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Today we’re talking to Sadiya Abjani, Director of Learning & Equity at SAGE, the world’s largest and oldest organization focused on advocacy and services for LGBT elders. SAGECare, SAGE’s cultural competency training and credentialing program, provides training and consulting services to elder care providers.

According to Sadiya, a recent AARP study shows that over 60% of the LGBT community fears discrimination when accessing residential long-term care. This population would feel more comfortable if the company had been trained. However, many people have misconceptions about the training, as well as about the LGBT population at their communities. In this post, we’ll highlight nine truths to combat some of those misconceptions.

1. The training isn’t preachy or pedantic.
“People will come up to me after the training and say, ‘I thought you were here to push the gay agenda,’” says Sadiya. “There’s a misconception that the training will be preachy or pedantic, but it’s about the care.”

A quick overview of the training: There are separate, highly interactive trainings for management and line staff. (These trainings have been converted to virtual sessions during COVID-19, and received high marks by participants.) Each training focuses in on language, assumptions and historical context. It puts you in the shoes of an LGBT person. It’s all about creating inclusive communities — working with LGBT adults of color, veterans and elders, specifically, according to Sadiya.

2. You won’t be judged for your beliefs.
“Some folks in leadership may be hesitant to do the training,” says Sadiya. “The message we want to convey is that this isn’t about whether you accept LGBT people or not. The point of the training is that it is your mission to provide the best possible care to everyone who walks in your door. In order to help you do this, the training provides information, tools and skills that you need. We don’t want to judge individuals for their beliefs,” she continues. “We accept everybody as they are. We reach across that divide to focus on providing that best possible care.”

3. Your employees will be more accepting of the training than you may think.
Another misconception is that the staff won’t be on board. “This message that it (the training) is about the human being — that really resonates with everyone,” says Sadiya. “We’ve had success with organizations with an incredibly diverse staff.”

4. There’s no one type of organization that is most open to the training.
“There are organizations that we have worked with that have been more hesitant than others; the training stretches them. There’s an assumption that this hesitancy is found along religious lines, but that’s not true,” Sadiya says. “Some organizations see the merit of the training and champion it, regardless of religious affiliation or background.”

5. You have LGBT people at your community, even if you don’t know it.
“A huge misconception among organizations is: ‘We don’t have any LGBT people here,’” says Sadiya. Statistics prove that perception wrong. “The issue is that folks are not comfortable coming out as LGBT. Organizations can learn to ask questions without assumptions.”

6. Treating all care recipients the same is not a good thing.
“Often, people will assume that they are doing the right thing by making statements like, ‘We treat everyone the same.’ Although that sentiment is coming from a good place,” says Sadiya, “it isn’t our job to make sure that we’re treating everyone the same. It’s all about treating everyone with person-centered care. The goal is making sure that everyone gets to the same destination, which is the best possible care. In order to do that, we must understand an individual’s unique experiences and background.”

7. Language matters.
Language is covered extensively in the SAGECare trainings. Why is it so important? “For a community that’s already been discriminated against, and feels unsafe, using the wrong terms will cause them to shut down and the conversation ends there,” says Sadiya. A couple of examples of language that shouldn’t be used include:

• “LGBT lifestyle” (Using the term “lifestyle” implies it is something you have a choice about.) ”LGBT            identity” or “identity” are better words to replace “lifestyle.”
• “Sexual preference.” (This is another loaded term, implying that you prefer to be LGBT, but that you           could be something else if you want.) “Sexual orientation” is a better term.

“By using language that makes people feel safe, you’re setting yourself up to provide a better standard of care,” says Sadiya.

8. Organizations undergo many positive changes after training.
“After the training, there is a shift in the way that LGBT elders already at the community respond to care,” says Sadiya, calling it “a journey.” She’s noticed many positive changes, including people participating in PRIDE events, and organizations that celebrate diversity across the board. “When companies open the door with LGBT training, that inclusion then starts gravitating out. Their organization becomes a more inclusive place, both for staff and constituents,” Sadiya explains. “I’ve seen organizations that I’m deeply connected to grow and change over the years. It’s been magical watching this happen.”

9. Training benefits everyone at your organization.
Training can benefit all residents and team members at your organization, not just LGBT individuals, according to Sadiya. “These changes toward inclusivity affect the entire diverse population of your organization,” she says.

For more information about SAGECare, or if you’d like to schedule a training for your organization, email sabjani@sageusa.org.

Although coping with issues like employee retention and vaccine mandates, communities are reporting that leads and sales are somewhere between steady and swamped. Additionally, Lana Peck shared move-in and move-out numbers from the National Investment Center for Seniors (NIC) Executive Survey, and Zack Collevechio and Jodi Gibble shared valuable insights on data analytics and mystery shopping.

From Swamped …

Some community marketers  reported nonstop activity, sharing comments like: “The phone has been ringing off the hook and it’s very hard to keep up.” “We have a move-in almost every day next week, so we’re running as fast as we can.” “Business has been really strong and we’re really happy about that. Right now it’s like a fire hose and we don’t want to turn it off!”

… to Steady

Although not slammed, other communities were making consistent progress.

“Things are going steady and pretty good,” said one marketer. “I don’t want to jinx anything, but we are getting quite a few people interested in independent living. Personal care seems to have picked up somewhat.”

Staffing Issues

One issue standing in the way of move-ins for many communities is staffing challenges. Several marketers said they couldn’t accept new residents because they didn’t have the staff to care for them. We heard comments like: “The challenges that we’re facing are with dining services and actually getting and retaining staff. We’re so short-staffed and it’s not sustainable.” “We’re still having issues with staffing, so we have to turn people down because of our census issues.” “Regarding admissions, at the skilled level we have to turn people away because we don’t have the staff to care for them.”

Impact of COVID-19 Lingers

COVID-19 rates are back up in some communities. One marketer commented: “We had to scale back things in our dining room because our positivity rate is up, so we’re putting some restrictions in place. Another said, “Unfortunately, we had an outbreak in our SNF, so we are monitoring this closely.”

One community is seeing plenty of tours and leads, and its marketer shared, “I think that people have learned how to live with COVID-19 better than we’d thought because it doesn’t seem to scare people anymore to live in congregate living. I think people have started to just peacefully coexist with it and can’t put their lives on hold anymore.”

Vaccine Mandates

To combat COVID-19, some communities are requiring employees to get vaccinated. One marketer shared: “We’ve just released our vaccination mandate, which will begin on November 8. We haven’t heard any pushback, so not sure if that’s a calm before a storm or if it truly won’t be an issue.”  Another said: “We have a mandate of October 15,  and I think some people are waiting to see if we’re serious about that deadline.”

Lana Peck Shares NIC Executive Survey Insights

Lana Peck, Senior Principal from NIC, shared insights from the latest wave of NIC’s Executive Survey. Details on Wave 32 can be found on NIC’s blog by clicking here. Note that the NIC Fall Conference starts November 1 in Houston. More information can be found at this link.

Lana shared: “Towards the end on Wave 32 (the end of September and encompassing the month of August), organizations that said their move-ins were accelerating had gone down quite a bit. As the infection rates have spiked in regions around the country, we’ve seen it reflected in this move-in data as well. Accelerations decreased over the past 30 days. This may be related to the Delta variant, but it also may reflect that some of the pent-up demand is working through the system. Note this doesn’t mean the occupancy is declining, but that the rate of move-ins is slowing. As we look at the move-out data, the grey bar shows that there has been a slowing of move-outs, which is obviously a good thing to stabilize occupancy.”

Mystery Shopping Insights With Jodi Gibble

After mystery shops at 55 senior living communities, Jodi Gibble, sales consultant at Varsity, shared best practices:

• Answer the phone and collect information
• Conduct pre- and post-tour sessions
• Provide enough information on the website to entice the prospect to tour
• Ensure the website is up-to-date (calendar of events, etc.)
• Be generally interested in the prospect and/or their loved one
• Ensure that the community is tour-ready
• Follow up with all emails and tours (Jodi only received calls or emails from half of the communities she called/toured)

For more information, contact Jodi at jgibble@varsitybranding.com.

WildFig Data Discussion

Zack Collevechio from WildFig Data, an organization working in the data analytics space, shared key points for senior communities to keep in mind:

• Create a data plan — Planning and organizing your data before you want to analyze it is an unglamorous, but vital step.
• Examine — Look at relationships and trends within your data to estimate ROI when perfect tagging/tracking does not exist.
• Experiment — Test different levels of spending and observe the effect it has on results.
• Go deeper — It’s good to know how many calls or chats you receive in a day. It’s even better to know what people are calling or chatting about.
• Prioritize — Implement a system that directs your sales staff to the best prospects.

If you want to discuss any of this with Zack directly, you can send him an email at zcollevechio@wildfigdata.com.

Look for our next monthly roundtable recap in your inbox. Until then, please be sure to join our weekly Sales & Marketing Roundtable on Thursdays at noon ET, 11 a.m. CT and 9 a.m. PT.

For login information, email DDunham@varsitybranding.com.

Q&A with CC Young Resident Advocate Dess Rolfe

Can you give an overview of what a resident advocate does?

The role of the resident advocate at CC Young is to represent the residents and their families in expressing unresolved issues and concerns, taking them to management, and bringing those concerns to a timely solution. I listen, observe, interact, communicate and resolve.

How do you get in touch with residents?

I attend meetings and functions where they are present. Because I conduct surveys on the services we offer, I am in touch with many of them daily. Also, for the convenience of residents and families, we make information about me and the advocate position readily available on our website, in the resident handbook, and other CC Young publications on campus. I also hand out a lot of business cards, and my cell number is on the card.

My goal is for our residents to view me as a friend. If they have an issue that cannot wait until business hours, I want them to feel free to call me anytime.

How was the resident advocate position created?

Shortly after Russell Crews became CC Young’s President and CEO, he talked to me about a role he had in mind for me. We had worked together at another company, and he knew my background and work history. We talked about what he envisioned and what this title might be for this particular role. At that time, he said my main responsibility would be “to make the residents happy.” We began there and went forward. Over the past eight years, my responsibilities have evolved around this original concept.

Why is it so important to have a resident advocate?

The residents respond in a positive way to having their own advocate on campus — someone they know and trust who will always have time for them. In being available and listening to the residents and sometimes families, issues can be broken down and resolved before they grow in dimension.

What do you hear from residents?

The residents tell me they are happy that I am here to help them. They know they can call me, and together, we can get to the bottom of any concern and solve it quickly. They also tell other people. Many times, when I meet a visitor or new resident, they say, “I’ve heard of you. You helped my relative when they were here at CC Young.”

What is a typical day?

There are no typical days. While there are scheduled meetings, events and activities, the balance of my time is spent in relationship-building and problem-solving.

What advice would you give communities?

To have an advocate who is immediately available when an issue arises and one who proactively reaches out to residents and families very quickly. It’s important in this role to be a good listener, have empathy for the situation, look into the matter, and follow up with an answer.

What is your background?

I’ve been at CC Young for 12 years, and in this role for eight. I believe many of my previous positions have prepared me for the resident advocate position. My first summer job in high school was at a small hospital of 25 beds. Later, I became a certified medical secretary, and was a family service counselor at a local funeral home. I’ve also worked for several physicians and psychiatrists. A few years ago, I became a Texas certified mediator.

Most recently, I was asked by CC Young to teach the customer service/hospitality module in orientation to all new employees.

What is CC Young’s point of view on customer service?

Our vision is to enhance the quality of life for all we serve. We put the residents first. It is very important to build relationships through our respectful and caring approach.

What’s the most rewarding thing about your job?

Seeing that the residents and families are happy, with as little stress as possible, and that their issues are resolved quickly — to serve in such a manner that their lives are enriched because I was there to help.

 

 

For the most part, sales are on the upswing again this month.  Our Sales & Marketing Roundtable participants across the country are staying busy with inquiries, events and move-ins, particularly in independent living. We’ve also discussed some great opportunities, like receiving funds through the American Rescue Plan and a new tool communities can use to drive occupancy through culture. Some not-so-high points: a lack of leads in personal care and assisted living, discomfort with asking people if they’ve been vaccinated, and unease about the Delta variant.

Here are some hits and misses in senior living for the month:

HIT: Occupancy continuing to trend upward for independent living.  One community marketer said, “Things are very positive. We’re getting more calls and move-ins.”  Another participant shared,  “We are back to pre-pandemic levels with 84% occupancy,” while a third echoed, “We’re busy across all of our communities with inquiries and tours.”

MISS: Sluggish assisted living/personal care sales. “We’re struggling a bit with personal care. We’re not getting as many referrals or leads,” said one participant.

HIT: Out-of-the-box tactics to fill assisted living/personal care. “Our personal care is still steady with referrals to our short-term rehab from hospitals. We’re also connecting with some of our home care providers that are inside of our building to encourage them to refer their clients to us,” said one participant. Another community is using respite care as an entry point. “We’re focusing on using our respite care and short-term rehab as a way to introduce (people) to the community,” the participant shared. “That’s how we’re getting them in.”

MISS: Communities not being transparent about COVID rates. One resident even started a newsletter to get out the true facts. Read her story here.  

HIT: Creative sales tactics and events. “We’ve started a move-in special, which we’ve never done before,” said one participant. Another shared, “We have our first in-person event next week. The event is called ‘Cappuccinos and Crème,’ and we’re limiting the event size to only 20 attendees plus staff.” A third marketer shared, “In August, we’re doing a ‘Blues and Blueberry’ event that will feature a blues guitarist.”

MISS: Dealing with people who won’t get vaccinated. “There’s been grumbling because some people in the community haven’t been vaccinated,” said one marketer. “We can’t mandate it, and it’s their choice.”

HIT: A new tool to  boost occupancy through culture. At one roundtable, Denise Boudreau-Scott, President of Drive, spoke about the link between culture and occupancy, stating, “There is a strong connection between the culture of your community and occupancy.” Denise shared a free personal values assessment tool to help you to begin to understand the culture of your community. You can then work with your leadership to improve it, since it is proven to impact occupancy. Click here for the assessment tool or reach out to Denise directly at denise@cultureoutcomes.com  to discuss your community’s culture.

MISS: Attention from OSHA. “Everyday and clinical operations are getting back to normal, which means OSHA and other surveys are coming back,” shared one participant. “A lot of communities are not used to this, and some are getting hit hard by missteps. The clinical folks are under the gun to get back to regular operations and making sure things are not overlooked.”

HIT: Qualified applicants. “Those that are coming in have already done their research on our website and are financially qualified,” shared one participant. “They’re ready to make a decision.”

MISS: The Delta variant. “We were opening up and loosening restrictions, but now everything is tightening up a bit,” one marketer said. “There is concern about the new variant.” 

HIT: Opportunities to receive funds through the American Rescue Plan. “It is a great way to get money to help support projects that may have been put off,” says participant Seth Anthony. “There are a ton of different ways this money could be utilized, it just needs to be framed correctly and requested from the right place. It’s not like applying for federal money. Local townships are allowed to spend the money however they like and there’s not a lot of paperwork involved.” If you’re interested in learning more, contact Seth Anthony directly at SAnthony@lw-consult.com.

All in all, this month has seen more hits than misses. Sales counselors are busy, internet inquiries are flooding in and communities are filling apartments. One participant even said, “We’re full, so we’re not actively pursuing assisted living. We’re putting people on a waitlist at the moment.”

Look for our next monthly roundtable recap in your inbox. Until then, please be sure to join our weekly Sales & Marketing Roundtable on Thursdays at noon ET and 11 a.m. CT.

For login information, email DDunham@varsitybranding.com.

 

Many people thought it would take senior living years and years to recover from the COVID-19 virus. But this May, Varsity’s Sales & Marketing Roundtable participants were feeling resounding optimism! Their positive experiences with leads and move-ins are echoed in communities across the country, as we found through a presentation by Lana Peck of the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC) in our last roundtable of the month, where she shared statistics about the  state of senior living.

Here are 10 takeaways from this month’s roundtable:

1. Momentum is positive. Leads and move-ins are on the upswing. One participant in New Jersey said, “We have a small memory care wait list, which we haven’t seen since the pandemic started!” Another participant in Arkansas said, “Tours are way up. Leads are coming in strong.” From Pennsylvania, the news was, “IL is booming. Our small carriage home project is going well with 15 of 16 reserved.” And from Washington state: “We’re also super busy moving in people. There’s so much going on, our sales team can’t even keep up with it.”
2. Staffing issues are still challenging. One participant said, “We are definitely having challenges. We used to struggle with nursing positions, but now it’s across all departments. We’ve been offering between $2,000 and $5,000 [as a] signing bonus. Another community shared a tip: “We held our Drive-In Career Fair yesterday and had 27 candidates show up.”
3. The hot housing market helps. “The housing market is really hot and there are not enough houses, removing the challenge of selling your home,” said one participant from Illinois.
4. People are “Zoomed out.” But that’s OK, since in-person events, especially outdoors, are back! “The turnout for in-person events has been strong and there’s a lot of interest,” said one participant.
5. Mask updates are confusing. “Some of our campus is under one set of guidelines and some is under another set of guidelines,” said one attendee in Washington state. “It’s really confusing. We’re developing bullets to outline what our residents can and can’t do, depending on what buildings they are going in and out of.”
6. Communities have to get used to holding in-person events again. “We had our first in-person event yesterday after a year and three months,” said one marketer. “It went OK — you forget things like putting pens and pads on tables — it’s been a long time! It was very well received. We just had some minor hiccups and need to remind ourselves of how to do in-person events again.”
7. More team members are getting vaccinated. “Our staff is showing more interest in getting vaccinated and we’re at 66% right now. We think they are feeling more comfortable now that they’ve seen [that] others haven’t had negative reactions,” said one participant. Other communities are providing cash incentives and not requiring weekly tests if employees are vaccinated. One community even created videos of staff members explaining why it’s a good idea to get the vaccine. “It helped get us over 70%,” the participant said.
8. There’s a lot of buzz around mandating the vaccine. There’s a desire to mandate the vaccine, and some communities have started to do this, but our prediction is that we’ll be hearing much more about this, especially the legal implications.
9. It’s a struggle to re-engage residents. As discussed on a call with LeadingAge D.C., there’s a current struggle in getting Memory Care residents to re-engage because they’ve been in their rooms for 14 months.
10. Move-ins are trending higher. Findings presented by Lana Peck of NIC back up participant experiences: Across all three levels of care, move-ins are up, move-outs are down, and traffic and leads are strong. Details below.

NIC Executive Survey Insights with Lana Peck

• Lana Peck, Senior Principal from the National Investment Center for Seniors Housing & Care (NIC), attended the roundtable and shared insights from the latest wave of NIC’s Executive Survey.
  • A few high points:
    • Nursing care occupancy fell more than IL and AL — 12.5 points vs. 8.7 points. Senior housing declined 8.7 points over the course of the pandemic; that includes IL and AL. Nursing care fell the most, by 12.5 points. So, COVID-19 hit nursing properties especially hard.
    • Vaccinations have fallen off — right now, they are at 90% for residents and about 65% for employees.
    • A smaller share of properties have 90% or more occupancy — only 24% in the first quarter of 2021 versus 54% in the first quarter of 2020.
  • On the bright side:
    • An acceleration in the pace of move-ins is clearly trending, and the pace of move-outs is either staying the same or decelerating.
    • In March, we may have reached an inflection point in occupancy.
    • In IL, 56% of communities said they have seen an increase in occupancy.
    • Lead volume is increasing. Encouragingly, we’re seeing a growing number of organizations reaching lead volumes at pre-pandemic levels.
    • Rent discounts, free rent and rent freezes have been increasingly used as incentives to boost occupancy. Most of the C-suite operators and owners who were questioned believe that occupancy will reach pre-pandemic levels in a year or two.

See more details of Wave 28 of the NIC survey here.

We hope that move-ins, reopenings and vaccination rates continue to rise in June. Look for the next monthly recap of our roundtable discussions in your inbox.

Until then, please be sure to join our weekly Sales & Marketing Roundtable on Thursdays at noon ET and 11 a.m. CT.

For login information, email DDunham@varsitybranding.com.

 

 

The month of March marked the one-year anniversary of COVID shutting down workplaces and businesses, as well as the one-year anniversary of our Sales & Marketing Roundtable discussions.

During this month’s virtual discussions, the takeaways were different — depending on the part of the country — but we found some common themes.

One theme that frequently came up was the anxiety senior living marketers feel heading into the post-pandemic era. Communities are all moving from the uncertainty of not knowing what life is going to hold during the pandemic to not knowing how things are going to change as they get back to business in this new landscape. One quote from a participant summed up the feelings of many: “The uncertainty of the past year has played out in this field also. Some days it feels hopeful and some days it’s crazy.”

A roller coaster of emotions

Another marketer echoed the ups and downs of feelings (and leads), saying: “It’s surges and lulls. We get a lot of leads at once and then it slows down. I’m seeing peaks and valleys. People are coming out of their shells, and want to make decisions and move forward. They are being  cautious and thoughtful to make sure they have all the answers to their questions. There’s more hand-holding than before. The closing time is definitely longer and requires more personal time and visits. People want to feel good about their decision.”

The good news is that, now that many residents and team members have been vaccinated, communities are starting to open up parts of their campuses, particularly dining areas. “I’m excited about opening communal dining,” said one participant. “This will be full capacity, and we’ll be able to serve everyone at one seating.”

Another marketer echoed the positive feelings that come with reopening dining, commenting, “It’s so nice to walk by the dining room and see happy residents.”

Reopenings spark marketing opportunities

As dining, tours and activities open, so do marketing possibilities. One participant shared: “Our staff is going through the database to reach out to those who said they wanted to wait until IL dining and common areas were opened up.”

Planning has also been underway at many communities to determine how to market events and tours, now that visitors are starting to be allowed on-site. “Our marketing plan calls for the first in-person event in July, but who knows,” said one participant. “The big word right now is ‘agility.’ Things change every week.”

Even masks may, at some point, be a thing of the past. “The governor announced in Ohio that once our infection rate goes down for two weeks running, we can do away with masks,” commented one participant.

But things are still in a constant state of flux — although, to put things in perspective, the marketing landscape is much better than this time last year. “Last year, the plan went out the window completely,” said one participant. “This year, at least we’ll have a plan that will be fluid.”

Government guidelines cause frustration

Throughout the month, some confusion occurred around the CDC guidelines, and many resident family members continue to be frustrated at the no-visit rules, even when both parties have been vaccinated.

“People are confused and it’s making things harder before they will get easier,” said one community marketer. “If I were a family member or a resident, I’d be beside myself.”

Another negative was that assisted living is in a decline at some communities, although independent living seems to be doing well, according to several participants.

“IL has been going really well,” said one marketer. “We sold our last two high-end apartments, three garden apartments and many others. All four IL areas are pretty much full. SNF is at 50%. AL is also not doing well. Our digital team is saying that people aren’t searching for AL anymore and that the search is really down. We’re not sure how we’ll fill these areas.”

But, overall, communities are feeling optimistic, as prospects who were staying home begin to venture out.  “Last week, we had four sales, which we attribute to pent-up demand,” one participant said. “People can now come into the community for a full tour and to meet residents.”

Here’s to even more positive news in April! Stay tuned for our next monthly recap of our roundtable discussions.

As always, you are welcome to join our Sales & Marketing Roundtable on Thursdays at noon ET and 11 a.m. CT.

For login information, email DDunham@varsitybranding.com.

 

 

At our 41st weekly sales and marketing roundtable, the mood was on the upswing as the vaccine gave inquiries and sales at communities around the country a boost.

Please join our next roundtable discussion on Thursday, January 28, at noon ET.

For login information, email DDunham@varsitybranding.com.

 

 

At last week’s sales and marketing roundtable, the hot topics were the vaccine (or lack of it), move-ins, and tips for keeping virtual events fresh.

Please join our next roundtable discussion on Thursday, January 21, 2021, at noon ET.

For login information, please contact DDunham@VarsityBranding.com.

At our first sales & marketing roundtable of the new year, communities discussed the exciting news of the COVID-19 vaccine and shared tips for virtual events and video floor plans.

 

Please join our next roundtable discussion on Thursday, January 14, 2021, at noon ET.

For login information, please contact DDunham@VarsityBranding.com.

At our 34th sales and marketing roundtable, we shared our successes and setbacks during the pandemic. We were also fortunate to have one participant share takeaways from this year’s SMASH conference.

Check out the recap and conference takeaways below. We also invite you to attend our next roundtable this week.

Takeaways from the SMASH Conference 

Over 200 sales and marketing professionals from senior living organizations of all sizes across the U.S. participated. One of our roundtable attendees shared these takeaways:

Biggest Sales and Marketing Trends

1. Since COVID-19, leads and occupancy have plunged across the board.
2. The deepest occupancy decreases have been in assisted living, with the toughest objection being “Why would I move my mom into assisted living when I know I won’t be able to see her for months?”
3. Marketing budgets are not being cut and, in many instances, they are being increased.
4. Marketing dollars are being reallocated from events and on-site activities to digital, SEO/SEM, virtual tours, videos and webinars.
5. Marketing automation (automated lead nurture) is by far the #2 marketing priority after digital paid search and search engine optimization (SEO/SEM).
6. Marketing messages have pivoted for assisted living and memory care to safety and security. IL messages are still about lifestyle, with a bit of safety and security in the message mix.
7. Website — making sure the messages are appropriate/correct for the times. For most senior living communities, COVID-19 info has recently been moved from front and center to a smaller tab on the homepage, still easily accessible.
8. Salespeople across the board are still focusing 100% of their time on sales, including nurturing the wait list/depositors, cold calling, working through the database, delivering treats/meals to depositors, virtual tours, apartment tours, answering website/call leads, etc. Activity team members, as well as social workers and front desk team members, are taking care of all window/outside visits, temperature taking, Facetime/Skyping with family members, virtual doctor visits, etc.
9. Sales messaging, especially for assisted living — do not lead with COVID-19. We are living with COVID-19 24/7; however, prospects are calling us because mom/dad needs more help. They want to know how we can help them first and foremost.
10. “Backstage Pass” — can’t tour the community, but can tour individual apartments.

Interesting Sales and Marketing Stats

• New reality — 90% of prospects do not want to talk with us. They just want more information (which they are finding digitally via Google, website, videos, Facebook, Instagram, etc.)
• Across the U.S. in CCRCs:
  • 43% increase in cost per conversion in digital search
  • 39% decrease in goal completion (filling out a form, calling, etc.)
  • 103% increase in phone calls (these are not all sales calls)
• 70% of adult daughters find care for their parents through digital (up from 50% not so long ago)
• Google will drive 90% of digital leads
• 77% of searches for senior care begin online … even for skilled nursing
• 80% of senior living search online is Google, Facebook and individual community websites
• 6 billion minutes of content per week are consumed via video
• 3 connected devices per person — and we switch between them all day long
• Average number of brand touchpoints = six per person … up from two 10 years ago.
• 92% of consumers begin their healthcare search online — with 6,000 searches related to long-term care EVERY HOUR
• 88% of residents overall would recommend LTC. (Perception: 24% of seniors don’t want to move to LTC. Reality: 88% who live in LTC really love it.)

Please join our next roundtable discussion on Thursday, November 19, at noon ET.

For login information, please contact DDunham@Varsitybranding.com.