Category: Seniors Housing

Poverty affects people of all ages and demographics. It is an especially relevant strain for those in the senior community. If trends continue, it is estimated that those 65 and older will face poverty rates similar to those during the Great Depression. Women are particularly vulnerable to this struggle. While the poverty rate of all seniors is alarming, studies show that women ages 65 and older are 80 percent more likely to be impoverished than men the same age. Regardless of race, marital status or educational background, senior women find themselves facing a 4.7 percent higher poverty rate than their male counterparts. In addition, those women 65 and older who live alone encounter the most extreme rates of poverty, with one in five suffering financially.

Why is there such a difference for this particular group?

Statistically, women live longer than men. The national average life expectancy is currently 79.13 years. For males, specifically, that average drops to 76.73. For females, it increases to 81.64 years. With the extra years come extra costs: housing, food, health care, etc. — and that is typically extra money that women might not have.

According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, for every dollar a man earns, a woman only earns around 79 cents. In addition, many women put careers on hold to become stay-at-home mothers. This means that women start out at an economic disadvantage coming into their retirement years, especially if they are alone.

Marketing to this group is important. Not only is made up of people who need what you may be offering, but it can fill a void you may be having in your communities. Those ever-tough-to-sell one-bedroom units could be the best fit for a single, widowed or divorced woman. These are the people who are looking for comfort and care but don’t have the money or need for certain amenities or extra space.

Another selling point for a community is that, generally, it is filled with women like those in the target group. The commodity of friendship can attract those who might not live with others or who think they are missing out on social activities because of where they are living.

When marketing to these women, focus on the benefits that a community can bring: security, socialization and a space meant for them. Know your audience and listen to their needs. In this case, the needs of your audience include an affordable place to live without the burden of too much space or upkeep. Give these women ways to live without breaking the bank. Provide opportunities for them to interact with others. Offer them an answer to their worries about retirement.

When it comes to hospitality, one name tends to stand above them all in terms of quality: Disney. This company has created an empire based on entertainment and, quite literally, a kingdom based on hospitality and service. There’s a reason it’s so successful.

Why should we look at the successes of theme parks when thinking about retirement communities? The two seem unrelated, and yet — are they?

Senior living and hospitality go hand in hand. It’s important for communities to understand the needs of their residents and meet or exceed them. Learning about other brands and how they accommodate guests or residents can be beneficial for growth.

Disney has many customer service or, as the company calls them, “guest relations” principles that can be put into practice in almost any industry — especially the senior living and senior care industries. For instance, all cast members (that’s Disney speak for “park employees”) follow what are called “the four keys”: safety, courtesy, show and efficiency — in that order.  Safety is always top priority. Before anything else, cast members need to focus on the safety of guests. Then, courtesy and making sure guests are happy comes next. The show, or the storytelling, is essential to the magic of Disney, yet cast members always make sure that safety and courtesy come first. Last on the list is efficiency. Getting guests in and out of lines proves to be a challenge that Disney is always willing to take on. However, it is last on the priority list because, if guests are unhappy or not being safe, efficiency becomes less important.

Disney is so good at what it does because the company has its priorities straight. A cast member who follows these keys correctly knows what’s most important and when to choose one over another. This doesn’t necessarily mean sacrificing any one key; rather, understanding what needs have to be met and when.

These keys can stand as pillars even in retirement communities. Hospitality is nothing without safety, and in this industry, caregivers and adult children alike want to ensure the well- being of residents. Courtesy and efficiency are also important in any living community. Employees should be kind, as well as quick and effective. The third key, show, may not seem as valid in the senior living and senior care sector. However, if you think of a brand as a story, you would want your employees to carry out those values on a daily basis. Where in Walt Disney World, “show” means calling a little girl “princess” in Fantasyland or using pirate lingo in Adventureland, at a Life Plan Community, it might mean creating a spirit of care or developing new ways to interact with residents.

All of these ideas center around one concept: cultivating a culture within the employees that extends the brand values and promotes customer service. With clear goals and expectations, the staff can be motivated to do well.

Another important part of Disney’s hospitality success is that the company caters to everyone that it is trying to reach. It creates attractions, dining options, places to stay and advertising for people from all walks of life. Not everyone wants to drop 199 feet while riding the Tower of Terror, so Disney develops slower rides for them. Some people feel too old for the parks, so Disney shows them that they aren’t by providing opportunities (and advertising) geared toward older guests. This can be translated to the senior living industry.

Communities need to approach and reach out to everyone involved: potential residents, adult children, caregivers, etc. A great example is Disney Parks Mom Panel — a forum for parents to ask questions and get answers from real mothers and fathers who know what they are talking about. Each panelist has a specialty and can answer concerned parents’ questions from anywhere. Once again, this shows Disney’s focus on taking care of the consumer, creating new ways to answer questions and give advice.

Taking cues from companies like Walt Disney Parks and Resorts can benefit the senior living industry. Understanding your customers and creating a culture of motivation builds your brand and raises the standards your company may set for itself. And, hey, we could all use a little extra magic.

Smart homes are all the rage these days, with many nearly constructed dwellings having built-in smart technology, such as connected thermostats, locks and lighting. For individuals or communities looking to retrofit existing structures with this technology, the price tag can be pretty high. However, there are ways to add these amenities to existing structures without breaking the bank. For less than $850 per home, an existing unit can be upgraded with smart technology. Here’s how.

Amazon Echo Show with an additional Echo Dot — $270

The Amazon Echo was an amazing device, but Amazon really upped its game with the Echo Show. This new piece of technology incorporates a screen, along with voice command capabilities.

The Echo serves as the hub for smart home technology, syncing seamlessly with key devices in your home. By using voice commands, the unit will turn lights on and off, change the temperature, provide reminders and much more.

We also recommend the addition of an Echo Dot, which will expand the systems capabilities by adding a satellite station. The Echo Show unit should be placed in a common area, such as a living room or kitchen. The Echo Dot is a smaller, voice-only-activated device that is perfect for the bedroom. The Dot can perform nearly all of the functions of the larger unit, but in a size more suitable for the bedside table.

Nest G3 thermostat — $250

Nest is the industry leader in smart home heating and cooling. This thermostat will sync wireless with the Echo unit, allowing you to raise or lower the temperature of your home with a simple voice command. The Nest also learns the patterns of your home, raising the temperature during key awake times and lowering it automatically when you’re sleeping or away. This automated learning helps to save money on costly heating and cooling bills, making it a no-brainer for inclusion.

Philips Hue starter pack with two additional bulbs — $110

Philips has developed a very sharp product with its Hue range of light bulbs and accessories. Each bulb fits into a regular, existing fixture, whether it be a table lamp or an overhead light. Once installed, the bulbs will sync with your in-home system so that you can order the lights on, off or dimmed with a simple voice command. If you want to get even fancier, you can upgrade your bulbs so that they can change color, providing hues from across the entire spectrum. One of the best features of these lights is that they can also be controlled from your smartphone, so if you’re coming home late, you can turn on all of the lights in the house before you even open the garage door!

Schlade Z-Wave Connect Century Deadbolt — $200

Have you ever settled into bed for the evening and wondered, “Did I lock the front door?” Of course you have! It’s at that moment that you have the conversation in your head about whether or not to get up from your cozy spot to go check. With the addition of this Schlade lock, however, you’ll never have to do that again. The lock connects to your Echo system, allowing you to open and close it with a voice command. It also offers the convenience of a keypad for an unlock code, in addition to the use of a regular key. Our favorite feature, however, is the built-in alarm system. It operates in three modes — alter, tamper and forced entry. This will allow you to know if someone happens to come through your door (such as a neighbor or maintenance worker) or if someone has tried to breach the lock through devious means. Oh, and it will send those alerts to your Echo and your smartphone, giving you around-the-clock notice of everything that is happening in the home.

So, there you have it. For a mere $830, any home can be upgraded to include the key features of modern smart homes. Plus, by offering the Amazon Echo as the key component of the system, homeowners can continue to add additional devices to the system. This makes a great marketing tool for retirement communities, as for just a small investment, they can advertise a modern (and expandable) product to potential residents.

Regardless of industry, the goal and function of sales departments don’t change much. Sales professionals work with marketing to generate leads through a plethora of different means. Once the sales person has a name and contact information for someone interested in the product, he or she begins to guide the person through the decision-making process of purchasing the product, with the end goal of closing the deal.

However, marketing to Boomers and seniors requires a different approach — especially when your product is a major investment, like moving to a retirement community. How a salesperson engages with his or her leads and guides them to the final sale is an art that takes time to learn, and everyone can always use a refresher.

Marketing and sales professionals deal in information. The more information they have about a lead, the better equipped they are to pitch their product. Thus, it’s to be expected that they want to gather a great amount of information in a short period of time. The best example of this is the web form.

Web forms offer a great way to capture information to create a lead. Obviously, sales associates hope to get as much detail about a prospect as they can — name, address, phone number, etc. — but trying to get too much information in one shot will not only decrease your form completions, but potentially alienate customers. Your forms should capture the minimum amount of information possible for a salesperson to begin building a relationship.

Think about it from your own point of view. How much information are you willing to give an organization with which you haven’t had any experience? You don’t really know it or trust it. Naturally, you only want to provide the minimum amount of information needed to learn about the product or service being offered. Once you’ve determined that the group can be trusted, and its product is something that you want, you’re willing to open up more.  A simple web-started sales funnel may look something like this:

• SEO/SEM (get the person to your website)
• Contact Us form on the website (asking for only a name and an email address)
• Follow-up e-blast (asking for an address to send information)
• Mailer sent to lead (asking the person to call to register for an event, where he or she gives a phone number)
• Attendance at an event (where the salesperson meets the lead in person)
• Follow-up contact (via phone and email to schedule a tour)
• Personal tour (second salesperson meeting, builds trust)
• Additional meetings or tours (dependent on lead)
• Closing of sale
• Asking for reviews and recommendations

As you can see, this isn’t a quick process! The average lead will have at least 20 interactions with your community before the sale is complete — and may have many, many more, depending on his or her needs! Understanding how to nurture the lead through the sales funnel, step by step, instead of trying to go “all-in” on early stage information-gathering is critical.

Every retirement community has its own unique challenges with this process, and variations abound. At Varsity, we have become very adept at assisting communities in identifying the type of leads they are generating now and the type of leads they want to gather in the future, creating a sales process that will help increase their census for years to come.

Retirement communities often operate on tight budgets, with a goal of reducing overhead costs. Executives and administrators hawkishly watch financials, looking for any avenues where dollars can be saved. Human Resources is forced to cut benefits, while purchasing tries new products to save costs on cleaning and operating supplies. However, sometimes, saving money in the long run costs some in the short. Working with your maintenance division to convert systems to more environmentally friendly options may incur costs today that will save you thousands in years to come.

The easiest and most well-known method of savings is converting lights to LED bulbs. One community in upstate New York was recently profiled for doing just this. The community replaced 2,750 bulbs, at a cost of about $1,500. The result? A projected yearly savings of $144,000! In roughly 10 days, the community had recouped its investment and was on the path to saving money for years to come. LED bulbs are getting cheaper and brighter, in addition to having longer lives and being less harmful to the environment. Every community should be looking at a full light bulb replacement, if they haven’t done so already.

We all know that some of the biggest energy hogs in our own homes are our washers and dryers. Retirement communities are no different, spending tens of thousands of dollars every year on laundering linens and clothes. One may think that the process of doing laundry hasn’t really changed that much in the last 50 years; one machine uses hot water and soap to wash the linens, and another dries them; however, there is another way to do laundry that has been on the market for longer than you may realize — ozone washing machines. Rather than using hot water and soap, these machines use gasses and cold water (and much less of it). Rather than using detergent, the water is treated with ozone, causing dirt and stains to break down while linens remain vibrant and strong. It’s a complicated process, to be sure, which is why the machines have always been so expensive. Now, with advances in manufacturing and production technology, they are becoming more affordable, enabling communities to convert to their use, saving on energy, water and sewer costs while becoming more environmentally friendly in the process.

On the higher cost end of the spectrum, we find advanced smart home systems that include the Nest thermostat and similar devices. These products adjust home temperature based on user preference and patterns, such as lowering the temperature while the resident is asleep and at work, and raising it while the resident is at home — all automatically. Think of the energy savings that your community could yield by just turning down the thermostats by three degrees for 12 hours a day in every home. It seems like a small change, but the savings could be huge! As this technology grows, it’s being added to complete smart home systems, where community managers can monitor usage in real time, allowing them to look for areas to proactively save on energy costs by including their residents in the decision-making process.

The old adage, “It takes money to make money,” remains true today. It can also be said that “it takes money to save money.” By investing wisely in eco-friendly and efficient systems, your community could be seeing both greener trees and greener wallets.

Sources:

http://www.mcknightsseniorliving.com/news/bright-idea-expected-to-save-ccrc-more-than-144000-annually/article/640053/

http://www.ozonelaundrysystems.com/

Volunteers form the backbone of many retirement community programs. Whether they are current residents that volunteer their time to make the community better or outside volunteers looking to give back, both groups provide valuable services at little cost to the community. However, finding reliable individuals for volunteer commitments can be a struggle. We’ve identified three recruitment methods that you might not have thought about that could help you boost your volunteer program.

VolunteerMatch.org

VolunteerMatch is the biggest player in online volunteer recruitment. The site lets you post volunteer openings and search a database of potential volunteers, based on interest and location. You can also find experienced volunteers with skills that relate to what you need for your population. This is especially useful when looking for individuals to work with more challenging groups, such as those with dementia or mobility issues.

Website Recruitment

Businesses have gotten very savvy at the recruitment process for employees. They have online applications, screening systems and processes in place to help streamline onboarding. Why don’t we treat volunteers the same way?

Your website should have a volunteer portal, where prospective volunteers can submit their application online, including what areas of volunteering interest them and how much time they are willing to give. Accepting applications this way can help you build your own database of potential volunteers to help in times of need.

Just putting up a portal may not be enough, though! If your online portal isn’t getting many submissions, you may want to think about running an online volunteer recruitment campaign. Social media marketing offers a great way to advertise your volunteer program to those who may be interested. For less than $500, you can run several ads on Facebook, targeting different demographics, and have them taken right to your volunteer portal to learn more and submit an application.

Ask Your Donors

Donors are the bread and butter of many nonprofit retirement organizations — they provide the funding to accomplish the mission. However, have you ever asked them to donate something other than money? Getting your donors to give of their time, instead of their wallet, could be more lucrative than you realize. For instance, if you have a donor base of professionals, the services they could offer pro bono might be worth more than the dollars they are giving. How much would it cost for you to hire someone to do the job they are willing to do for free? The best part is, you already have the names and contact information for these individuals. Taking a moment to ask for their time could pay off with big returns.

At Varsity, we know the value of volunteers and the struggle communities can have to recruit them. However, if you adjust your recruitment strategy just a bit, you may find a new source of volunteers that not only boosts your programs but reenergizes your entire organization.

Potential residents and their families are increasingly turning to the internet to aid in their search for a retirement community. Nearly every community has a website, and most employ lead-generating tactics on them (contact page, downloadable brochures, etc.). But there is always room for improvement. Over a period of three weeks, we’ll provide you with three actionable tips that you can use to improve your digital footprint.

Today we’re tackling the every important “call to action.”

A call-to-action, often referred to as a “CTA,” is a tool used in web design to direct the user to do something that the website owner wants. In the old days, this was a blinking piece of text that shouted, “CLICK HERE!!!!” Today, the CTA has matured into buttons, forms and other interactions. These elements have converted websites from being static, digital brochures to engaging marketing tools that put the user in the driver’s seat when it comes to how they are advertised.

Retirement community CTAs are most often an attempt to get the user to provide some personal contact information so that he or she can become a warm lead for marketers. The site might offer a free e-book or resource document in exchange for an email address or phone number. Potential residents may also be able to register for seminars and tours through a website call-to-action that encourages them to “Sign up now!” The trick is for the potential resident to make that initial contact so that a salesperson can follow up and begin working him or her down the sales funnel toward a move-in.

Mixing up these calls-to-action, offering different incentives and using different copy will help you determine which ones work best and which are ineffective. No one gets it right every time when it comes to marketing. Testing, honing and refining are key steps in creating strong, lead-generating CTAs. At Varsity, we’ve had the privilege of working with many varied clients, in all market conditions. Our curiosity drives us to continually test and refine the CTAs we develop for our clients. This accumulated knowledge and testing then proves its real-world value with not only increased leads, but better quality leads that are more likely to commit to purchase.

Chocolate gets eaten, flowers wither, but how do you make love last? In honor of Valentine’s Day, we asked a couple in their 80s how they’ve kept their love strong through 60 years of marriage. (Guess what? Celebrating Valentine’s Day didn’t even make the list!)

Here’s what they said:

1. One or both should tell the other how much they are loved every day. Very important!

2. Maintain a balance of responsibilities — which is easier said than done.

3. Cultivate independent interests and encourage each other to do so. Too much togetherness can be a mistake.

4. Do not criticize. Nobody is perfect. Criticism is rarely useful or effective.

5. Talk to each other, and if there is a big topic, sit down and take time for it.

6. Plan fun together. It is easy to neglect, but many trips and social activities require pre-planning. Spontaneity can wither away with age, which is natural. (I always  watch Monday Night Football. I eat brunch at the café every Sunday. We go to Palm Springs every winter, etc.)

7. Try not to ventilate your problems too much to your other half. That can become a habit, but listening is wearying.

8. Last but not least, when you catch sight of a full moon, make your partner look at it, too. Same goes for rainbows. This is an easy rule, but important.

So this year, let’s learn from the experts at love and look at a little less Monday Night Football and a few more full moons.

The secret to keeping residents engaged in the dining experience is to invigorate and empower your chefs. Here are a few ways that communities around the country are energizing their culinary team:

1. Holding Food Network-influenced chef competitions where dueling culinarians must use offbeat ingredients or face other tough challenges
2. Asking chefs to conduct cooking demonstrations, and letting residents taste the results
3. Adding chef recipes, interviews and demos to their website or newsletter
4. Sending cooking staff to culinary training or bringing noted chefs in to share their expertise
5. Having chefs cook dishes, such as omelets or stir fries, out in the dining room
6. Planning unusual-themed events with menus that go beyond the typical holiday brunch
7. Changing the menu often — and allowing residents input
8. Compiling a cookbook of favorite in-house recipes
9. Celebrating the farm-to-table movement with fresh, locally sourced ingredients
10. Working creatively with dietary restrictions to offer healthy food with a gourmet flair

How is your community keeping things fresh in the kitchen? Let me know at wlangley@varsitybranding.com.

As we ring in the New Year, the phone is also ringing at retirement communities. Often, adult children notice a change in a parent during a holiday visit, which can lead to a post-holiday spike in inquiries. But is your community dropping the ball?

Let me tell you about the experience my friend Pam had. She, her two siblings and their families visited with mom over the holidays and noticed signs that she is not okay to live alone…not eating well, clutter piling up when mom had always been a fastidious housekeeper, unsteadiness on her feet, signs that the comfy chair in front of the TV is the hub of her daily life. These observations were a wake-up call they couldn’t ignore. Pam’s sister prolonged her stay with mom, while Pam got on the phone to find resources, contacting home health agencies and several senior living communities.

Unfortunately, when Pam called and visited the communities, the reception she received didn’t leave her feeling very confident. She was confronted with unskilled staff who didn’t know the answers to her questions, unreturned phone calls and general disinterest in helping during a situation that, to her, was a crisis. Here are five resolutions you can make to ensure that your community makes a positive first impression that can convert inquiries to move-ins.

#1:  Answer the phone and/or return calls promptly. Even though Pam contacted communities during business hours, the phone would ring and ring, or her call went to voicemail. More often than not, she called back rather than waiting a day or more for a return call.

#2: Be welcoming. Often, when Pam finally reached a live person, it was a receptionist who seemed almost surprised at her inquiry (during the holidays when everyone was off) and didn’t seem to know what to say. Train front line staff to enthusiastically greet the caller, ask the right questions, be empathetic and reassure the caller that the appropriate person will return their call that same day.

#3: Know the facts. The person on the phone often gave inaccurate information, such as saying the community provided “Life Care” when it was not a Life Care community in its true definition. Educate all staff on what your community offers and the benefits of living there. Craft a positioning statement that clearly conveys your community’s unique brand in the market and require everyone that works at your community to learn it and be able to recite it.

#4: Meet everyone’s needs. During community visits, make sure that you address the needs and questions of both the adult child and parent. Sometimes an adult child might be doing all the talking for mom or dad, either because he or she is trying to be helpful, has a controlling personality, or is overcompensating for a parent that may have some memory impairment. Always direct questions to both the child and the parent to make sure everyone is heard, all questions are answered and all wishes are being met.

#5: Don’t be pushy.  When you push people, they naturally push back. Instead of making statements like, “You need…”, ask questions of both the potential resident and the adult child that get them to state their own challenges, issues and needs. It’s much more impactful to have them come to realizations about their situation themselves rather than have someone else tell them what they need to do. Some questions you might ask the person who says they’re not ready: “What would have to happen in order for you to feel like you’re ready?” “Do you think it will be easier or harder to make a move a year from now?”

Keep these New Year’s resolutions, and make sure that post-holiday spike in inquiries leads to lots of move-ins. If you’d like to talk more about selling strategies, email me at jstone@varsitybranding.com.