negative media and what the village sector can do to regain ‘trust’.
You can register for a day pass or for the two-day event here. Click here to see the full speakers list.
Allison
