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.

Six weeks ago I blogged how uncertain times call for straight talk with our prospects, that we needed to get back to core messages and to honestly addressing real issues facing seniors. Honesty leads to trust and trust to relationships, and it is relationships with our senior living prospects that net us sales.

Well, who knew the last six weeks would take us into economic times no one could have predicted. If seniors were understandably hesitant to make any decisions because of the slumping real estate market, you have to believe the stock market slide, bank failures and credit crunch have them ignoring our direct mail, not accepting our seminar invitations and refusing to take our calls. Why would they, everything suggests it is time to wait and see.

But here is the good news, that isn’t happening. At least not to the level you might expect. Life goes on for all of us including our prospects. We are still seeing strong interest in the product. Prospects are attending seminars, calling communities and checking out web sites. It is admittedly harder to get them to sit down for a serious sales appointment and “getting the check” is even harder given the damage to most everyone’s portfolio. But they want to talk and that is a big first step. When any of us are uncertain we look for information and assurance from others. We want to know what other people know and what they think. This is the short-term opportunity for senior living communities.

Be a resource. Don’t try to make the sale with every contact. Focus on building the relationship because that is a realistic goal. Use this opportunity to bond with leads and create new relationships. Acknowledge fears and educate prospects on the benefits of senior living communities. Share how current residents are somewhat insulated from the chaos because they had already made the move.

People want to talk and they are open to hearing from knowledgeable individuals. When things settle down and we find our new economic reality, whether that is three, six or nine months from now, the relationships you build now will become the sales you gain then. As a marketer and sales person in these uncharted times, that is our golden parachute.

The headline of the article reads, Leaving a Life I Loved. Trading one’s home for ease of living takes courage and honesty. It was another first person account of coming to terms with aging and another person finding out that retirement communities are a lot different than the nursing homes they remember from the past – and it was another happy ending. I never tire of reading these even though the plot line rarely differs. I don’t tire of reading these because each personal story has some nuance or twist that gets me thinking about marketing senior living.

This particular story got me thinking about straight talk and giving people the facts. The headline used the words courage and honesty. These words speak to the magnitude of this decision for many individuals and the complex set of emotions it brings into play. But with that comes the opportunity to be direct in our messaging and to help someone come to grips, even recognize for the first time, many of the signs they have been ignoring or missing. We sometimes can get caught up in our marketing lingo or in spreading the honey a little too thick. The most effective sales people in this business know how to confront the issues with their prospects, helping these individuals really assess their situation. 

Give them the facts. Be honest about their situation. Let them know you understand what they are going through. In an economic climate that is creating more and more reasons for prospects to say “not now,” it may take blunt and honest messaging to say “yes now.” Do we have the courage to be that honest? 

What the next five years hold in store for senior living marketing is hard to say, but one thing is certain, the role of online marketing will grow in importance. One key area for marketers to explore and understand is the connection between proactive marketing and prospect visits to the community’s web site. The days of tracking the success of a marketing effort based on phone calls may be ending. Like all consumers, seniors are finding the Internet to be a convenient means of exploring an offer or organization before committing to personal contact. A recent study from an allied field of senior living, non-profit fundraising, puts this in context. The survey, initiated by NonProfit Times, asked individuals whether they investigated an organization online before making a donation decision. The study found that 21% of adults 65 years of age or older went online before making a decision. This is compared to 44% of all adults in the survey. However, the telling figure is the growth from 2005 when the survey was first conducted. In that year, only 8% of adults 65 years of age or older researched an organization online. This represents a near tripling of the audience exhibiting this integrated behavior.

It is becoming evident that senior consumers are visiting web sites in response to marketing messages. Because of this, the role of a community’s web site is growing in importance. But unlike a phone call that allows for personal interaction with staff regardless of how minimal, a web site visit is anonymous until a prospect chooses to identify themselves. Converting this traffic to viable leads is critical to leveraging the marketing investment that generated the visit in the first place. Paying attention to this fact will be as important as phone skills have been in the past. How can you engage these visitors, provide value while they are there and encourage them to take a next step?

In marketing, there are numerous examples of companies that never figured out just what business they were in, such as IBM that thought they were in the computer business only to realize too late they were in the information management business.  Xerox on the other hand saw that they weren’t in the copier business; they were in the document handling business.  IBM took it on the chin and Xerox thrived. 

This was brought to mind when considering the growing number of alternatives being explored to deliver in-home services to seniors, alternatives that challenge the industry moniker – “senior housing.” A large portion of the industry’s assets are grounded in the physical proprieties, the housing.  Yet many of the benefits offered are delivered by the existence of the community - the staff and residents themselves. Recently, virtual retirement communities have gotten some press. This concept allows individuals ready access to social opportunities and caregivers through a defined provider, yet they remain in their home.

It is wonderful to see so many providers in the industry exploring new models and alternatives in response to consumer demand.  Perhaps these are the organizations that have embraced the other moniker used to describe the industry – “senior living.”

What business are you in?

A recent edition of USA Today carried the headline - “Older, wiser, but less active. Why won’t seniors take the best medicine - exercise?”  The article went on to cite a report issued this year by the National Institute of Aging showing that the physical activity trend for older adults was a flat line from 1997 through 2006. The data, collected in 2006 and released earlier this year, shows 22% of adults age 65 to 74 engaged in regular physical activity.  These figures were 20% for adults age 75 to 84 and 9% for adults age 85 and older. These are roughly the same percentages as the 1997 data. The article points out that this is somewhat at odds with news stories and advertisements portraying “the new breed of fit, vibrant oldsters dancing, tai-chiing and power-walking their way through retirement.”
 
The premise of the article was that simple exercise, such as walking regularly, has tremendous benefits but that seniors are caught in the same culture of inactivity as the population as a whole.  As I read this, I wished they would have surveyed residents of CCRCs.  Time and time again we hear how residents who engaged in very little exercise when living in their own home have become regular patrons of the community’s fitness center.  This is a great reminder of the power of community and the benefit CCRC residents gain by having a staff and facilities to provide a convenient structure. Taking “the best medicine” is a little easier in these environments. This is a powerful message and one that should not be ignored in senior living marketing.

At a recent senior housing symposium we were reminded that a great number of continuing-care prospects, who are both age and income qualified, know very little about CCRCs.  This was brought home listening to a panel of residents from an active adult community.  When asked if the presence of assisted living services within the community would negatively impact their desire to live there, they emphatically said ‘no’ and went on to share that this could be marketed as a benefit because they wouldn’t need to leave the community if they would need a higher level of care. They were describing a continuum of care as if this was a new revelation to them. 

Is this lack of knowledge the result of the typical consumer behavior of not paying attention to communication until a product or service is needed?  Is it based in a belief that they know what is available because they remember the retirement communities of their parent’s generation? Is it the product of misinformation being communicated by word of mouth with each link in the communication chain adding a little bit of truth, but also a bit of myth?

Most likely it is a product of all these forces working in concert. It is probably safe to say that 50 percent of our audience could get about 50 percent of the facts right.  In this lies the challenge, the challenge for those of us responsible for senior living communication to educate the consumer.  There are so many benefits offered by a senior living community.  And with so many innovative trends taking hold, the future offers even greater benefits to future residents. But can the education of the millions of potential consumers be accomplished by each senior living community and organization only focusing on its own communications program?

Is there a place for collective communication?  Can the field of senior living benefit from a broader national communications program with the objective of positioning senior living communities as places for vital, engaged adults with much to offer?  That today’s senior living communities serve the greater community good by helping residents stay healthier longer thus minimizing the pressure on public services.

In light of the baby-boomer bubble coming of senior living age within ten years, is this the time to consider the upside for all senior living communities by coordinating the education of the public on the many benefits of senior living communities?