This eldercare startup had a very relationship-driven business model and most of their clients came to them in “crisis” mode. They wanted to find ways to reach people with their services earlier in the aging process. But they weren’t sure what exactly these younger and/or less acute folks needed, or if they even perceived a need at all. We were asked to do some exploratory research around some concepts for repackaging existing services for a new audience.

The Approach

We conducted depth interviews that were a mix of exploratory and concept testing, with two different audiences. One was “aging but thriving” (don’t need assistance, able to do everything they enjoy, no physical limitations) and one was “slowing down” (starting to need help, unable to do things they enjoy, physical limitations).

The Findings

The audience split ended up being not as clear-cut as we’d expected, since a lot of it is a matter of perception. People think they’re thriving, right until they’re not. If they’re able to get by with their spouse compensating for their declining function, they don’t see themselves as needing assistance or slowing down. The bigger split in customer needs and behavior was actually along two primary factors: support/community vs. isolation/loneliness, and urban/suburban vs. rural. People who are isolated and/or remote have more needs for external services, whereas everyone else draws from their support system.

The Outcome

The findings from this study allowed our client to pivot from repackaging existing services to capture customers earlier in the aging process, to instead shift toward a more low-cost, content-driven experience as a nurture tool, with an easy on-ramp to the dedicated service offering.

Activities: depth interviews, concept testing

Deliverables: concepts, strategy read-out