The latest issue of GlynnDevins’ News You Can Use was released today. The issue focuses entirely on the economic crisis. There are articles on the consumer reaction to the crisis, as well as response strategies and messaging tips for senior living communities attempting to navigate these troubled times.
Get more senior living insights by reading News You Can Use.
Blake Hodges, Digital Media Strategist at GlynnDevins, is hosting a free webinar next Tuesday, February 3, at 11 a.m. CST, about search marketing for senior living communities. Learn how search marketing works and the impact it can have on your web site visitors and online leads. Register here.
There may be a natural tendency to hunker down, control costs and ride out the tough times. Unfortunately, if you are an operating senior living community, that is not an option because you cannot control a critical variable — attrition. Attrition is inevitable and, if not met with new move-ins, can create serious revenue shortfalls due to unoccupied residences. To keep pace with attrition, and to ensure the uninterrupted delivery of resident services, communities must aggressively pursue maintaining their occupancy numbers. For many communities, that means ramping up marketing activities to levels they have not experienced perhaps since they opened. If faced with this situation, I urge you to look at this as an investment, not a cost.
Time and time again during a slow economy, businesses that maintain a solid marketing presence are well-positioned as economic conditions improve. They endure less hardship during bad times and are quickest to recover. Very often they find they can gain market share or a stronger footing against their competition, because they have filled a void created by those same competitors slashing budgets and receding from the playing field. Now is the time to ask yourself: What type of organization and marketer do I want to be? There is opportunity. Are you ready to pursue it?
Something else that occurs during slow economic times is that poor marketers falter. High water covers a lot of stumps, as a colleague of mine likes to say. Areas of weakness that were camouflaged by good times and lots of business opportunity now weigh down the business and hinder success. What are those areas for you? A less-than-effective sales team, an out-of-date web site, a web site poorly optimized to capture traffic, lack of awareness in the marketplace, no referral program, a poorly defined image or position.
Regardless of your personal situation, operating communities cannot afford to sit on the sidelines and wait for this to blow over. With each month comes the potential for more open residences that need residents. Waiting may just create a situation that, even in good times, is difficult to overcome.
The good news for these communities is that the prospect base isn’t experiencing less need. The benefits of a retirement community are just as real now as they were a year ago. Your product has value. What may be harder is finding those individuals who can act even in these tough times. I assure you, they are out there. And for these individuals, the current economic crisis may actually be the motivation they need to make a move. The more anxiety and discomfort they feel with their current situation, the more appealing the comfort of a community becomes.
Here are six action items every operating community should undertake to gain every advantage in the marketplace:
1) Maintain a consistent marketing program.
2) Target your efforts, don’t use a shotgun approach.
3) Work your lead base.
4) Create a powerful web site.
5) Evaluate the skill sets of your sales team.
6) Track the results.
In the coming weeks, we will be sharing specific ideas in each of these areas. We encourage you to post a response to share your thoughts and ideas.
It seems like an oxymoron to think that, just when Boomers have been convinced to think about down-sizing, they may actually outgrow their existing home … or the one they are about to build or buy for retirement.
The more precise statement is that people’s needs often change to the point that their home is no longer appropriate. Anyone’s health and/or mobility may change quickly – and if it does the choice is either to move, or put in expensive and inconvenient renovations. (Do you feel the perfect sell for a CCRC here?)
Several important concepts apply to this issue. “Universal design,” as the name implies, means that one set of design principles should be applied when it comes to accessibility. In other words, whether you are a young child, healthy and athletic 40-something, a slowing-down senior or confined to a wheelchair – your home ought to be able to accommodate you. Universal design fits nicely with another principle, the goal of “aging in place”. The AARP has statistics showing that 84 percent of Americans 50+ would like to age where they live now.
Some of the obvious steps to look for or incorporate include:
Incorporating universal design principles in new construction can add about five percent to the cost, compared to that 30 percent of a home’s value retrofitting can cost. The National Association of Home Builders has a Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist program to help builders and designers.
Some states and counties are considering mandating universal design elements for all new housing. Since most of the items listed above already are in place at a CCRC, it seems checking out one of 1800 in the U.S. might be the easier way to go for the Boomers and better crowd.
Resources: NAHB Aging in Place; Universal Design Institute; Blueprint for Boomers
As we move into 2009, the lackluster economy and slumping real estate market show no signs of rebounding any time soon. That means new move-ins for senior living communities will continue to be a challenge. For most sales counselors, “I’m not ready” has been replaced with “I can’t sell my home” and “My portfolio has taken a big hit” as the most often heard objections. This is even true for those prospects that understand the value of the community and have a genuine desire to move. In response to this, we are seeing more and more communities offering upgrade packages, free months, discounts, or deferred payment plans. These are all logical, and often necessary, tools to close sales and maintain healthy occupancy levels.
However, doing this also requires prudence in how and when to communicate these financial incentives. Too often, communities will use these incentives in newspaper ads and direct mail to prospects as special savings or limited time offers. Let’s remember that most age- and income-qualified prospects aren’t open to the idea of a senior living community. They still think they are expensive, or for old people, or that they aren’t ready. Financial incentives do not address these core objections. And while the desire may be to create urgency they often just teach prospects to wait for the next deal.
Financial incentives are best used as closing tools for the hottest leads. Secondly, they can be very effective to a small set of warm leads as a way to re-engage and jump-start the conversation. A rule of thumb: if you haven’t had the opportunity to sit down with a prospect and discuss their needs and your community in detail, then it is too early for financial incentives to be of value. Even in tough times, stick with the core benefits of a senior living community, address the underlying needs of your prospect base and don’t forget to sell the value of your community before you discount the price.
