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  1. Unleash Your Website for a Breakout 2018!

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    3 Tips For Improving Your Community Website’s Performance

    A few clicks or flips of your calendar and the reality will be jolting…it’s almost 2018! Fortunately for many senior living marketers, particularly those responsible for digital marketing efforts, the calendar is a welcomed friend. Only by looking backwards at year-over-year, quarter-over-quarter and month-over-month comparisons can we tell if all of the efforts like technical SEO optimizations, content generation and pay-per-click advertising will bring successes to our community websites in the future.

    But if your senior living community website didn’t receive the attention it needed this past year due to budgetary constraints or shifting priorities, it’s not too late to implement tactics that will help your website work harder in 2018.

    Here are 3 tips you can implement now to improve the engagement between your website and your website visitor.

    1. Start Blogging Away. Blogs are one of the most effective vehicles for delivering resourceful information to your target audience and shows your audience that you are an authoritative thought leader in your area of expertise. The bonus benefit is that when search engines see how many visitors go to your blog post, take time to read the content, and click through to your main website; they’ll reward your overall website with improved search engine rankings.

    You don’t have to overthink blog posts. Write about topics on which you are an authority, but make sure you back up your statements with solid research and facts. If you have confidence in the writing abilities of your team members, then empower your wellness director, medical director, dining services director and others to contribute a 500 – 700 word article that would be of interest to prospective residents and family members.

    A rule of thumb to keep in mind is that your blogs need to deliver relevant keywords that a prospect will be keying into their search engine browser. Make sure to include the most important keyword(s) related to your article in the title of the article and interspersed within the article copy. If you have a comfortable grasp on the technical side of postings, then include those keywords in the title tag, meta description and H1 tag.

    2. Know What People Are Saying About Your Community. Keep tabs on reviews written about your community, particularly the number of stars your community averages with third-party review sites like Google Reviews, Caring.com, Facebook, APlaceForMom.com and others. Your prospects will do research on your community and part of that research is reading what others are saying about you.
    We tell our clients that while a perfect score of 5 out of 5 stars sounds great, it doesn’t seem authentic. A mix of reviews including lesser star ratings is a good thing, with the 4.6 to 4.8 stars rating really being the target range.

    If your star ratings are lagging, take action to improve your scores by encouraging positive reviews from your current residents and families. To make it easy for them provide a review, create a web page with links to third-party review sites. Send out the link to this page via email or create a flyer with graphics and copy to encourage review generation.

    One of the most important aspect of reviews management is to address negative reviews in a thoughtful and timely method. Not only are you addressing one person’s poor experience with the community, you are showing your readers that you care about their experience. We addressed the keys to responding to negative online reviews in a prior post and encourage you to read that article to learn more.

    3. Embrace Videos. Website visitors love to watch videos to learn more about your community, the campus, the resident lifestyle and the local area. And the metrics prove it…visitors stay on a website with videos longer than those without videos. It is truly an authentic channel to demonstrate, and not just tell, what life could be like at your community.  Viewers are able to pick up a real sense of personality and emotion that words alone cannot express.

    And like other forms on online content, search engines will score a website higher in their search rankings if they detect the presence of videos on the website…particularly those that are visited and viewed frequently.

    You don’t have to be a seasoned videographer to create engaging video content. Today’s smartphones can serve as quality video-recording devices. Resident testimonials are an obvious source of video content, but branch out by taking a video tour of the community amenities, videos of events and video interviews of staff members. Prompt staff interviews to include what makes your community unique from other senior living communities including programming, culture, features and amenities. Keep videos to a moderate length (up to 3 minutes) to retain the attention of the viewer.

    To promote the videos, create an account with a video-sharing service such as YouTube or Vimeo where your videos will live. Add a video gallery page to your website and drop in the videos as they are produced, paying careful attention to give each video a separate URL so they can be shared individually through social media posts and paid advertising.

    Having the right digital strategy in place is critical to making sure your website is visible to the searcher, delivers relevant information to the visitor and provides an opportunity for the visitor to engage with the community. Solutions Advisors knows that every community’s needs and resources are different which is why we provide a customized digital strategy for each community client we serve. Contact us to learn more about our digital capabilities and approach to providing solutions.

  2. How to keep Direct Mail from becoming Junk Mail

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    7 ways to ensure a successful senior living direct mail campaign

    To achieve a measurable response, direct mail campaigns must be executed strategically through a combination of creative design, pin-point timing, a compelling call to action and a well-targeted mailing list.

    Solutions Advisors was recently honored with 11 National Mature Media Awards, seven of which were for direct mail campaigns for our senior living community partners.

    Regardless of the marketing channel we use, our approach is to always tell a story – through  messaging, design and photography. Our unique story-telling approach applies to direct mail, too – there’s an art and science that goes into ensuring the brand positioning and uniqueness of your community is communicated in a limited amount of printed space.

    There’s a limited time factor, too. With direct mail, you are granted a split second to capture the attention of the recipient – or meet the immediate fate of the recycling bin. But by following our 7 tips, your mailer can linger a few more moments in the hands of your recipient, and even compel them to act.

    1. Fun, Free Event + Key Selling Point + Proper Targets = Successful DM Campaign
    Rarely do we send direct mail without coupling it to a community event – but we don’t stop there. The event must showcase key selling points and be tailored to the amenities that make the community special. (It must also be properly targeted, but see No. 7 for more on that.)

    At Fox Hill in Bethesda, Md., for example, we wanted to showcase the wide range of foods prepared by the chef, so we held an exclusive lunch and tour. Food stations were set up throughout Fox Hill, encouraging visitors to walk around and experience the food, while getting a feel for the lifestyle of the community.

    A key selling point of Fox Hill is its focus on arts and entertainment. A few years ago, we started the Strathmore Music & Arts Showcase at Fox Hill, a series featuring jazz ensembles, vocalists, string sections, and other performers in the community’s performing arts center. The direct mailers highlighted the engaging, intellectual aspects of being a Fox Hill resident, and the events were well attended by both current and prospective residents.

    2. Avoid fatigue: Change it up!
    If you frequently send direct mail, don’t hold the same event or send look-alike mailers every month, or your piece will make a beeline from mailbox to trashcan. We did monthly mailers for the Strathmore Music & Arts Showcase for Fox Hill which are unique each time we drop – not just in design, but in the way the pieces fold and even feel (a painting event featured paper that felt like canvas). Some mailers should be in envelopes while others are self-mailers with various-sized postcards.  We’ve even experimented with fonts that mimic handwriting on the outside versus the typical mail house addressograph.

    3. Initial offers should be low barrier to entry
    So much of the direct mail we receive is, in fact, junk mail – get-rich-quick offers, department store sales, or coupons that entice recipients to spend money. Direct mail from a senior living community should not offer discounts or feel condescending – rather, it should feel conversational and welcoming. The goal is to get your prospect to experience your community, so make your call to action easy to get to “Yes” with meet-and-greets and fun events (more than a simple “Open House”). Note: while free food is always a draw, we believe not all events need to be ‘food-focused.’

    4. Follow-up mail should move prospects through the conversion funnel.
    If a prospect attends an event, they’ve shown interest. The next event they attend should be a hybrid format – still entertaining, but also educational. Send your invitation only to those individuals or couples who attended the first event.

    The third event-mailing, sent only to those who have attended the first two events, is about conversion – make it special, framed as a meet-and-greet with current or prospective new residents. In this mailing, you are targeting a very specific group of people – in fact, your marketing to them may not be in the form of a mass mailer, but rather a personal letter, phone call or well-designed email invitation inviting them to take the next step.

    5. Invest in good design and copy.
    Marketing messages bombard us every day, at nearly every moment: picking up your mobile device, reading the news, commuting to work. At the mailbox, you are not only competing with other senior living community mailings, but with every other piece of mail in the box. Don’t skimp on the actual copy and design – try not to use the same stock photos as everyone else.  A professional photo shoot is a good investment and will give you a library of photos that will differentiate your community. Your copy should speak to the individual, not to the masses, and have a compelling call to action.

    6. Make the CTA clear.
    Be sure to include a clear and visible call to act. We suggest putting the call to action on the mailing panel. We find that most people tend to look at their name and address when they grab their mail, and having your offer nearby, visually, is a good way to make certain it’s seen. Consider multiple contact options – some people hesitate to pick up the phone, so be sure email is a viable way to RSVP or consider a dedicated RSVP landing page.  Note: if your only call to action is ‘call us to learn more,’ you just wasted a lot of money on direct mail!

    7. Target, target, target.
    If your mailing list is not strategic or highly targeted, you will very likely spend lots of money with little or no return. Don’t settle for just ‘age and income’ – you can narrow your focus by home ownership, home value, marital status, and much more. Depending on the community type – luxury, assisted living, or a more value-priced neighborhood – your target list should be specific to the market you are trying to attract. Depending on the size of your market, your mailing may range from 5,000 to 50,000 pieces – so make every postage, design, printing, and mailing list dollar count.

    Direct mail can be a cost-effective lead generator as well as a way to segment your prospects and advance them through the sales journey. But direct mail has to offer a clear, singularly-focused offer with a low barrier entry. Be sure the design reflects your community’s brand positioning, using photos and copy that stands apart from other mailers in the recipient’s mailbox. If your direct mail campaigns have had less than stellar results, consider Solutions Advisors as your marketing partner.

    Direct mail costs can be kept efficient if you use the right partner. Solutions Advisors has a national footprint, extensive direct mail and marketing channel knowledge, and can help develop award-winning direct mail campaigns that yield results. Contact us online, via email, or by phone to learn more about our marketing services.

     

  3. Meet the Digital Team Behind Our Award-Winning Websites

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    Creativity without functionality is a dead-end as far as websites go. The Solutions Advisor’s digital team works side-by-side with our account management team, graphic designers, copywriters and web developers to turn creative ideas into websites that not only engage and excite, but convert visitors to leads.

    Our team of digital experts understands the back side of digital programming, knows what makes a website ‘sticky’ and makes the complex and ever-changing world of Google rankings and search engine optimization easier to comprehend.  Behind the scenes are bewildering terms like meta descriptions, 301 redirects, anchor text and alt tags; but what the user sees is a clean, engaging and easily navigable website with useful information and compelling calls to action that makes them want to ‘turn the page’ and take the next step towards making a connection with the community.

    Jeff Felton, Director of Marketing Services, has over 20 years’ experience in traditional and interactive production management whose primary focus is implementing digital strategies for clients.  Kimber Karn, Digital Project Coordinator, brings her disciplined, even-tempered approach to the technical side of digital strategies; while Emily Fox, the newest addition to the team, brings both web content, design and social media expertise to website development.  No doubt their digital expertise, along with Solutions Advisors’ creative and strategic marketing teams, will fill the trophy case with more website awards.

  4. Does Your Website Tell a Story?

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    When we launched Solutions Advisors nearly a decade ago, our goal was to create a company that offers creative, strategic marketing and advertising to the senior living industry. Website design and development were part of our offering, but we weren’t known as a truly “digital” company.

    How times have changed. Over the years, we have quietly and steadily ramped up our digital capabilities, onboarding tech-savvy experts and pairing them with skilled storytellers to bring our client communities to life online. We have developed a unique story telling approach to website design, and in doing so are creating some of the industry’s most standout senior living websites.

    Solutions Advisors was recently honored with 11 National Mature Media Awards for projects completed in the 2016 calendar year, two of which received the Gold award for website design: Fox Hill in Bethesda, MD  and Applewood in Freehold, NJ.

    These days, it’s a well-known fact that any site should be optimized for mobile devices and tablets. And that we do. It’s also naturally going to contain information about amenities, healthcare, services or floor plans. That, too, we also do. And it’s no secret that search engine marketing is a critical must-have in order to achieve online visibility and presence for prospects to find you in a crowded and competitive landscape. That, too, we also do very well.

    So what does it take to make a senior living community website truly stand out from the pack?
    In three words: Tell their story.

    Here are seven elements we believe are critical to bringing a senior living community to life online.

    Assess first!
    Before launching any marketing campaign, it’s important to create an assessment of the market, strengths and weaknesses, competitors, audiences, and overall brand position. This is true, too, for websites.

    As part of our overall marketing support, we perform deep market research and discovery to get a better sense of where the community stands and how to best position it in the market. From the amenities and architecture to the geography and culture of the region, every community is unique, so the branding should reflect those key differentiators. We also align ourselves closely with client communities, and get to know not only the leaders and staff, but the residents.

    With research in hand and feet on the ground, we build a strategy, which ultimately informs the look and feel of the brand and tells the community’s story through marketing pieces such as brochures, direct mail, and the website.

    Tell a story.
    When the website development industry was growing in the early 2000s, getting found in “Page 1” search rankings was a top priority. And while search-engine optimization remains important to senior living marketers, equally as critical is telling a story of the community.

    In many cases – thanks to word-of-mouth, direct mail, events, and a variety of sales touch points – visitors to your website will have previous knowledge of the community and simply seek out the website to learn more. Therefore, it’s important to make a good first impression by presenting the lifestyle: Who are the residents? What is it like to live here? What makes it unique? To answer those questions, you must…

    Profile the people.
    A community is a group of people, not only a place to live. So to capture the community, you need to get on the ground and talk to people.

    At Fox Hill, for example, website visitors are immediately greeted not with floor plans, but faces of residents. In our discovery phase, we learned of truly amazing individuals living at Fox Hill (the scientist who discovered Ebola and a NASA physician, among others). We selected a diverse group of residents for profiles, capturing quality portraits of each and developing stories of their lives: the world traveler, lifelong learners, creative thinkers.

    You may wonder what personal interests have to do with selling a prospect on a community, but storytelling creates an immediate connection. Readers begin to see themselves in the community by learning about like-minded individuals in a similar phase of life. Each story also includes reasons why the individual or couple chose Fox Hill.

    Include calls-to-action.
    Storytelling is important…but keep in mind that a website should ultimately sell the prospect and move them through the sales funnel. That’s why Solutions Advisors’ websites include strategically-placed calls-to-action functionality to make sure that contacting the community is simple and easy for the site visitor. You’ll find calls-to-action on most every page: Schedule a tour. Email. Contact us with questions. Some users are simply looking for a phone number, so make those 10 digits prominent.

    Be a trusted resource.
    Making the decision to move to a senior living community can be an emotional process for prospects and their families. So it is important to make your website a resource for people as they explore options.

    On Fox Hill and Applewood – as well as all Solutions Advisors’ sites – we feature downloadable content in the form of a planning guide for senior living options. This valuable content can be accessed by filling out a form that then captures a lead. While we add a name into our CRM (customer relationship management) system, we provide users with educational content that isn’t an overt promotion. It helps solidify your community as a trusted local resource.

    Including a blog page that can be continuously updated with news and resources is an added bonus. Search engines reward websites with improved search results rankings if the site continually provides new, fresh content and blog posts are an excellent way to deliver this relevant information.

    Give multiple navigation options.
    Traditional websites always include a top navigation bar to get users to where they want to go, but that shouldn’t be the only way to move through a website. Throughout a Solutions Advisors site, we offer numerous ways to bounce around, moving visitors between healthcare options to floor plans to fitness to services and more.

    When adding multiple callouts and navigation points, it is critical, however, to work with a team that understands user-interfaces and experiences to ensure people don’t get lost in your site. While today’s trend of using icons in place of words for site navigation might work well for a segment of your audience, it may prove confusing and frustrating for another part of your target demographic and you will likely lose the ability to convert them into a lead.

    Use original photography (and perhaps video)
    Using stock imagery can be cost-effective, but don’t be surprised if you find the photos you pick on other senior living sites – or worse, local competitors. To truly stand apart, consider investing in original photography of the community and its residents and staff. This route requires more time, logistics, and investment, but it will help your website stand apart from the pack. If your property is in pre-development, consider contracting 2D or 3D renderings of living spaces and if budget allows, a virtual tour is an excellent way to showcase floor plans.

    Video is a great resource for showcasing residents, letting prospects get to know your staff and providing a visual of the community’s common areas, amenities and differing floor plans. Video can range from simple 360° virtual tours, to computer-generated virtual tours or even drone fly-throughs and fly-overs.

    In the end, a senior living community website should reflect the lifestyle of the people, not simply the buildings, services, and amenities. Tell their story, sell the community.

    Now for our own call to action: To schedule a call with a Solutions Advisors web expert to discuss your website strategy, contact us today at 888-312-0889 or fill out contact form here.

  5. Keys to Responding to Negative Online Reviews

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    Wouldn’t it be great if every social media post or online review ever written about your senior living community wasn’t just complimentary, but heaped mountains of praise upon the community for exceptional service, superb personal attention, unparalleled quality and an unmatched level of quality care?

    While we believe our communities are often worthy of these accolades, the reality is that someone, whether that be a current resident, family member of a resident, prospect, or possibly a disgruntled former employee, may not agree with the perceptions we have of our community, service and staff. If fact, some individuals may feel so wronged (real or not) by the community that they go to online reviews and social media to voice their displeasure and take a very public swipe at the community.

    But what do you do when a negative post about you, your staff or the community in general surfaces? To do nothing and hope that it blows over is wishful thinking, but ultimately ineffective. While you’re waiting for the negative post to disappear, which likely will not happen without any effort on your part, scores of prospects could be viewing this negative post and be forming an unfavorable opinion about your community.

    It’s important to respond to negative reviews for three main reasons:

    1. To show your audience that the community cares and values their opinion
    2.  To protect the brand reputation of the community
    3. To provide an opportunity to re-engage with the individual who has experienced a less-than-positive interaction with the community

    Provided are several considerations that should be taken into account before responding to a negative review or post:

    • Turn negative comments into a positive. For instance, if a reviewer claims the food at the community dining venue was awful, respond by thanking them for the feedback and respond that the community will use that feedback to help improve the goal of excellence in all food services areas or highlight a change that might have occurred recently in offerings or quality.
    • Be careful of your tone, especially when it comes to a difference in opinion. Take the high road by maintaining your professionalism and avoid using argumentative or aggressive language that may cause the reviewer to respond in kind with even more aggressive language.
    • Avoid the temptation to go on the offensive against the reviewer, even if their statements are false, categorically untrue or are a personal attack on you or a staff member. Retain your composure and remember that your response is not just being seen by this reviewer but by all prospective residents and families.
    • Show empathy with your response. Remember, you may be responding to a caregiver who is dealing with many challenges (financial, emotional, etc.) in their support of their family member at the community. That doesn’t make it right for them to lash out at the community in a public forum, but it allows you the ability to demonstrate your compassion, responsiveness and expertise in senior living.
    • Do not reveal private information not revealed in the review. Communications must abide by HIPAA regulations and can be subpoenaed in court.
    • If appropriate, acknowledge mistakes, lessons learned and corrective actions taken to avoid future mistakes.
    • If the reviewer continues to post negative comments even after two repeated positive responses by you, take the conversation offline. Provide a phone number or email to the reviewer to have a private conversation in hopes of diffusing the issue.
    • Avoid using corporate language that makes your response read more like a templated response. Respond to the viewer in human terms that’s conversational and authentic.
    • Remember that you might not be able to change the opinion of the negative reviewer, but you might be positively influencing a host of prospective residents and their families.

    Solutions Advisors believes that the best defense is a good offense when it comes to responding to negative reviews. Part of our digital strategy is to create opportunities for as many positive reviews, social media posts, testimonials, anecdotal stories and videos as possible because we know online reviews influence prospective residents’ confidence in a community, thereby helping to narrow down their choices. Contact us to learn more about our digital strategies.

  6. Stop the Jargon. Show me the Results.

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    Metrics Senior Living Executives Need To Know About Digital Marketing

    If you’re hearing terms like contextual targeting, demand side platform, geofencing, interstitial ads or schema markup from your digital marketing provider in monthly reporting meetings, it may be time to pump the brakes.

    At worst, word-dropping technical vernacular in monthly digital reporting may be a smokescreen to prevent an underperforming campaign from being exposed. Or it may be that the digital provider is overzealous to impress their client and prove their expertise in all things related to search engine optimization, content marketing, social media and pay-per-click advertising. But more often, it’s lack of understanding as to what you (the senior living CEO, Executive Director, or Director of Sales and Marketing) need to be sure that your digital marketing resources, strategy and budgets are helping you meet your business and strategic goals.

    To that end, we’ve identified four key metrics a senior living executive should be paying attention to:

    Metric #1 – Website Visitor Traffic

    Expecting double digit jumps in website visitor traffic from month-to-month might not be realistic, but you certainly want to see positive movement in traffic from quarter-to-quarter and year-to-year. Increases in web traffic will come through keyword optimization, content marketing (on-site, blogging, social media, etc.), link building and technical search engine optimization efforts. Results can be a valuable indicator of the level of attention your digital provider is giving your campaign. Monitoring web traffic can also help determine trends in how, when and at what frequency prospects are searching for a community like yours.

    Key sources of traffic you’ll want to measure each month are:

    • Organic – visitors who come to your site by clicking through from search engines.
    • Paid – visitors who come to your site by clicking on a search or display ad.
    • Referral – visitors who come to your site from other websites that have a link back to your community. Outreach and link-building by your digital marketing team is key to making this channel successful.
    • Direct Key – visitors who key your URL directly into their browser. This may be the result of any number of branding efforts such as general media advertising, direct mail, outdoor, radio, or even your bus wrap.

    Metric #2 – Lead Conversions

    Leads are those visitors who took some kind of action after landing on your website. For senior living, that typically means they made a phone call or filled out a contact form. If you’re not seeing the number of phone calls in your monthly reporting from organic and pay-per-click sources, it’s imperative that a call-tracking program be implemented. We consider a conversion rate (number of website visits divided by number of actions taken) benchmark of 3% to be the minimum target. Most of our community clients are in the 5% – 6% range with some in the 10%+ range. Variables such as the site’s navigation and user-friendliness, relevant content, optimized calls-to-action and many other attributes all play a contributing factor in the conversion rate.

    Related: People Are Talking About Your Community. Are You Listening?

     Metric #3 – Costs Per Lead

    Many senior living executives can tell you exactly how much they pay per lead through traditional marketing channels such as direct mail, print advertising and resident referrals, yet struggle to understand the cost per lead from website sources. While cost per lead can change from month-to-month and quarter-to-quarter, you should establish a range you feel comfortable with. This is an important metric for your digital marketing team to track as it relays how much budget is appropriate to spend in order to find new leads. Spend too much on competitive keywords and you run the risk of burning through your monthly pay-per-click budget too quickly which leaves less budget to target additional prospects. While many variables contribute to a website cost per lead, we typically see a targeted benchmark of $50 per lead through digital marketing efforts.

    Related: Multi-generational Marketing is Critical to Your Community’s Success

    Metric #4 – Rankings in Search Engines       

    One of the most important factors that determines whether prospects will find your community’s website is your search engine ranking. Being in the number one position for your own brand name should be an automatic given, but how your community ranks in Google, Yahoo and Bing for non-branded terms is critical to being found. These terms will likely include a combination of your location and key services (independent living, assisted living, memory care, respite care, etc.) offered but could also include terms unique to your community such as ‘only Life Care community in XYZ County’.

    Your digital marketing provider should provide a report of terms searched and where those search results for your community are positioned in search engine pages. For instance, search terms should be numbered 1 through 50 with the goal of always moving listings for your community further and further up search engine results pages to the number one position through an array of search engine optimization tactics. If you are not seeing successive ‘wins’ in this metric, a discussion with your digital marking provider about performance is needed.

    One of the best attributes of digital marketing is that its’ measurable and based on strong statistical evidence and cold hard facts. For senior living executives, that provides a baseline for holding accountable those you entrust with your digital marketing campaigns. If you have any questions about additional metrics to hold your digital marketing team accountable or to learn more about our digital strategies, please contact Jeff Felton, Director of Marketing Services for Solutions Advisors, at jfelton@solutionsadvisorsgroup.com.

  7. 5 Ways to Improve Your Marketing Messaging to Focus on the Customer

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    In retail, real estate, and other transaction-heavy industries, good marketing is driven by convincing your customer to buy your product or service, and persuading your prospects to choose your brand over the competition.

    Yet in the senior living industry, we deal with people’s lives – a responsibility that we do not take lightly. We believe proper marketing should reflect the empathy with which we approach this unique marketplace.

    As we have discussed in prior blogs selling begins by listening deeply to prospective residents and their family members to discover their story, their purpose in life and the experiences that drive them. This “storytelling” approach gives you a deeper understanding of your customer, allowing you to better tailor what your community offers to the resident’s unique objectives. Your sales and marketing messages should create communications that support the prospect’s sense of purpose and empower individuals to be the best they can be, says Lauren Messmer, chief operating officer at Solutions Advisors.

    The overall marketing message that embraces the idea that people continue to develop and grow no matter their age is consistent across all levels of care: independent, assisted, and memory care. When you can do that properly – and not simply talk about your community’s features – you’ll truly differentiate your location from others.

    To that end, we offer five ways to build customer-centered marketing messaging for the senior care industry.

    1. Establish All the Ways Your Community Offers a Sense of Purpose.

    Create marketing messaging that communicates the community’s support for residents and highlights all the ways it empowers people to live their best life, through activities and programs, events, and convenient amenities.

    Understand where potential residents’ minds are. David Solie tells us that maintaining control is a key driver for older persons as so many feel losses each day – of strength, health, peers, authority, identity, and financial independence. Think about these implications and fine-tune your marketing message to their objectives.

    “In the messaging we create, we try to avoid language about what we can do for them – and instead focus on how we can support them in their journey to get where they want to go,” Messmer says.

    2. Remember: You Operate the House, but Residents Create the Home.

    Whether online or in print, your marketing messages should capture the lifestyle and ways residents will feel empowered and engaged in the community. You create the environment to empower residents to live to the fullest and the residents bring the culture to life through activities and programs.

    3. Build a Style Guide.

    There are terms we purposefully avoid in our marketing messaging – “facility,” “retiree,” “unit” and other such “cold” terms. We are communities and neighborhoods…use of “facility” connotes a clinical, uninviting setting. In general, use welcoming phrases and terms that foster a sense of connection, engagement, and empowerment.

    The irony is that prospects tend to use such “cold” words, in part because they are used to seeing them on senior living brochures or websites. But just because they say it, doesn’t mean you should. Make your writing and style stand apart from the rest.

    A style or brand guide – two or three pages of terms to use and those to avoid – is a critical tool for both your sales and marketing teams and will ensure consistency across your organization in how to speak to prospective residents and their families.

    4. Remain Respectful.

    When reading your marketing messages, place yourself in the position of the prospect: Is the message condescending or unintentionally disrespectful? Ensure your tone and intent speaks to the prospect’s level.

    Note, too, that courtesy and manners were paramount in the younger adult years for those now in their 60s, 70s, and 80s. People knew each other’s names and treated each other with respect in every business interaction. Replicate that same level of courtesy and regard.

    5. Lead with Lifestyle – not Real Estate.

    While your instinct may be to talk about the buildings and gardens, consider leading with the lifestyle and program elements of the community: What’s it like to live here? What is there to do? How can the community continue growing a resident’s sense of purpose?

    As beautiful and stylish as your community may be, it’s hard to compete with the familiarity of one’s own home. Instead, show new residents all they can do at the neighborhood – and how engaged and fulfilled their life will continue to be.

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    We encourage you to review your marketing messages with these five points in mind. Are you over-emphasizing how residents are “taken care of,” and not including enough verbiage around creating a sense of purpose? Are you focusing too much on real estate, and not enough on lifestyle? Is your message condescending? If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, it could be time to rework your marketing messages.

  8. Multi-generational Marketing is Critical to Your Community’s Success

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    Content Marketing to the Adult Child

    While senior living marketers have always known that family members play an active role in the decision-making process for a prospect’s senior living choices, it’s only become recently clear just how pivotal the adult child’s role has grown. In an online survey conducted by Care.com that included adult children, relatives, spouses and prospects, 73% of respondents reported that adult children were involved with senior housing decisions regardless of service level. When the adult child helped influence the decision, the move-in rate was 3 times greater than if the decision-maker was only the prospective resident.

    Senior living sales and marketing managers are typically focused on providing a data-dump of information to the adult child about their community to include services, amenities, programs, and care through brochures, tours, presentations and community websites. While these marketing channels are important, marketers are falling short on actively targeting and engaging this key influencer.

    One of the greatest assets for reaching adult child influencers is through content marketing within the existing community website. This doesn’t have to be multi-layered complex campaign that diverts all of your digital marketing campaign budget away from other important efforts. Rather, some good strategic research and thoughtful writing can help your website become more versatile in how it speaks to a multi-generational audience.

    First and foremost make sure the community website provides a resource for the adult child. Create a new ‘Resources for Caregivers’ page that lets searchers learn more about the issues and concerns facing them as they look for senior living options for their parents or family members. Within this page, include a frequently-asked-questions and answers content area to include such questions as:

    • What is a Continuing Care Retirement Community?
    • Do my parents or family members need continuing care?
    • Signs that assisted living would be best for my parents or family member.
    • What do I do if my parents need assisted living?
    • How to start the conversation with my family member?
    • What are the costs involved?
    • How do I know if a community is right for my parent or family member?

    Remember that these questions are not only answering an important question for your adult child audience, but you will be mirroring the exact same queries entered into search engines which is a critical component of search engine marketing.

    Expand upon the online resources your community provides to an adult child researcher by providing a downloadable guide to help them in their search. Include in this guide tips for finding the right community for a parent or family member, considerations when visiting communities, questions to ask the sales and marketing team during a tour and meeting, and a short promotion of your community. Use specific and direct titles such as How to Find the Right Assisted Living Community or Our Guide to Memory Care Communities to capture the adult child’s attention. Promote the guide in both the website and through your existing pay-per-click campaign with a dedicated landing page for visitors to enter their information in exchange for this important information.

    Keep your community top-of-mind with the adult child even before a need is identified. Make use of your blog page to write posts that will be relevant and interesting for the adult child audience. Research the adult child audience for your geographic area to determine what would best draw entrances into the blogs through online searches. Suggested blog topics could include:

    • Winery tours within an hour of the city
    • Best views of the city (Or Best Views of the Town)
    • Colleges and universities within 100 miles of the city
    • Fun family day-trips close to the city

    Research your topics carefully since those that contain the least competitive keywords and phrases have a greater chance of being served up higher in search engine results and lead to greater visibility with searchers. For instance, Baseball Spring Training in Florida will have many hundreds of search engine results that your post will compete against for visibility. However, Spring Training Camps Near Winter Park FL will have less competitiveness and will be more likely to appear closer to the top of search engine results.

    Contact us to learn more about our Solutions Advisors’ digital strategies and how we can help your senior living community reach the adult child influencer.

  9. We “pinned the tail on the donkey” to become better leaders

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    Leadership Qualities Challenge2 (3)At Solutions Advisors, our vision is to inspire others to reach their full potential. As sales leaders and coaches, we are driven to seek out the best performers and to intentionally build stronger teams, which was the focus of our company’s semi-annual meeting last month. From JC Thompson, EVP and “chief disrupter” of Aspire, a national leadership development group, we participated in games like “pin the tail on the donkey” to learn that leadership and communication is hard work._N6A7915-2-small

    According to Aspire, only 4 percent of people perform at the level of ‘outstanding’ meaning they consistently deliver the highest level of results, while 17% are considered ‘top notch’ and 72% are mediocre performers. The remaining 7 percent? Naysayers or, as JC referred to them, “pukers.” The job of a leader, and the goal of Solutions Advisors, is to invoke the “Six Pillars of Intentional Leadership”™ as identified by Aspire: Connection, Clean Communication, Compassion, Higher Purpose, Participation and 100% Responsibility and Accountability. As a young aspiring company, Solutions Advisors is committed to continuous development of our own team members using both Aspire as well as StrengthsFinder 2.0 by bestselling author Tom Rath, to uncover individual strengths and build effective teams, and to deliver excellent results for our clients. For more information about Aspire’s unique approach to leadership development visit: http://www.aspiremarketing.com/aspire/

  10. To wait or not to wait?

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    Solutions Advisors works with a number of communities across the country that are in various stages of sales; some are under development, some are challenged with occupancy while others are in more of a maintenance mode. Regardless of the circumstance, a common question asked by the sales team is – should we have a waiting list even if we are not 100% occupied?

    The short answer is – YES! Using a waiting list strategically is a great way to allow prospects to commit to the community prior to moving in.

    The long answer is…well, longer.

     

    My community is under development!

    Google “senior housing projects under construction” and you will find new communities being developed across the country. “Blue sky” projects typically go through two deposit phases – a priority deposit phase followed by a reservation deposit phase. The goal is to have the priority depositor convert to a reservation deposit or a waiting list for the future. Then, once the community reaches 100% pre-sold with reservation deposits, new deposits are for the waiting list only. The waiting list will help back-fill cancellations as well as provide a pipeline for future move-ins after the community opens.

    Some important waiting list tips for blue sky projects:

    • Divide the waiting list by floor plan style.  If a reservation depositor cancels, start with those waiting list members who have expressed an interest in that particular floor plan style.  If no one on the waiting list is interested in the available residence, then it can be offered to the market
    • Know the timeframe of the waiting list members. Remember, with a new community, opportunities to reoccupy a residence take considerably longer than with an established community.  Ensure the depositor understands the sense of urgency
    • Ask the depositor for back-up residence styles. Since, as noted, reoccupancy can take longer, know the depositor’s first, second and third choice
    • Include the waiting list members in select, depositor-only events.  Some events should be held for only reservation depositors; however, inviting waiting list members to select events will help form a bond with the future residents more easily

     

    My community is occupancy challenged!

    Managing a waiting list for an occupancy-challenged community is just as important as for one that is full. Prospects in the planning phase of the sales process may find the waiting list a safe way to connect with the community while not being quite “ready” to make the move. The goal of converting a prospect to the waiting list is to engage them with the community so their desire to move increases. The deposit shows a financial commitment which is typically an indication of future interest. We’ve seen some communities that have stagnant waiting lists in which depositors simply want to have a placeholder but have little intention of moving unless a crisis hits. In some cases, prospects may be on multiple waiting lists, possibly waiting for the best deal or incentive.

    Some important waiting list tips for occupancy-challenged communities:

    • Consider defining two separate waiting lists: one more traditional list of people who want to be kept apprised of the availability of the community and one with a higher financial commitment that allows them to personally experience life at the community.  In the case of the list with the higher financial commitment, the depositor would, for example, provide a $5,000 deposit to become part of the “Club”.  As a member of the club, they might receive special benefits such as:
      • Monthly Sunday brunch
      • Access to the fitness center or other select amenities
      • Monthly trips and excursions with residents and other club members
      • Priority ranking on the waiting list over traditional waiting list members
    • Create conversion events specifically for waiting list members that allow them to mingle with existing residents
    • Set goals for both waiting list deposits as well as waiting list conversions to move-ins.  Review these conversions separately from typical inquiry to move-in and tour to move-in conversion ratios

    If you are challenged with occupancy, it becomes even more important to be strategic in your communication with a waiting list. Don’t just follow up occasionally to see if their timeframe has changed – use creative follow up, home visits and other strategies to engage them with the community. The goal is to get them to move in sooner rather than later.

     

    My community is in maintenance mode!

    If your community is operating above budget and in more of a maintenance mode, a more traditional working of the lead base typically will suffice. However, it is still important to keep the depositors engaged in the community to ensure they are more likely to move when something becomes available for them.

    • The waiting list deposit is typically 100% refundable.  The deposit should be small enough to be manageable yet large enough to demonstrate a financial commitment to the community as an indication of future interest. Traditional CCRCs see waiting list deposits  that vary from $1,000 to $2,500 while some rental communities require less money to commit
    • One option to identify depositors who are more serious is to require a 10% deposit to be on the waiting list for those residences that are the highest in demand, such as larger floor plans, apartments with great views, etc.
    • Some communities have a “three and done” philosophy in which the waiting list depositor is offered a residence three times before they drop to the bottom of the list.  Often, this strategy requires a 72-hour decision making period.  While this may create a sense of urgency, it can actually slow down the process while waiting for a commitment, and make the depositor feel pressured to make a decision that they may regret.  We find that placing the decision in the hands of the depositor allows them to feel more in control and not feel ‘punished’ if the timing and circumstances are not right.  We prefer allowing the depositor to turn down the available residence without losing their place on the list.  In order for this method to work, however, it is imperative to have a clear understanding of the timeframe of the depositors on the list so the sales team does not waste time contacting depositors who are unlikely to move
    • We find it useful to send out an annual waiting list survey to determine if interests, timeframe or circumstances of the depositors have changed.  This will help the sales team maintain a grasp of the status of the waiting list depositors.

    Of primary importance is to be strategic in your approach and consistently track conversions to monitor the success of your efforts. Review key ratios such as waiting list deposit to move-in, waiting list deposit cancellations as well as gestation periods from waiting list deposit to move-in. These conversions will vary based on the current sales state your community is in as well as the attrition rate; however, establishing ratios and tracking them over time will allow you to evaluate progress. Also, do not assume that waiting list members are already sold on your community. They need to be engaged and connected with often, just as you would with traditional prospects.

  11. People Are Talking About Your Community. Are You Listening?

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    Wouldn’t it be great if every social media post or online review written about your senior living community wasn’t just complimentary, but heaped mountains of praise for exceptional service, superb personal attention, unparalleled quality and an unmatched level of care?

    While we believe our communities are often worthy of these accolades, the reality is that someone, whether that be a current resident, family member of a resident, prospect, or possibly a disgruntled former employee, may not agree with the perceptions we have of Negative_Online_Review Image our community, service and staff. If fact, some individuals may feel so wronged, real or otherwise, by the community that they go to online reviews and social media to voice their displeasure and take a very public swipe at the community.

    But what do you do when a negative post about you, your staff or the community in general surfaces? To do nothing and hope that it blows over is wishful thinking, but ultimately ineffective. While you’re waiting for the negative post to disappear, which likely will not happen without any effort on your part, scores of prospects could be viewing this negative post and be forming an unfavorable opinion about your community.

    While it might may seem daunting to have a public online dialogue with a disgruntled resident, prospect or family member, know that responding to a negative review is vital for your community for these reasons:

    1. To show your audience that the community cares and values their opinion
    2. To protect the brand reputation of the community
    3. To provide an opportunity to re-engage with the individual who has experienced a less-than-positive interaction with the community

    Provided are several considerations that should be taken into account before responding to a negative review or post:

    • Turn negative comments into a positive. For example, if a reviewer claims the food at the community dining venue was awful, respond by thanking them for the feedback and respond that the community will use that feedback to help improve the goal of excellence in all food services areas or highlight a change that might have occurred recently in offerings or quality.
    • Be careful of your tone, especially when it comes to a difference in opinion. Take the high road by maintaining your professionalism and avoid using argumentative or aggressive language that may cause the reviewer to respond in kind with even more aggressive language.
    • Avoid the temptation to go on the offensive against the reviewer, even if their statements are false, categorically untrue or are a personal attack on you or a staff member. Retain your composure and remember that your response is not just being seen by this reviewer but by all prospective residents and families.
    • Show empathy with your response. Remember, you may be responding to a caregiver who is dealing with many challenges (financial, emotional, etc.) in their support of their family member at the community. Demonstrate your compassion, responsiveness and expertise in senior living.
    • Do not reveal private information not revealed in the review. Communications must abide by HIPAA regulations and can be subpoenaed in court.
    • If appropriate, acknowledge mistakes, lessons learned and corrective actions taken to avoid future mistakes.
    • Take the conversation offline if the reviewer continues to post negative comments even after two repeated attempts by you to diffuse the issue. Provide a phone number or email address so the situation can be resolved with a private exchange.
    • Avoid using corporate language that makes your response read more like a templated response. Respond to the viewer in human terms that’s conversational and authentic.

    Remember that you might not be able to change the opinion of the negative reviewer, but you might be positively influencing a host of prospective residents and their families with your actions.

    Go On The Offensive!…Foster Positive Conversations About Your Community

    Reputation management is more than just damage control. It’s using a multitude of messaging from any number of sources, from your website, to your social media sites to your advertising to resident testimonials and reviews to positively shape the community’s brand essence. And like almost all other industries today, people trust what others are saying online about a service or product before they make a decision, especially one as important as where they’ll spend their retirement years.

    In addition to contributing to your community’s brand, fostering positive conversations and reviews helps to improve your overall digital marketing efforts. While only part of a larger puzzle, positive reviews are an increasingly important factor in search engine rankings.

    Here are six tips for generating positive online conversations and reviews about your community:

    • Provide a simple process for residents, family members or friends to leave a positive review by providing links to important senior living review sites and social media sites. Create a special webpage with icons of these review sites so visitors can go directly to your community’s profile and leave a review.
    • Use both online and offline methods to promote the use of positive review sites such as emails to residents and family members, a mention at resident meetings, inserts in billing statements, and community flyers and handouts.
    • Specifically target and encourage your resident ‘brand ambassadors’ to spread the good news about their experience with the community through social media and review sites.
    • For any reviews 3-star or higher, post the reviews on your website for visitors to see. If you come across a really great review, reach out to this brand ambassador as they may be a perfect candidate for a testimonial about their positive interactions with the community.
    • Monitor what’s been said about your community on social media and senior living review sites. Several sites and services are available to monitor for what’s being said about your community and provide real-time updates for a quick response if needed.

     

    Jeff Felton, Director of Marketing Services for Solutions Advisors, is a believer in a best defense is a good offense when it comes to the online conversation for a senior living community. Part of Solutions Advisors’ digital strategy is to create opportunities for as many positive reviews, social media posts, testimonials, anecdotal stories and videos as possible because we know online reviews influence prospective residents’ confidence in a community, thereby helping to narrow down their choices. Contact us to learn more about our digital strategies.

     

  12. Six Techniques for Improving Senior Living Sales

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    In traditional, transactional sales, you’re trained to focus on convincing your customer that their lives would be better with your product or service. This is not the case when it comes to sales for senior living communities.

    In senior living, it’s not about selling a need. It’s about providing support and being there as a coach or guide.

    Though it may sound cliché, selling senior living is about listening deeply to people – in this case, prospective residents and their families or friends. This approach to discovery is what we call legacy learning, and you can use it to gain a deeper understanding of your customer.

    “Legacy learning, at its core, is a deep conversation,” says Solutions Advisors’ vice president Mike Brindley, who has more than 23 years of service in senior living communities. “As the sales counselor, you must ask the right questions about the prospect’s life, family, career, anxieties, and goals. When they begin to open up and share, that’s when the magic happens,” says Brindley. “You’ll uncover ‘wow moments,’ find open doors to ask more pointed questions, and eventually guide them to offerings at your community.”

    Remember: Your role is to support their needs and goals, not offer unsolicited advice and tell them what they need.

    To get there, you must also first understand who the prospect is – and where they are in life.

    Drivers of Older Adults
    The prospect embraces his or her age and recognizes changes in their life, whether that is adapting to and enjoying retirement or facing the challenges that come with aging. Many also enjoy the independence and control they have over their lives, so it’s natural to link a phrase like “senior living community” to a loss of control, a chief fear of seniors. Such loss includes independence, sure, but also the loss of personal health, finances, family and friends, professional status, and appearance – not to mention their own home.

    Prospects need Purpose
    What prospective residents need is not tangible; that is to say, it’s not the Olympic-sized pool or the anytime-dining menu that your community may offer. To be sure, such features make superb amenities, but there is a deeper sense of purpose and belonging that a prospective resident truly needs.

    Purpose is how a person views himself or herself, and this self-identity affects their consideration of moving into a senior living community. Your community must first and foremost support the prospect’s sense of purpose instead of diminishing quality of life. Avoid paternalism. Prospects at this stage don’t want to be ‘cared for.’ They want to maintain their identity as a productive member of society, and leave a legacy for their children and grandchildren.

    Once you’ve established that your community can support their purpose and help build their legacy, then feel free to mention the pool and dining schedules.

    To that end, we offer sales professionals in the senior living industry Six Techniques for Successful Legacy Learning.

    #1: Open with deep, legacy-building questions.

    Everyone has a story to tell, so let the prospect tell theirs. You’ll understand the things that are important to them, you’ll learn about their past, their professional life, their personal challenges, and their hopes for the future.

    To get to the core of a prospect’s purpose, begin with a prompt:

    • Help me understand who you are, and what’s important to you.
    • What gets you out of bed in the morning?
    • What is your greatest achievement?
    • What’s important in your life?
    • What was the happiest time in your life?

    Tip #2: Listen intently.

    It is an innate human need: to be listened to. Take the time to understand the person, and connect the dots to understand that individual’s goals and objectives.

    Tip #3: Respond appropriately.

    If you’re truly listening, you respond with emotion and pointed follow-up questions. Be empathetic to the person’s anxieties and hopeful for their goals. Find the “wow” moments of your prospect’s life.

    Tip #4: Find a personal connection.

    Undoubtedly, the customer will mention something about their life that you can connect to: a place they lived, a favorite movie or TV show, a car they drove, or a hobby that you, too, also enjoy. Use the opportunity to naturally connect over shared experiences.

    Tip #5: Once you’ve built rapport, ask tough questions.

    It will take some time, but once you’ve established a personal connection to the prospect, you may feel more open to ask hard questions: about their health concerns, their fears, or even regrets in life. It’s also the opportunity to understand what they want in a senior living community.

    Tip #6: Master the creative follow-up.

    Demonstrate that you listened and understood their goals and passions. If they have a dog, it may be natural to send a dog toy. But with proper discovery, you should have learned the dog’s name. So get it painted onto a bowl. Learn their favorite foods, sports teams, or provide a book that supports their interests. Go above and beyond, and be sincere in your follow-up. A successful follow-up will also lead to a reciprocal communication from the individual.

    Legacy Learning takes an investment of your time to master, but is worth the effort over your sales career in the senior care industry. It is the key to better understanding a prospect’s stage of readiness, and grants you permission to slow down, make connections, build relationships and gain a deeper understanding of your customer.

    Mike Brindley, Vice President of Associate Development for Solutions Advisors, has used his 20+ years of experience in senior housing to help our clients make a more meaningful impact on their sales operations. Mike is a frequent speaker at conferences where his presentations Top Sales Tips for Senior Living and The Discipline of Discovery for Senior Living Sales have garnered industry acclaim.