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We were pleased to sponsor a basecamp at this year’s LeadingAge PEAK Conference. While much of our team was front and center, sharing knowledge and experience, I took the opportunity to attend other presentations and listen to what our colleagues in the aging services space were saying. After reflecting on the event, I boiled my experience down to three takeaways that really provided insight for me.

Design Trends

My favorite presentation from the event had to be “7 Hot Design Trends” from Gregory Scott of RLPS Architects. Greg is well-known in our space, and I really respect his insight. He covered a plethora of information in his 20 minutes on stage. From the desire for more urban-style living to hybrid homes and how to make the most of apartment repositions, it was a wealth of great tips and tricks. Certainly, I’ll always remember this — “When remodeling an apartment, don’t mess with the plumbing. Leave it where it is and build around it.” That’s some great advice!

Expanding Services and Communities

Across the country, we are seeing a trend of growth among providers. However, the form this growth takes can be very different from organization to organization. We heard from Bob Dahl of Elim Care regarding the community’s expansion to new parts of the country, spurred on by grassroots support, which, in turn, caused a realignment in strategic thinking for Elim.

On the other end of the spectrum, we heard from the Abramson Center for Jewish Life, which has found new ways to provide services to the wider community while not drastically expanding its campus size. By offering more home-based services, Abramson has seen rapid growth over the last 10 years, going from serving 400 people to more than 4,000 within a decade.

Both of these models have merit, and we’ll be interested to see how other organizations put these lessons into practice.

The Growth and Impact of Memory Support

Our team thoroughly enjoyed the Great Minds Gala, held on Tuesday evening. LeadingAge honored award-winning actress Marcia Gay Harden and renowned chef Madison Cowan with the Proxmire Award for their advocacy and activism for people impacted by memory diseases. The growth of the memory support sector within aging services is phenomenal, and at Varsity, we are working on some creative ways to bring awareness to the value memory support can provide, including a better quality of life for the individuals and their families.

We thank LeadingAge for a great conference and hope that everyone who stopped by our basecamp learned something valuable from our team!

Over the holidays, the Varsity team was saddened to learn of the passing of our colleague, Sal J. Molite Jr.

Sal had served as the president of Edenwald Communities in Towson, Maryland, since 1988. His passion and dedication for the aging services industry was well known, and he was respected as a leader, serving as a mentor to many. He served as the chairman of MANPHA and was honored with the prestigious Chairman’s Award.

Edenwald was as much a part of Sal as he was a part of the community. His desire to keep the campus modern and fresh has been an important part of the organization’s success. Sal treated his team members like family and always reminded them of the importance of the mission. His favorite question was, “Why are we here?”

A family man, Sal was a devoted husband to Diane and dedicated father to Chris Nick. His proudest accomplishment was becoming a grandfather to Grace, Zachary, Dominic and Rocco.

We at Varsity extend our deepest condolences to Sal’s family and the Edenwald organization. He was a true friend and colleague that always made us strive to do better.

Requiescat in pace

“Did you notice that she didn’t come to lunch yesterday?”

“Have you heard who he’s sleeping with?”

“Oh, she’s a mess. She doesn’t comb her hair, and she always smells funny.”

Where do you think these quotes originate? Perhaps in a middle school cafeteria during lunch, or after a high school sports practice? Scarily enough, they could be happening right now, at any aging services community in the world. Bullying like this isn’t just a problem that afflicts young people. Increasingly, Boomers and seniors are becoming the victims of bullying by their peers.

A study released by Dr. Robin Bonifas of Arizona State University cites that 10 to 20 percent of residents of senior living communities have experienced some form of bullying. Take a moment to think about that number. This means that, between one in 10 to one in five residents have been bullied!

We can already hear you saying, “That doesn’t happen at my community! All of our residents are nice, lovely people who would never do that.” While we have every confidence that your community is a wonderful place to live, we also have to recognize that, when large groups of people live together in close surroundings, they are naturally going to come into conflict. For some, the way of handling these conflicts is to engage in negative behaviors that they may not even realize they are displaying.

While physical bullying is more common among younger groups, social and emotional bullying is the forte of older adults. Examples of bullying that fall into these categories are exclusion from social activities, the spreading of rumors and gossip, and negative personal speech. These behaviors can be further amplified by physical conditions, such as dementia and mental health issues. Where once someone was a loving and caring person, he or she might become negative and hurtful with the onset of dementia or after suffering from pain for a long period of time.

So, what can you do as an aging services professional to ensure that bullying doesn’t occur at your community? First, keep an open mind to the fact that it may be happening. Be mindful of residents’ behavior toward one other, and listen to what residents are saying about each other. Be certain to not agree with a resident’s negative actions or statements; rather, remind him or her that his or her behavior could be hurtful, and try to help the resident empathize with how the other person might feel.

A great resource for more information on this trend — and for ways to cope with bullying behavior — can be found at SeniorHomes.com, here: https://www.seniorhomes.com/p/bullying-in-senior-living-communities/

Whether we want to believe it or not, bullying is happening in our communities, and we must be cognizant of the impact that it has on resident life quality. Paying attention to the warning signs now can help to avoid bigger conflicts in the future.

Recently, Derek Dunham, vice president of client services, discussed the 90% census plateau that many communities face. This week, Jackie Stone, vice president of sales consulting, provides some strategies for filling that remaining 10%.

Those of us involved with communities know that there’s an issue when occupancy dips below a certain number. But when we’re at 90 percent occupancy, it’s easy to think everything’s fine. However, we cannot be complacent — we must always strive for full occupancy and keep building a quality waiting list. As the community ages, so do its residents, and attrition increases. And there are some units that tend to stay empty for a range of reasons. For instance, filling smaller apartments has become a challenge. Prospects want more living and storage space and will stay where they are rather than agreeing to a one-bedroom apartment.

Here are some ideas for selling that remaining 10 percent — the ones that fill up last due to size, location or other perceived weaknesses.

1. Brainstorm positive features

Naturally, as salespeople, we sell the best first and may not be as excited about the remaining inventory. When we repeatedly hear from prospects that an apartment or cottage doesn’t have a nice view or is too far from the action, we may begin to believe it ourselves. If you believe a particular residence is undesirable, you won’t be able to sell it. Take your team into that residence and brainstorm all the positive features of the style, layout, location, view, etc. Practicing verbalizing those positive aspects will prepare you to communicate them better when sharing with prospects. (I actually had a situation like this in a community in central Massachusetts. One apartment was referred to as a “dog” and was never going to be sold. Our team went through this brainstorming exercise, and on my drive back home to Connecticut, the marketing director called and said they had sold that apartment that same day.)

2. Explore big ideas about small apartments

• Is it financially feasible to combine two adjacent one-bedroom apartments to create a larger two-bedroom apartment? (If so, do this sparingly, as we always need an inventory of one-bedrooms for their price point and for current residents who decide to downsize.)
• If you can’t create a larger apartment, make a smaller one seem larger. Can your galley kitchen be reconfigured to create an open concept? If so, use the same flooring from the threshold to the exterior wall, preferably wood or laminate, with the lines going lengthwise to make the rooms appear longer. Eliminate soffits, and bring kitchen cupboards up to the ceiling to make the ceiling appear higher.
• Purchase a mailing list of single households that would feel very comfortable in a one-bedroom apartment, and focus your efforts on this niche.
• Host events, such as “Small Living, Big Life,” and feature the breadth of your cultural arts programming. Have current residents share how they live a big life at your community.

3. Be creative with policies

If you have strict policies, loosening them could help fill more units:

• Rent apartments to snowbirds. When they no longer migrate seasonally, they could become permanent residents.
• Does your community allow pets? Or is there a current policy dictating that pets need to be under 25 pounds and live on the first floor only? A 10-year-old golden retriever will sleep all day and not bother anyone. People will not get rid of their furry companion to live at your community! Forget about the one-bedroom with den, and market a one-bedroom with dog!

4. Get back to the basics

We can all fall into a routine and give the same canned presentation to everyone we meet, with little results. Dust off the sales training manuals, and follow their advice:

• Improve your discovery skills so that you are getting to what the prospect truly values in life.
• Present your community in a way that connects with those personal values.
• Practice solving commonly heard objections.
• Always ask for a commitment, whether it be a decision on the apartment, lunch next Thursday or a call in two weeks. Get the prospect to say, “Yes”!

We hope that these strategies help you fill that last 10 percent! If you have questions about your community’s specific occupancy challenges, I’d be happy to help. Please contact me at jstone@varsitybranding.com.

The 2017 Power of Purpose session is in the books, and the member organizations of LeadingAge Tennessee experienced a great conference. The speakers all delivered interesting and informative messages that helped to educate and inspire. I was able to take in several sessions during the event and wanted to share with you the three items that really struck as important takeaways for all attendees.

The unimportance of an office

I thoroughly enjoyed Duane Cummings, the keynote speaker who opened the conference. His message on leadership and putting people in the right place for them to succeed is something I truly aspire to. But one point really resonated with me: Duane doesn’t have an office at his organization. Rather, he ensures that all his key employees have their space, and he meets them there. It reminds him to be a servant leader and takes the fear out of a chat with the CEO.

While retirement communities are often dealing with sensitive information, and therefore need private office spaces, I believe his point is still salient. It speaks to the need for executive directors and C-suite personnel to get out of their offices and walk the communities they serve. It’s far too easy for us to get stuck in our daily routines and never leave our offices, processing that precious paperwork that never seems to end. Getting out for that daily walk not only makes you more present, but can serve as a morale booster to both residents and employees.

Reposition with a purpose

Tye Campbell of SCFS presented an excellent session on some of the repositioning and construction work that his firm has done in the last decade. Every one of those communities had something in common; they all worked hard to incorporate green design and local flavor into their updates and upgrades. This trend isn’t new in the aging services space, but Tye’s presentation reinforced just how important these considerations are as organizations contemplate their next move.

SCFS has also experienced a dramatic rise in the desire for common spaces in senior living. Tye noted that, in several instances, the pools, bistros and other dining areas that SCFS has built are so popular with residents that they seem too small on the very day they open. Those looking to expand should listen up on this point — don’t go small just because of budgets. Think about how much use the space will get, as it’s better to built a slightly larger space now than to try to retrofit or expand a space later.

Plants, leaves and the color green

While this might be a bit self-serving, Seth Anthony, our communications manager at Varsity, made an interesting point during our session on branding that I hadn’t previously considered. It also happened to get the most laughter and nods of agreement of any part of the presentation, so I had to include it in this list.

We, at Varsity, value our ability to bring a fresh perspective to our clients during our brand odyssey. Seth aptly pointed out one area in which aging services organizations aren’t doing a good job at being fresh — their logos! Try this exercise, and you’ll see what I mean! Go to http://images.google.com and search for “senior living logos.” You’ll notice that a large portion of logos include one of three elements: plants and trees, leaves and the color green. As organizations work hard to differentiate themselves in an ever-more-competitive market, having a logo that looks and feels much like your competitors can make it hard to truly stand out. I know I’ll be taking a more critical look at aging services logos in the future!

I’d like to extend my thanks to LeadingAge Tennessee for another great event in Nashville. Its hospitality is always spot-on, and you certainly can’t beat an evening out

One of my favorite sayings is, “Design for older eyes shouldn’t be old design.” I find this phrase to be especially pertinent when tackling website projects. Whether it be building a new site from the ground up or refreshing an existing site, my top priority is to ensure that design complements and enhances the user experience. All too often, designers are looking to incorporate new innovations (some would say “gimmicks”) into their websites, all the while forgetting about how the end user will interact with them. While the latest plugin may allow you to add extra or flashier animation, it also runs the risk of confusing the user. Through our focus groups and user testing, we’ve seen this again and again, and it’s a problem that older users are especially prone to.

Avoiding these issues starts before the visual design process is even considered. The architecture and user flow should be the first considerations one thinks of before things like colors and themes are discussed. Understanding how potential users navigate your site will impact the rest of the design. Put yourself in the shoes of a 65-year-old that is exploring life at retirement communities — what is he or she most interested in, and how can you draw him or her into your sales funnel? Having a clearly defined “road map” that leads the user to the exact information he or she wants, along with a prompt to provide an email and phone number, is the foundation of a quality website that helps generate leads for sales staff.

Just as when you’re driving on a highway, you’re going to need some signage to help direct your website traffic along. This takes the form of the navigation on your website and how it’s displayed. The goal is to get the user to the desired information as quickly as you can, before he or she loses interest in the product that you’re offering. A good rule of thumb is that key information should be no more than two clicks away from the landing page, with only one click being optimal. If someone lands on your site looking for memory care, he or she shouldn’t have to click through information on nursing or assisted living. Creativity in menu design and user flow can make the difference between a site generating lots of leads and one that leaves potential residents lost on the internet.

Now that we’ve put all of this thought into the structure of the site, we can contemplate the look and feel. Often, this process is done in conjunction with a refresh in brand and market positioning, giving us a great opportunity to create a website that feels modern and fresh while still supplying the basic information that users are looking for. At this stage, I like to concentrate on two factors — contrast and readability. Remember: Older eyes can still appreciate modern design, but they have to be able to see it. Using high-contrast colors will make the site easier to read and navigate, producing longer visits, which in turn generates more leads. Readability goes hand in hand with this concept as I look for fonts that are easy to discern and large enough for users to read. Additionally, I may look to add a feature that lets the user make the text on the site even larger or change the contrast. By providing these features, we make our sites more user-friendly, helping to set us apart from the competition.

After all of this has been thought out, the real fun begins, as I can turn my creative mind loose and look for new and inventive ways to convey the community and brand visually. Working with our writers, art directors and account management teams, I look at the entire website holistically, bringing together a website that represents the vision of the client and the needs of the user in one experience. Whether a brand is trying to convey an active lifestyle, security and compassion or a unique living situation, it’s my goal to tie all of the creative assets together so that vision is carried through the photos, text, videos and interactive experience.

Just because the users of the websites I design tend to be older doesn’t mean that I get a pass and can use dated design. Quite the opposite, actually! Every day I’m challenged to create designs that incorporate the latest in digital innovation while ensuring that the user experience remains as seamless as possible. Agencies can easily become blinded by the desire to innovate something totally revolutionary. In my eyes, the most revolutionary designs are those that users may not even recognize, as they are too busy imagining themselves already making a life for themselves at the community the website represents.

As the annual United States tax-filing deadline looms near, many are scrambling to assemble their documents and get their returns filed on time. When a person is young, taxes always seem so simple, but as we age, and as our financial lives grow, taxes get more complicated. Children, mortgages, business expenses ­— they all play a factor in how much each of us pays to the government. Then, children move out, businesses get sold, and mortgages get paid off, leading people to believe that their taxes just got a bit easier. Don’t be fooled! Boomers and seniors can be missing out on some major tax benefits by taking the simple way out and paying less attention to their filings.

According to the Tax Policy Center, filers over the age of 65 are the largest single group to benefit from special provisions of the federal tax code. Some people refer to these provisions as “loopholes,” but they’re not! They are built into the tax code to specifically help aging adults that may not have a large or stable income as they exit the workforce.

Everyone has heard that they should pay a professional to do their taxes because they will get more money back. However, the expense of the professional may cut into those returns severely, especially for low to moderate-income households. For Boomers and seniors, there are government programs that will provide professional tax preparation at little to no cost. One such program, titled VITA, offers free tax help to people who make less than $52,000 and need assistance in preparing their return. Additionally, there is the TCE program that provides free tax help to people over 60. This program specializes in help with retirement investments, such as pensions and 401(k)s. For retirement communities, these programs can be especially helpful to residents and their families. Encourage your residents to take advantage of VITA and TCE, and provide a place for individuals to meet with the volunteers during tax season. Ensuring residents are financially stable is critical to keeping them in your community.

Specialized tax credits are also important for the Boomer and senior population. The Elderly and Disabled Tax Credit is probably the most well-known, but it requires the use of a 1040 form (as opposed to the 1040EZ) to receive it. If the filer, or his or her spouse, is 65 years or older or is under 65 and permanently disabled, he or she could qualify. The only catch is income level, which varies on how someone files. The maximum yearly income allowed is $25,000 for those that are married and file jointly, and both must qualify. While this does limit the number of people who qualify, nonprofit communities that provide mission-based services may have many residents that could take advantage of this program.

Having tax specialists present at lead-generating events and resident gatherings isn’t new. By doing so, the community provides information to potential residents that helps them understand their ability to retire. It also benefits the tax professionals, as they gain clients. It’s an idea that has worked in many instances, but what can you do to freshen it up?

Instead of inviting just one professional, how about asking several — all specializing in different fields — to attend? Having a “finance fair,” with a wide range of experts, could be a great draw. If you’re working with a higher-income bracket of potential residents, have an “investment symposium” that concentrates on issues relating to larger investment accounts. Both of these can be great ways to generate warm leads for your marketing strategy.

Helping your residents and potential residents understand tax issues is in your best interest. It can keep current residents in your community and aid potential residents in understanding how affordable life can be by retiring with you. Connecting these groups to tax preparation resources isn’t just a kind-hearted move; it’s a fiscally responsible one that has real-world benefits for everyone involved.

Sources:

http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/publications/why-some-tax-units-pay-no-income-tax

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.

This week, we’re issuing you a challenge to test your SEO.

If you’re doing any kind of digital marketing, you’ve heard the term “SEO” bandied about like a magic bullet; we’re here to tell you that it’s not. Creating quality SEO takes hard work, commitment and deep thought. It’s an art, not a science.

Let’s do an exercise. Open a new tab and go to Google. Now, search to find your community without using its name or the town in which it is located. How long did it take you to find it? How far down on the list was it? This exercise quickly shows that if your search engine optimization strategy is to reinforce your name and the town where your community is, you are missing potential leads.

When creating a website, think holistically about how a person would find each page via a search. If you are optimizing for the phrase “Independent Living Tacony PA,” how many searches do you think you’ll pick up? Tacony isn’t well-known to those outside of the Philadelphia area. Put yourself in the user’s shoes; he or she wants the best search results for the least amount of effort. A better search term to optimize for might be “Independent Living near Philadelphia” or “Southeastern PA Independent Living.”

This sort of deeper thinking is one of the factors that sets a truly great website apart. Critically thinking about the SEO of, not just the homepage, but of every page on the website will help increase leads that convert to sales. By being intensely curious about online consumer behavior, we have been able to identify areas of improvement for our clients’ websites and provide them with a digital strategy that puts them at a distinct advantage in an increasingly online world.

1. Ensure that your marketing messages and images are not furthering the misperception that retirement communities are little more than nursing homes.
2. Implement an event strategy that brings prospects on campus to see for themselves what life could be like,.
3. Ensure your employees are knowledgeable and are delivering your brand each and every day to everyone they encounter including one another.
4. Emphasize your mission and residents who are living a mission-focused lifestyle.
5. Spend sufficient time educating prospects on the many benefits of having care available should they need it

For more insights on drawing prospects to your community, order a free copy of our latest white paper.

From Ikaria, Greece, to Sardinia, Italy, people who live longer follow a wide variety of diets. What’s the one thing their eating habits all have in common? A “plant slant” — fruits and vegetables are at the center of their diets.

Back in the U.S, some communities are already incorporating the nine healthy principles followed in the world’s longevity hotspots, including “plant slant” (#5). Wellmark has found a way to take advantage of this trend through its Blue Zones sponsorship. We can learn from this sponsorship and see how other industries — from produce to wine — can also benefit from the growing trend. 

In our past few posts, we covered the first five principles: (Move Naturally, Know Your Purpose, Downshift, 80% Rule and Plant Slant.) Learn about the other four at bluezones.com.