Four Ways Your Community Can Get the Most Out of Social Media
With the right channels and the right content, social media can be an invaluable tool for any organization, especially when combined with a targeted and strategic paid social media plan. But creating and implementing that plan isn’t always easy. For many groups, including senior living communities, social media is a challenge that marketing teams struggle to take full and proper advantage of.
That struggle can undermine your marketing efforts and leave your community without one of the most important and powerful marketing vehicles in your toolbox. The key to success is outlining a channel strategy that accomplishes your goals, using each channel appropriately to reach your target audiences, and then putting a team in place to bring those strategies to life.
Have a dedicated social media manager
The first step in any social media program? Assigning a team member to create and implement your community’s social media plan. A dedicated social media manager will not only oversee your community’s social media strategy — and adjust that strategy as needed — but will also be tasked with the day-to-day duties of content creation for each channel, the posting of content, and engagement with fans and followers on each channel (an important task typically known as “community management”).
Know your competitors
A formal or informal audit of competitor communities will yield invaluable insights that can be used in your own social media plan. What channels are your competitors on? How often are they posting? What are they posting about? The answers to those questions can be used to fine-tune your social media strategy. That audit should be conducted during the initial planning stages, but feel free to keep tabs on your competitors on a regular basis.
Choose the right channels for your community
Each channel has its own advantages. Women are more likely to use Instagram and Pinterest, while Facebook has an older user base than Instagram. LinkedIn has a higher income base. Each one has unique advantages when it comes to reaching different audiences, and knowing your audience will help you decide which channels to use to reach that audience.
Don’t spread yourself too thin
If you have a limited amount of time to spend on social media, spend it on the channels that are most effective at reaching your target audience. It’s always best to choose one or two channels and create great content for those channels, instead of spreading yourself thin by doing mediocre content for four or five channels.
Roundtable Successes and Setbacks in the Month of Love
From an upswing in sales activities to new concepts in senior living and positive attention from the press, there were lots of successes for our participants this February. However, some attendees struggled with challenges like sales slumps and poor Google reviews — and their fellow participants jumped in with some welcome advice.
Prospects Falling in Love With Communities
The month of love was very busy for Roundtable attendees. There was a major upswing in activity after the holiday slowdown with lots of tours, applications and move-ins. Many communities are at or close to full occupancy. But higher occupancy levels create their own unique problems.
“We’ve had so much success that I don’t have move-in-ready inventory, which is a challenge in itself.” (Missouri)
One creative working solution that an Illinois participant found was marketing guest suites for a trial stay of one to two weeks, in order to “allow those people [who are interested] to try it out for a week or two, and get a feel for living here.” (Illinois)
Unique New Approaches to the Senior Living Concept
Many of the Roundtable attendees had exciting and fresh takes on what senior living can mean, with upcoming projects and expansions underway.
Zen Community
One participant is involved in a “Zen” contemplative care community opening in California later this summer.
“The community will be a contemplative care community with a much different approach to assisted living and memory support than we’ve done in the past. There will be Zen teachers who live in the community, a tea room, and a fully vegetarian offering based on the Greens restaurant in San Francisco. It’s been 10 years in the making.” (Delaware/California)
An On-Site Dog Grooming Spa
One participant added an on-site dog grooming spa. “In one of our apartment buildings, we took over a floor and added a dog grooming spa where we will have a groomer assist residents on campus.” (Arkansas)
Hybrid Home Expansion
Another participant is involved in a “hybrid home” expansion project. “A hybrid home is really the best of an apartment and the best of a cottage or villa. It will be three stories high with an open floor plan. We often hear prospects say they wish they had parking or a garage, and this model has an underground parking structure where every resident can have one car, kept underground and out of the elements.” (Pennsylvania)
Memory Care Village
One participant from New Jersey has plans for developing a memory care village based on the Hogeweyk concept from the Netherlands. “It is a self-enclosed village concept with its own supermarket, cafe, etc., and everything right there on campus. We’re hung up on the zoning process right now and we expect the local town to contest it. The position of the model, that the residents get to live a natural life, is the hook that draws people in. It’s not just dementia care, but dementia living.” (New Jersey)
Media Coverage of On-Campus Fun
A number of participants were able to invite the media to their community, where they got some coverage for fun activities put on to chase away residents’ winter blues.
“We had our indoor snowball fight yesterday! We ended up on the front page of today’s local paper, the local televised news, and even on CBS and ABC news. (Illinois)
ADVICE FROM THE ROUNDTABLE
Navigating Difficult Conversations With Residents
Dealing with an unhappy resident can put staff in treacherous waters, and even more so when the resident is inciting a tirade against the whole community. One participant shared an experience dealing with one such displeased resident, and the Roundtable weighed in with advice.
The Situation:
“We had very little blowback [about rate increases]. The only negative feedback was from just one individual, who seems to have started a campaign with their family and friends to give us 1-star reviews on Google. A lot of it is just not accurate at all. So that’s been a little challenging.” (Arkansas)
The Advice:
“We’ve found that it’s best if the response is quick, and acknowledges what they’ve said — and if you extend the courtesy to please contact as soon as possible and show that you want to learn more about this situation. At that point, you’re really trying to influence the future visitors and viewers as opposed to what they’re actually doing to the Google ratings.” (Pennsylvania)
“Sometimes in those situations, just posting the response and being timely is important. Also, try to drive the conversation offline because what you’re trying to flag for those reading the 1-star reviews is that you care, and that there might be another side to the story.” (Bill Mulligan, Varsity)
Sales Cycle Slumps
One Pennsylvania participant enlisted the Roundtable participants for help with an issue with one of their sales counselors who is in a “slump,” asking, “What do you all do when you have a slow sales cycle and you want to get it kick-started?”
“Maybe you could have a heart-to-heart with them. Ask them if they’re feeling intimidated by an area, or what their knowledge level is, just work with that person.” (Washington state)
“Speaking from personal experience, a number of years ago when I was on the sales side, I went through a slump period. I tried talking to other people and seeing what they were doing, and analyzed my own weak areas. I discovered something about myself, that I spent too much time launching into our community offerings when talking with the prospect rather than getting to know their story first. When I turned that around and focused on the person and said, ‘Tell me more about you,’ it made a really big difference.” (Arkansas)
Learn from your peers at our weekly Sales & Marketing Roundtables. Join us on Thursdays at noon ET, 11 a.m. CT and 9 a.m. PT. For login information, email .
Small Updates to Make Your Community Shine During Tours
As a sales consultant, market researcher and mystery shopper with nearly 30 years of experience within the senior living industry, I visit many senior living communities every year. In my experience, I’ve identified some simple, affordable things you can do to make your community more appealing to potential residents. Even if you can’t afford to make significant updates to your campus and residences, here are some small changes that can make a big difference in the impression you make on prospects.
Be Responsive
Keep a close eye on web inquiries. At a few communities, I filled out a website contact form and requested a tour at a specific time and day, but got no response to the request.
Have a back-up team of individuals available to provide a tour whenever possible. After I received no response from one community and stopped by, no one was able to give me a tour and I was handed a brochure.
Enhance Curb Appeal
Just as in all real estate tours, you always want your property to wow the visitor at first sight. Some things to watch out for:
Make sure the buildings are power-washed to fend off that dingy, old look.
Keep your signage looking fresh — it should never be dirty, damaged, unreadable or have overgrown vegetation.
Keep your landscaping well-groomed. Brown, patchy grass and scraggly bushes make a poor impression.
It’s a nice touch to have a welcome sign at the main entrance for the visitor.
Ensure light bulbs are not burned out or dead bugs visible in the light fixtures during the tour.
Start the Tour Off Strong
Take a look at your discovery room to make sure it’s warm and welcoming.
Provide an area that’s conducive to intimate, private conversation.
Keep the room clean, decluttered and neat.
Offer your prospects a cold drink or a hot cup of coffee or tea.
A large, mounted TV with a virtual sales platform sharing floor plans, amenities, site plan/campus can be a strong selling tool.
Have documents such as floor plans, menus, fitness schedule, program/activity calendar, rate sheets readily available.
Make Affordable Upgrades to Residences
Even if you can’t afford to do a full-scale remodel on apartments or cottages/villas, there are cost-effective ways to show them to their best advantage.
Ensure the front door to the residence is freshly painted and not damaged or scuffed. Place “Welcome Home” in the nameplate vs. nothing or the previous resident’s name.
Declutter residences for a cleaner impression. Less is better.
Remove all items left from prior residents.
Ensure housekeeping cleans the residence prior to showing it. Ensure all available residences are cleaned on a regular basis.
Stage your residences with new, modern furniture, rather than with furniture left by deceased residents.
Remove or drywall over popcorn ceilings, which feel outdated.
Update lighting. Large fluorescent lights in the kitchen feel institutional and not residential.
Update everything at the same time for cost and time savings and a cohesive, modern look. For instance, in some bathrooms I toured, the lower-height oak cabinets were still in place; however, the kitchen cabinets were updated and modern.
Make It a Happy Ending
At one community, tours ended in the performing arts center with an exit out the side door. I recommend ending the tour in the discovery center for a next-step discussion.
Offer your prospects something to drink during the closing conversation.
Consider leaving your visitor with a small gift — at one community I was offered eclairs branded with a ribbon printed with the community logo, and another offered me something from their cafe to take with me.
Follow Up Promptly
Make sure to follow up right away after the tour. I appreciated it when a sales director sent me an email the same day with videos of the apartments we toured, and also mailed a handwritten note a few days later.
Thank you for reading the insights I’ve gathered after mystery shopping many types of senior communities. If you have any questions about how to make your community more appealing during tours, please feel free to contact me at .
Recently, Van Cluck, a leader in senior living for the past three decades, was a guest speaker at the Varsity Sales & Marketing Roundtable. Here are some words of advice he shared.
I have spent the last 30 years, really my entire professional career, in the senior living space. It’s been a true honor to work in this industry. Here is my perspective on what I’ve learned and observed in my 30 years.
It’s up to us to train the next generation.
When I started my very first role in senior living, I was a 24-year-old newly degreed accountant. I didn’t know much of anything, to be honest, when I went to work at the oldest and very first standalone independent living community in Nashville. Thankfully, a mentor came into my life very early on. He was executive director of that community, and he took me under his wing and taught me so much. I still think back on those lessons learned and their value.
That sense of family and mentorship is a real opportunity to impact the spaces we’re in. From that, I’ve tried to develop those mentor relationships, not just with my team, but with the industry as a whole. That has given me opportunities like being the chair of LeadingAge Tennessee. I just think it’s important to develop those who will come behind us. We don’t work in a space that is being trained well or frequently by academic institutions. So it’s really up to us to train the next generation.
Senior living is much more than housing.
One of the things I’ve learned in my career is that senior living is so much more than housing — or it better be, if we’re going to be successful. Layering the dimensions of who we are and what we do is such a huge part of the sales process. When it’s just about housing, we’ll only end up losing to the next community who is surpassing us, and we need to be more than that.
Have a healthcare and hospitality focus.
In my next role, I transitioned to a CCRC in Nashville where I spent 16 years as a CFO and then CEO, originally called Blakeford at Green Hills. There, we not only continued to develop and expand that community, but also grow some ancillary businesses. We launched Blakeford At Home, and our life care without walls product called LiveWell by Blakeford. Both are very successful today, and both also spoke to the dimensions of what we must do outside of just housing, by also being hospitality and healthcare. We want people to desire to be there, and we can create those dynamics where we are the community where people want to be when they need care services.
Help your residents age with purpose.
After my time at Blakeford at Green Hills, I had the opportunity to come home to Lebanon and work with a family group that owns senior living communities. The name of our company is L4 Lifestyles. I came up with the name and I’m very proud of it. As I reflected on the many residents and families I’ve served, I asked myself, “Who are those residents, from a purely anecdotal standpoint, who have aged the best?” And the commonality I’ve found is those who continued to live with purpose at every stage of their life. That was the question I developed to ask ourselves: “What are you living for, and what is your purpose?” So “What are you living for” — “living for” — became “L4.” That became the company brand, to really help us all to focus on the concept of purposefully aging. How are we touching all of our residents? Not just as a nice place to live, not just having great activities, but how are we impacting them purposefully? They are looking at us to be more than just a place to live, but a place to age well.
Encourage each other.
Let me emphasize how much value groups like this bring to us, because just today, hearing you talk, I wrote down three different things to bring back to our communities. We can’t minimize the importance of continuing to encourage each other, because in doing so, we will only serve our residents better.
Learn to overcome challenges — and make your residents part of the solution.
Recently at Cornerstone Place, our new master-planning project in Lebanon, someone on my team asked if I had considered the Spring Creek bladderpod in our planning. He said, “You better learn about it, because a lot of the 90 acres of land we’re developing is located there.” It’s a lovely little flower only found in very few areas of the country, and it’s protected by environmental guidelines. As we’re developing this property, we had to ask ourselves, “How will we protect this flower?” So our new logo features the Spring Creek bladderpod, and part of our residents’ role will be the protection of and care for the flower, which appears in various bodies of water on campus. I think the real lesson is that, whatever our challenges are, it is often our residents, who are right there in front of us, who are part of the solution.
In case you couldn’t make it to our December Sales & Marketing Roundtables, here are some of the trends we saw in senior living last month, and a look forward to 2023.
Holiday Conversations. New Year’s Conversions.
Many participants saw sales activity gaining momentum in December. At this time of year, children come home for the holidays and notice that Mom and Dad aren’t getting around as well as they used to, and might benefit from senior living options. Sales and marketing leaders saw leads pick up, which will hopefully become conversions in January now that the busy holiday season is over.
Connecting With Kinless Seniors
A frequent topic of conversation in December was “kinless” seniors, or seniors who do not have family support, whether it be because they never married, never had kids, are widowed, or for whatever reason don’t have a support network nearby. Kinless seniors can be uniquely limited in their caregiving support, and senior living communities can be well equipped to serve them.
“There are quite a few kinless folks who visit us. And I see them as very proactive, coming in and talking to us about their future plans, making sure they have their legal documents in order.” (Washington state)
Nearly Universal Rate Increases — and Tips for Communicating Them
Entry fees and monthly service fees are being raised for 2023 in most senior living communities.
“The industry standard is a 9% to 10% increase, on average this year. (Pennsylvania)
Sales and marketing leaders shared helpful tips on how to best communicate rate increases with residents. It was agreed that it’s best to be extremely transparent with why fees have to go up, and to go into detail about why.
“We were extremely clear about why we raised rates and broke down the pricing for our residents. We were clear on what we spent on renovation and really broke it down. We also showed figures of how the minimum wage is going up, how utilities have increased, how the food bills have gone up.” (Massachusetts)
When using this up-front approach, residents tend to have less pushback and are more accepting of the current situation.
Loneliness as a Public Health Problem
Americans are spending more and more hours alone than ever before. Our time spent alone has increased by over nine hours a week. This trend started well before the pandemic, although 2020 surely exacerbated it, and we know that time spent alone dramatically increases as we age. We discussed that it could be valuable for sales teams to convey that time spent alone can be dramatically reduced for people who live in senior communities.
Competition Changing to At-Home Options
Sales and marketing leaders agree that their competition isn’t necessarily the other community down the road — especially for independent living. More often, they’re competing against home health agencies and private duty care.
“I have always said that I feel like other communities aren’t our competitors. We’re all competing against the home and the prospect staying at home.” (Washington state)
“It’s when the home is no longer working for them that people start calling us.” (Massachusetts)
See what’s new in senior living for 2023 at our weekly Sales & Marketing Roundtables. Join us on Thursdays at noon ET, 11 a.m. CT and 9 a.m. PT.
This article was originally published by Plante Moran. Reprinted with permission.
The actions senior living leaders take now will set the stage for how their organizations transform and thrive into the future. Success will require a fundamental shift in the way leaders approach their business.
As senior living and care providers slowly pivot away from crisis-mode, it’s clear we’ll be facing a new normal rather than business as usual. The actions leaders take now will set the stage for how their organizations emerge from this crisis. Success will require a fundamental shift in the way leaders approach their business — a shift that may be especially difficult for those used to the slower pace of nonprofits.
Catalyzing Transformation
There are six ways leaders need to adapt their thinking to catalyze transformation within their organization.
Be bold — ask the critical questions
The first step to transformational growth is to ask the uncomfortable question, “What needs to change within our communities?” Leaders should scrutinize their operations, procedures, culture, technology, design and the built environment, unit mix, staffing model, pricing … the list should be exhaustive of every function of your organization. Just because you’ve always done something some way doesn’t mean it should remain that way. In fact, familiarity and longevity might make a process even more suspect.
Be thoughtful — start with strategic planning
Strategic planning is a critical first step toward meaningful transformation, allowing organizational leaders to align on the vision, goals, and objectives that will guide decision-making and hone priorities. This process requires an analysis of internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats to guide planning that will transform your organization into a stronger, nimbler one. As part of those discussions, consider policies and regulations, economic trends, and broader senior living trends that may affect any long-term decision-making.
Be adaptable — consider diversification of portfolio and position
Does your organization have too much of one product and service? Many organizations are evaluating the produce and revenue mix in light of the pandemic. Especially as consumers in the market continue to show their preference for assisted living and independent living over nursing homes, you’ll need to consider reducing the number of skilled nursing beds on your campus. A market study will shed light on the demand and supply metrics in your market to uncover where you may be overbuilt or missing opportunities.
Be inclusive — prioritize leadership diversification
According to research, diverse teams are better at making decisions 87% of the time over non-diverse teams. Diversity of skillsets, diversity of thought, and diversity of leadership will help make your organization stronger. Consider looking outside of our industry for new talent and broadening your diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives for new leadership candidates.
Be educated — provide ongoing board education
Leaders must make ongoing education a priority for the organization’s board members. Your board members generally do not work in our industry, so they don’t have firsthand knowledge of the day-to-day operations and challenges we face. Making sure they are abreast of current factors influencing the senior living and care industry will go a long way to helping them make informed, timely decisions when necessary. We offer board retreats to bring your board members up to speed on important market trends.
Be prepared — think about succession planning
If you’d like to see your organization remain viable over the next 10, 20, 30 years, successful planning is key. Succession planning is often only addressed when change is imminent or in response to an unexpected crisis or staff departure. Starting early not only allows for better planning but fosters talent development at a more realistic and achievable pace. If your organization has not focused on building a team behind the current leadership, now is the time to build a plan. (Your DEI efforts factor into this as well!)
Leading the Change
Now more than ever, the market is demanding leaders adapt if they want their mission to survive and thrive. This kind of change will not happen overnight. The process to become more bold, thoughtful, adaptable, inclusive, educated, and prepared is one started with optimism and continued with intentionality. Senior living organizations will become healthier and stronger if we commit to shedding the expectations of the past, challenging the status quo, and blazing a trail toward transformation.
Rethinking Senior Home Sales and Resident Engagement
In case you couldn’t make it to our November Sales & Marketing Roundtables, here are some key takeaways from the month.
Rates Jump for 2023 Rate increases are expected to take a high leap in the upcoming year due to inflation and rising living expenses. Entrance and/or monthly fees are being raised across the board.
“Our rates are going up 7.5 to 8%, which is the biggest increase we’ve ever had that I can remember. Usually, it’s only 2 to 3%. I also heard the average rate increase in the country is 9%.” (Washington state)
“Yes, we’re raising our entrance fee as well, by roughly 10 to 15%.” (Arkansas)
CElias spoke about the changing housing market and how it will likely impact the senior living industry. Seniors now have rising mortgage rates, lots of newer construction, and other factors that are putting the pressure on home sales and adding time to the selling process. This means it won’t be as easy anymore for seniors to sell their houses, and not as quickly as they did earlier in 2022 during the housing boom. Second Act is a senior-focused division of a Federal Savings Bank that offers a senior-focused Home Equity Line of Credit and bridge loan solutions. They work with senior living sales professionals to help with the home sale process for seniors looking to move into an LPC/CCRC.
“Studies show that if you embed the conversation with how to pay for senior living in the beginning of the journey, and communicate that you have the solutions if somebody can’t sell their home in time or doesn’t want to at their move-in time, it can increase sales by 6%,” says Elias.
Rethinking Resident Engagement
Shawn Richard, Vice President Strategic Accounts, Cubigo Shawn spoke about rethinking resident engagement and the importance of resident experience overall. Senior living sales and marketing programs are shifting more toward selling a lifestyle, and how to tailor the resident experience to meet the needs of the baby boomers as they filter into the senior living space. Communities need to have programs and activities that are personalized to residents, as well as having the methods to track resident engagement and satisfaction. Cubigo is an app that residents can download on their device, where they can track events in their calendar, RSVP to activities, manage their transportation and dining, and more.
“A focus on resident experience is becoming more prevalent, and people are talking more and more about it overall,” says Shawn. “Programs are shifting to meet the needs of the new wave of seniors coming in. So we need a holistic and a personalized view on what they’re looking for, versus the broad brush we used to apply to it.”
“When looking at resident experience as a whole, it’s not just experience itself, but how you can tailor it to the individual,” Shawn says, “When you think about experience and selling lifestyle, there’s a company who does a phenomenal job of it, and that’s Margaritaville. They take their experience in resort living to apply to senior living, and these are properties pre-selling that are full before they even open.”
Selling Through the Holidays After the slowdown of the summer and the mad rush of September/October, November is calming down but is still steady. Life Plan Community sales and marketing leaders are staying busy with planning for the upcoming new fiscal year, and preparing for the busy holiday season of events. Many are hosting open houses to invite people into their community during the holidays.
“We’re having a holiday dinner for residents, and that is always the event of the year. Anyone who is a depositor — whether they’re a resident, or not moving in for months — can come as a networking opportunity.” (Wisconsin)
“We’ve had snow the past few days, but we got in a turkey trot event before the snow came. We had residents from all levels of care doing laps on the grounds, dressed up as turkeys and other things.” (Illinois)
Many communities hosted successful Veterans Day events and invited military guest speakers, or even their own residents, to share about their military experience.
“We’re having a guest speaker from the local Air Force base coming out. We’ll recognize our veterans, of course, and we’ll do different military hymns. And the local ROTC will come out and do a presentation. We do offer a veterans’ benefit with a discount on their entrance fee.” (Arkansas)
“Everything is all about local SEO, especially for standalone communities. Being local is so important, so [we’re] trying to have more of a focus that way.” (Wisconsin)
“Content is king. So much about the customer journey is having the right content, on the right platform, at the right time. Keywords aren’t the thing anymore, but key intent is, the intent of the person viewing your content.” (Washington state)
Join the conversation at our weekly Sales & Marketing Roundtables on Thursdays at noon ET, 11 a.m. CT and 9 a.m. PT.
October 22 is National Make a Difference Day! To honor this day of service, we asked our staffers, “What is one thing you are doing to make a difference?”
Here are some of their answers:
“I’m building a sanctuary for nature and its creatures.” “l live on a farm, where I compost just about everything possible, plant bee and butterfly favorites like milkweed, bee balm and butterfly bushes, and tend a flock of chickens that give me great nutrients for my gardens. I also maintain a small pond that attracts frogs, insects and butterflies, and build and install birdhouses around my property.”
— Jace Dawson, Project Manager
“I join 100 women in making a bigger difference together than we could alone.” I belong to 100 Women Who Care, and each of us donates $100 per quarter and awards the aggregate $10,000 to a nonprofit in need. We nominate the nonprofits to be considered, they each present to us, and then we vote for who should receive the funding.” —Jackie Stone, Sales Consultant
“I serve as an election judge in my own precinct.” After the murder of George Floyd, I wanted to do something that would make my community fairer and more equitable. I looked around for ways to do that and determined one of the best ways was to get involved in the election process. I wanted to be a poll watcher to ensure everybody was able to safely and confidently vote. However, I was told the greatest need was to be an election judge in my own precinct. I’ve served in that capacity since 2020. — Derek Dunham, VP Client Services
“I support organizations that support the community.” “I donate to local organizations and am mindful of the environment, because we all live downstream.” — John Bassounas,Partner
“I’m going a year without purchasing new clothing.”
“At the end of 2021 I did my routine closet clean-out, and by the end of the day I was donating more bags of clothing than I care to share the final number of. Seeing that much clothing was humbling and disturbing. I probably was only wearing about 20% of my clothes. I took on the challenge to see if I could go an entire year without purchasing any clothing, and I’m well on my way there. Remake has been a great resource, and is packed with information about huge flaws in the fashion industry, from labor issues to the huge amount of clothing that ends up in landfills.” — Renee Kelly, Art Director
“I volunteer my time to a nonprofit theatre company and a community college’s graphic design program.” “For over 35 years, I’ve supported the local arts community by volunteering my time to a nonprofit theatre company — producing posters for The Harrisburg Shakespeare Company’s main stage events. I’ve also dedicated time to the local community college’s graphic design program, as a member of their advisory board, a guest lecturer and mentor to students, assisting them in preparing their portfolios and honing interview skills prior to graduation.” — Robinson Smith, Creative Director
“I focus on reducing plastic use and recycling, buying locally and composting everything I can.”
“I compost everything (including buying compostable diapers), have planted bee- and butterfly-friendly flowers, use biodegradable cleaners, recycle all that I can, and use Terracycle for items that aren’t traditionally recyclable. I also buy local eggs, meat and produce at the farmers’ market one mile from my house that I walk to.” — Natalie Groeger, Senior Account Strategist
That’s what we’re doing to make a difference! Here’s to helping each other, our communities and the planet!
Senior living communities typically collect hundreds of data points on each prospect throughout the sales process. This data is used by sales counselors to inform their strategy and interactions with the prospect. Once the sales process is complete, all of this valuable data sits unused in the customer relationship management system (CRM), benefitting nobody.
Alternatively, you can use your historical data to uncover new insights and guide sales strategies. Rather than relying on anecdotal evidence and gut feelings, your own data can give you a clear picture of which factors really matter in the sales process. A few examples of the questions you can answer are:
How many phone calls does it take, on average, for a prospect to convert?
Which market sources have the highest conversion rate?
How many days does it typically take to go from initial inquiry to deposit?
How frequently should we reach out to a prospect if we haven’t heard from him or her?
What is the relative value of each interaction? (For example, are calls more impactful than emails?)
Solutions
At WildFig, we work with our senior living partners to develop data-driven prospect scoring solutions to help answer these questions. In simple terms, all of this data is passed through a statistical model that weighs things such as the interactions with a prospect, their market source, their demographic information, and whether or not they become a resident. This outputs an effective, unbiased picture of how important each of the factors is in securing a conversion. Each version is a custom to each organization, so the insights are unique and tailored to each community.
Looking Ahead
Once you begin using data to get a clear look at past performance, the next step is to incorporate the findings into your sales process and impact future behavior. For example, if phone calls tend to have a high impact for your community, it may be smart to take the time to reach out and initiate that conversation rather than sending a text message or email. Further, if you find that getting a prospect to visit your campus makes them 8x more likely to choose your community, it would be prudent to evolve your sales process to encourage campus visits early and often. As behaviors change, the data will also change, which will in turn will require behaviors to change again! This continuous cycle of analyzing and adapting to what the data shows is how organizations can stay ahead of the curve. While this may sound daunting from a management perspective, the model will continuously update as new information comes in, and will show you what is most important.
For more information on the benefits of a data-driven prospect scoring solution and how to put your own data to use, please contact Dr. Kevin Purcell, Chief Data Scientist of WildFig, at .
At last week’s Sales & Marketing Roundtable, we had a very special guest. We celebrated Martha B.’s 105th birthday! Martha has been an independent living resident of Parkway Village in Little Rock, Arkansas, for over 17 years.
After we sang Happy Birthday to her, Martha shared her perspective on life at a senior living community, her fondest memories, and some wise words on how to live a vibrant life, no matter your age.
Here are some questions Martha answered from participants, who were participating virtually everywhere on zoom.
What’s your favorite thing about being 105? “I like to watch my grandkids and great-grandkids. It’s fun to watch them and see what they do. I have seven total grandchildren, and three are married now. I like to play bridge. But my big problem is being able to see, so I can’t do that as much any longer. Getting around is harder, too, but I always make it to bingo.”
What is the secret of staying so young and vibrant?” “Well, I’ve always been active. I was always active in organizations at church. I knew the local high school principal well. After my children were grown, I went to work over there as a secretary for 22 years. Then, my husband had a small business and I kept the books. So, I did two or three jobs over the years and kept real active. I play bridge a lot, and I’ve always loved knitting and embroidery. After I retired, I did a lot of that.”
What’s the biggest change you’ve seen over the course of your life?” “I’ve seen the invention of radios, TV, cars — my first car was a Ford that my dad had to crank in the front to go forward! That was the first car I can remember. I’ve also seen a lot of change in home appliances. I didn’t have a washing machine or a dryer growing up, and those kinds of things are wonderful to have around the house.”
Do you have any fond memories of the last 105 years you would like to share? “I have just enjoyed my life. I’ve always gone to Sunday school and church, and I’ve always stayed involved there. I love knitting, I do a lot of that at church. I play lots of bridge, and they say that’s very good for your mind. And I try to play bingo! When I moved here, I was very active and knew everybody and enjoyed all of the activities. Nowadays, things have slowed down because I can’t see as well, but I would still be doing everything if I could.”
What is the biggest historical event that stands out to you in the 105 years you’ve lived? “Oh, goodness. It’s hard to think of one … I watched our church burn. I lived close enough to see the smoke. When I went over with my family, I saw it burning. That was ‘history’ to me.”
What is life like there at Parkway Village? “It’s great, they’ve really taken care of me here. It’s been a perfect place for me. I moved here after I developed macular degeneration and I could no longer drive, so my son said I needed to be somewhere with people. Since I moved here, everyone has been wonderful to me. We have excellent security. The maintenance team comes as soon as you call. I have a housekeeper who comes to my apartment once a week, but other than that, I take care of myself and live independently. And I hope I can keep doing so!”
Do you have any advice for us on helping people make the decision to move to a community? “People always say, ‘I’m not ready.’ But what I try to tell them is, ‘You will never be ready.’ But you just have to pick up and move. My son is a psychiatrist, and he made sure I left home, because I wouldn’t have been able to get along when I couldn’t drive anymore. So, you need to move somewhere to be with others. I think a lot of people wait until it’s too late.”
Is there anything else you’d like to share? “I wanted to mention that Boston University has contacted me. They do work for a lot of senior organizations. They asked me to volunteer for their Alzheimer’s research, so I’m working for them. They have a number of people in my age group in the process of testing.”
Happy birthday to Martha! We are so grateful that you were able to join us on the roundtable today. You are a testament to all we do!
Please join our weekly Sales & Marketing Roundtables on Thursdays at noon ET, 11 a.m. CT and 9 a.m. PT.
