A good RCFE marketing plan is not a collection of random ads. It is a repeatable system that helps local families and referral partners understand who you serve, what makes your home a fit, and how to reach you quickly. Use this 90-day plan to build that system one step at a time.
Before day one: define the goal
Choose one primary 90-day goal, such as increasing qualified tours, improving occupancy, building referral relationships, or launching a newly licensed home. Record your current occupancy, available rooms, monthly inquiries, tours, move-ins, and top referral sources so you have a baseline.
Write your ideal-resident profile
- Geographic area served
- Care needs your license, staffing, and training can appropriately support
- Preferred room type and expected monthly budget
- Family concerns you are especially prepared to address
- Needs or conditions the home cannot safely accept
Marketing should accurately reflect the home’s current license, services, staffing, availability, and capabilities. Do not make medical, pricing, or outcome claims you cannot document.
Days 1–30: build the foundation
Week 1: fix the basic information
- Confirm the home’s name, phone, address, service description, capacity, and inquiry contact are consistent everywhere.
- Review your website and directory listings for outdated services, missing photos, duplicate pages, or incorrect availability statements.
- Create a short description, a longer description, and a one-sentence explanation of the home’s best fit.
Week 2: prepare trustworthy marketing materials
- Choose clear, current photos of bedrooms, common areas, outdoor space, dining, and accessibility features.
- Create a one-page fact sheet with services, general pricing approach, tour contact, and questions families should ask.
- Prepare a tour folder with the administrator’s contact information and a clear next-step checklist.
Week 3: improve inquiry handling
- Use one inquiry log for calls, forms, email, and professional referrals.
- Record the date, source, care needs, timing, budget range, next step, and follow-up date.
- Create a short phone script that helps staff listen, qualify the need, explain the home honestly, and offer a tour.
- Set a response-time goal that can be met every day, including weekends.
Week 4: strengthen online visibility
- Review the home’s PersonalCareHomes.net listing and claim or update it when appropriate.
- Complete relevant business profiles and make sure the website links to the correct inquiry page.
- Ask satisfied families for an honest review without offering incentives or telling them what to say.
- Add useful website content that answers real family questions about tours, costs, care, and the move.
Days 31–60: build local referral relationships
Week 5: create a focused referral list
Identify local professionals who regularly help older adults and families, including hospital and rehabilitation discharge teams, home-health and hospice providers, geriatric care managers, senior centers, physicians’ offices, elder-law professionals, fiduciaries, and community organizations. Follow each organization’s solicitation, privacy, and referral rules.
Week 6: make useful introductions
- Prepare a brief introduction that explains the resident profile you can serve.
- Contact a manageable number of referral sources each week.
- Offer accurate availability information and a direct contact for time-sensitive questions.
- Ask what information their team needs before recommending or discussing a home.
Week 7: host a professional tour
Invite small groups or individual referral partners to see the home. Show how inquiries are handled, how resident needs are evaluated, and how families receive updates. Avoid discussing residents or sharing protected information.
Week 8: follow up with value
Send a brief thank-you and provide a genuinely useful resource, such as a family tour checklist or explanation of your admission process. Do not fill inboxes with repetitive availability messages.
Days 61–90: measure, improve, and repeat
Week 9: review the numbers
- Qualified inquiries by source
- Average response time
- Tours scheduled and completed
- Tour-to-move-in conversion
- Reasons families did not move forward
- Cost per inquiry for any paid advertising
Week 10: improve the tour experience
Review whether tours start on time, whether the home is ready, whether staff can answer common questions, and whether families receive a clear next step. Update the tour checklist based on questions families repeatedly ask.
Week 11: focus on what works
Increase time and budget for sources producing appropriate inquiries. Correct or stop activities that generate poor-fit inquiries, cannot be measured, or take time away from resident care without results.
Week 12: set the next 90-day plan
Choose three priorities for the next quarter. Assign an owner, deadline, budget, and success measure to each. A small plan completed consistently is stronger than a long list nobody owns.
Simple weekly marketing routine
- Review open inquiries and follow-up dates.
- Contact two to five appropriate referral sources.
- Update availability and listing information.
- Publish or improve one useful piece of family-facing content.
- Review inquiry, tour, and move-in results.
- Document what worked and the next action.
Marketing guardrails for California RCFE owners
- Describe the facility and services accurately.
- Protect resident and family privacy in photos, stories, and referral communications.
- Obtain appropriate permission before using testimonials, images, or identifying details.
- Avoid guarantees about health outcomes, acceptance, availability, or pricing.
- Confirm that referral, advertising, and compensation arrangements comply with current legal and licensing requirements.
Downloads planned for this guide
- 90-day marketing calendar
- Referral-source contact tracker
- Inquiry and tour follow-up worksheet
- Monthly marketing scorecard
This guide is educational and is not legal, compliance, financial, or licensing advice. Verify current California requirements and obtain professional guidance for advertising, privacy, referral, and compensation arrangements. Reviewed September 2026.