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Many retirement communities talk about their brand. They espouse its virtues and assume the customer understands what they stand for. But do they really have a brand? Or do they just have a product? If you think you might be in that position, it’s important to understand the distinction between products and brands. And it could make a world of difference for your marketing strategy.

A brand is a promise. It’s something the customer believes in and depends upon. A product is something the customer uses. A product holds a place on the shelf. A brand holds a place in the mind. Branding is the process of identifying that singular, desirable benefit that makes up your promise. And in order to maintain your brand, and make the branding process work, you need to do everything in your power to make sure that promise is upheld – every hour of every day.

Some brand managers are really product managers because they spend their time managing the logo on the label and the shelf space the product occupies. Building and managing a brand means spending your time managing the space the brand’s promise occupies in the customer’s mind.

So is your retirement community a product or a brand? If you don’t have a promise, something dependable and valuable you can deliver to residents year in and year out, then you don’t have a brand. You may have a successful community, an excellent product. But you don’t have a brand.

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As a sales manager, I’ve been surprised and amazed that during this tough economic time when sales are so important, attention and accountability seem to be slipping. Times are tough for everyone and senior living sales have certainly slowed for many communities. But the show must go on and we must stay focused on realistic goals and ignore almost everything else.

With everyone seemingly having many diversions that are taking them away from the all-important task of selling, it can become a daunting task to regain control. It really does become a test of focus, accountability and good process.

There are simple steps you can take to positively affect your sales strategy. So let me introduce you to “Kaizen,” a Japanese word that means “continuous improvement through small incremental steps.” You might have heard it associated with Toyota Motor Company. The philosophy of Kaizen can be applied to the senior living sales process by helping to break down seemingly overwhelming tasks into manageable steps, making it easier and more satisfying to reach sales goals.

For example, many sales counselors have sales expectations: call a certain number of people per day, to schedule a number of appointments, to reach a number of sales. If you get behind, that goal suddenly becomes insurmountable. Instead, use Kaizen to make it more manageable. Take a small step by making a personal goal to schedule just one appointment per day. If it takes two phone calls, great. If it takes until 7 p.m., then that’s what it takes. But eventually, with just one small step, you’ll build a succession of appointments that will make it easier to reach your overall goal.

It all comes down to accountability, and you must focus your sales staff on this goal. But you need to do it in a way they can actually succeed. Kaizen is based on making little changes on a regular basis, always improving productivity — and it can work in senior living, too.

So I’d like to know. Are you aware of Kaizen? And if so, how are you putting it to use with your sales team?

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The fate of the local newspaper has been making quite a lot of headlines lately. I watched an interesting segment on the subject called “Stop the Presses,” which aired last Sunday morning on CBS. With decreasing circulation and newspaper print advertising’s 28 percent drop in revenue since 2007, is it the demise of the local newspaper? Can newspapers survive? How can they become profitable? And what will happen to our civic life if the newspaper goes away?

Although this is heavy subject matter, particularly on a Sunday morning, it is something that has been weighing on my mind lately. Although I ceased my paid subscription to the Kansas City Star years ago, I certainly rely on the newspaper for credible news – and I rely on other sources for news which get their information from the newspaper. No one can argue that the local paper is unparalleled by any other medium with its investigative reporting capabilities. Local newspapers, for example, really broke the story of the bad mortgages that got the current financial crisis started, by first reporting on the increase of local home foreclosures. What happens if we don’t have this watchdog?
 
In the online world, we are accustomed to free editorial. This may not be possible if newspapers shut down. To become profitable, media web sites may resort to charging online visitors a small fee per article they read. I met with a sales rep with the Newspaper National Network Company this week who recently went to an annual meeting with the Newspaper Association of America (NAA). He said the main topic of discussion was about whether newspapers will more aggressively police the re-distribution of their content on the Internet in the future.

Dramatic changes are needed for newspapers to survive. In Philadelphia, entrepreneur Brian Tierney and a group of wealthy investors bought the 180-year-old Philadelphia Inquirer nearly three years ago. They’ve invested heavily in the Inquirer brand and believe the paper can adapt and survive, even in print. He argues that if the people who read the Inquirer pay for it, with a higher newsstand price, and a subscriber fee on the Web, the enterprise will survive … in print and online. 
                                                                                                                                                                                      
Coffee drinkers will dish out $3 for a latte. Will they be willing to pay the same for their news?

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Lori Whetter, Digital Community Manager at GlynnDevins, is hosting a free webinar on Tuesday, April 7, at 11 a.m. CDT, about social media and senior living communities. Learn the basics of social media, what seniors think about social networks, and discover LINK, a social networking tool designed specifically for seniors. Register here.

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