An Older People’s Home is (Not) an Option: A Qualitative Segmentation of Potential Customer Market Using User-Generated Content in Vietnam

Although researchers have segmented the customer markets of many products and services, they seem to neglect to categorize that of older people’s homes. In addition, they overlook a comparison of the intentions and affecting factors of the volitional customers and the nonvolitional customers’ decision-makers. This study filled these gaps by qualitatively segmenting the older people’s home customers market in Vietnam. The database was user-generated content, and the analysis method was inductive. The study identified six segments of potential and nonpotential customers: those who wanted or did not want to go to or send their parents to older people’s homes and those who were flexible or fluctuating. The volitional customers and the decision-makers of the nonvolitional customers shared similar characteristics, such as financial and emotional independence or dependence and social norm resistance or conformation. Other factors, such as information intelligence and health conditions, were faint compared to these characteristics. Based on these observations, this study discussed some implications for expanding the existence and contribution of older people’s homes more effectively.