Care Home Marketing: Partner to Grow, Not Just Advertise
In a competitive and often budget-constrained care sector, UK care homes are rethinking how they reach potential residents. The answer? Strategic partnership marketing.
Instead of pouring limited funds into traditional advertising, forward-thinking care homes are forming local alliances—with GPs, estate agents, funeral directors and senior groups—to boost care home referrals and increase care home occupancy rates.
Here’s how care homes across the UK are using these partnerships to grow sustainably and authentically.
Why Partnerships Work in the Care Sector
Marketing a care home isn’t like selling a product. Families making care decisions want personal recommendations and trusted voices. A flyer may raise awareness, but a word from a GP or solicitor is what drives action.
Care homes that collaborate with local professionals tap into existing trust networks. These partnerships enhance credibility, build long-term referral pipelines, and often cost far less than traditional advertising.
Whether you’re a single-site provider or part of a larger group, partnership marketing is proving to be one of the most effective tools for sustainable care sector growth.
GPs: A Vital Referral Engine
General practitioners are one of the most powerful allies a care home can have. They often guide families when elderly patients are no longer able to live independently. Smart care homes are investing time—not just money—into building relationships with local practices.
This could be as simple as:
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Dropping off high-quality brochures to GP surgeries
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Inviting GPs and practice managers to visit the care home
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Co-hosting health and wellness information sessions
One care home in Cumbria saw a 300% rise in enquiries after targeting local GPs and healthcare stakeholders with updates and events. Within months, the home reached full occupancy for the first time.
The message? GPs don’t need a sales pitch—they need to know your home is reputable, responsive and easy to refer to. Building that familiarity pays dividends.
Estate Agents and Solicitors: Key to Funding Conversations
Selling a home is often the first step towards funding residential care. Estate agents and solicitors are naturally part of this journey. Some care homes are now partnering with local property professionals to get ahead of the funding conversation.
For example, care providers have hosted “How to Fund Care” events, bringing in estate agents, SOLLA-accredited advisers and legal experts to educate families about:
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Downsizing options
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Releasing equity
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Understanding care fees and local authority funding
These sessions not only position the care home as helpful and well-informed but also align them with trusted local experts. In one Sussex care home, this strategy helped increase direct enquiries while generating local press and social media exposure.
Leaving printed materials in estate agents’ offices or inviting solicitors to open days are simple ways to kick off these partnerships.
Funeral Directors and End-of-Life Planners: Building Trust, Not Just Leads
Though a sensitive area, partnerships with funeral directors and end-of-life planning services reflect a care home’s commitment to the full spectrum of later-life support.
Funeral directors often have strong community ties and relationships with older adults’ families. By building informal referral networks or co-hosting educational talks on end-of-life planning, care homes extend their reach into these networks.
These relationships are less about immediate leads and more about trust and community integration. They also demonstrate to families that the care home understands and respects the wider journey of ageing.
Community Groups and Charities: Winning Hearts and Minds
Grassroots partnerships with local senior groups, religious organisations and charities like Age UK can be the most valuable of all.
Examples of successful community marketing include:
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Hosting dementia cafés with local Alzheimer’s charities
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Sponsoring meetings of veterans’ clubs or retiree groups
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Organising intergenerational events with nearby schools
These initiatives often generate strong word-of-mouth recommendations and social media engagement. A care home that regularly features in the community Facebook groups, local press, or parish newsletters becomes top-of-mind when care is needed.
Care UK and Excelcare are among the providers actively nurturing these relationships—offering public seminars, training days, and family carer events that go far beyond conventional marketing tactics.
Measurable Impact: Beyond the Brochure
Partnership marketing may be relationship-driven, but the business results are very real.
Care homes that focus on partnership marketing have reported:
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Significant increases in care home enquiries
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Higher conversion rates from referral sources
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Improved occupancy levels
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Stronger online reviews and community reputation
Even more importantly, these leads often convert faster and require less “selling” than those generated from paid ads.
By tracking referral sources—e.g., “GP referral”, “known via church group”, or “recommended by solicitor”—care homes can better understand which relationships are driving occupancy.
How to Start Building Smart Partnerships
If you’re looking to implement partnership marketing in your own care home, here are some practical steps:
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Map Your Local Ecosystem
Identify the most relevant GPs, estate agents, solicitors, senior groups, and funeral directors in your area. -
Reach Out with Value
Don’t lead with a pitch. Offer to co-host a community event, share resources, or support a mutual client. -
Host Collaborative Events
Open your doors to the community—seminars, health talks, or social gatherings build familiarity and trust. -
Leverage Social Proof
Share partnership activities on Facebook, in newsletters, and via local media. Tag your partners and amplify the reach. -
Track and Thank Referrals
A simple “thank you” email to a local partner who referred a family builds goodwill and encourages repeat referrals.
A Sustainable Growth Strategy for the Care Sector
In today’s care environment, full-page newspaper ads or expensive Google campaigns often fall flat. Families are looking for recommendations they can trust. That trust doesn’t come from flashy branding—it comes from community, familiarity and professional networks.
Care homes that invest in local partnerships are building more than a marketing strategy—they’re building a reputation.
If you want to increase care home occupancy and build long-term sustainability, partnering to grow isn’t just smart. It’s essential.
