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What do you think of when you see the word “risk?” Really, stop reading for a few seconds and really think about risk.

Okay, are you back?

What came to mind? For most of us, risk is associated with the chance of losing something. The phrases, “there is a risk,” or “there is risk involved” are used as a warning or as disclosure, whether it involves the risk to our money, time or well-being. Risk is a core element of many interactions and transactions during our life. This is why understanding our own, or someone else’s, risk tolerance is so important to making decisions or offering advice.

I’m thinking about risk because of a conversation I had with a client a few weeks ago. In the course of the conversation, she described the decision to move to a senior living community as a “high-risk decision.” She said it rather casually, but it jumped out at me as having tremendous insight and application for others.

Consider the risk factors in moving to a community – what if I don’t like it and I’ve sold my home, what if I don’t like my neighbors and I’m stuck, what if I don’t like the food, are other people going to know my business – and there are more. For those of us passionate about the product, it’s hard to see risk, but clearly it’s there for the individual making this decision.

I’m thinking that individuals who are comfortable with risk might be more viable prospects. If so, can we qualify prospects based on their risk tolerance? For instance, would we say that the individual who still lives in the very first home they purchased 50 years ago has a different risk tolerance than someone who has moved a few times in those same 50 years? What about individuals who have owned their own businesses versus those who have worked for others? Certainly, their investment history and current portfolio would offer insight. As you think about prospects who have said yes and those who have said no, do you see any correlation to risk tolerance?

I’ve often heard this decision described as highly emotional, and that’s true. But do we think about our interaction with prospects differently if we also think about it as high-risk. It’s an interesting mental exercise. Perhaps give it some discussion time in your next team meeting.

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This isn’t news for marketing professionals. But sometimes, I think we feel that others in our organizations think we have a magic wand: something we can wave to make troubled inventory, older facilities, less than great dining, a down economy and no money in the budget all go away and instantly create new move-ins to drive up occupancy. It’s not that easy, and it’s not marketing’s responsibility. I have made this point in previous posts – marketing is everyone’s job, and every department within a community needs to recognize the role they play in building and maintaining occupancy. You can’t just leave it to the marketing staff to make good things happen.

I mention this again because I had the chance to talk about marketing to a diverse group of senior living professionals this week. These were executive directors, finance officers, lifestyle directors, dining service managers, healthcare administrators and even a few marketing folks. I took the opportunity to discuss with the group the assertion that everyone in the community is on the marketing team.  I was pleasantly surprised to find they readily embraced this idea and were quick to share examples.

A COO talked about his responsibility to have residences that are ready to sell and meet the expectations of the consumer. The dining services manager said he worked with marketing to create events that showcased the specialties of the executive chef. Others talked about providing staff from other areas to offer valet parking at events, alerting marketing to maintenance and renovation schedules in advance, using existing community activities for marketing purposes. They even asked how everyone can be a source for referrals. It was a great discussion.

But in advocating this and giving marketing a bit of a break on total responsibility, it must be said that it is the marketing team’s job to initiate this process and champion cooperation. A great place to start is by including the entire executive team in your planning process. Even a one-hour session in which you share your initial plans to get input and feedback can pay dividends. It is a simple idea: The more individuals know, the easier it is for them to help. And don’t let it stop with just a one-time event. Keep it going. Have ongoing communication and regularly share in staff meetings. 

I know many communities already work this way. I know because more than a few of them are our clients. If you are doing this, that’s great! Keep it up. If you aren’t, try it. Or, you can just keep looking for that magic wand. 

My speaking engagement occurred at the CASP Fall Institute. If you aren’t familiar with this senior living professional certification program, click here to find out more.

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I love Reuben sandwiches. If I’m at any restaurant where it’s on the menu, I’ll definitely consider ordering it. Last week we were with my mother-in-law at one of her favorite restaurants. Two things you should know before I go on – my mother-in-law is a foodie and she shares my taste for Reuben sandwiches. All this is important because seeing the Reuben on the menu, I immediately asked her for a recommendation – “So, how’s the Reuben?” Her answer – “not bad.”

Here’s the lesson – “not bad” is not a ringing endorsement. “Not bad” can mean “not good.” It certainly means it’s not great. I bring this up because I think we sometimes settle for “not bad.”  It takes a lot of time and effort to just get anything to “not bad.” We certainly encounter so many underwhelming products and services that sometimes “not bad” is as good as it gets.

But “not bad” doesn’t get you remembered. “Not bad” doesn’t get you buzz. “Not bad” doesn’t get unsolicited recommendations. How does this relate to the marketing efforts of your community? For me, it’s directly related to the satisfaction level of your current residents. You aren’t going to get many referrals if the experience of living at the community is “not bad.” A previous post and some research related to this subject would be worth a few more minutes of your time.

But I also think this can be used to evaluate the experience of your prospects who are just inquiring about the community. Every person, senior or adult child, who comes to your community for a tour, a seminar or a lunch, is going to be asked by someone – “How was it?” Are you creating an experience that motivates them to get beyond, “not bad”? What are you doing to generate a response of “good,” “great” or even, “Sit down, I have to tell you about it.” Getting these responses are about being memorable, about being exceptional, about being relevant. So are you delivering “not bad” or something more?

And for the record, because I know you’re dying to know, my mother-in-law was right, the Reuben was “not bad.”

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I was recently asked by a community’s board member how to combat in-home care services. The thought behind the question was that in-home services help individuals stay in their homes, and thus delay moving to a community. There’s a longer answer to the question, but the short answer is to be what you are and what in-home services can’t ever be –
a community.

There’s a reason they’re called service providers. The entire relationship is based on the delivery of a service; there is no larger relationship. At a community, any service offered, whether it’s a health service, such as physical therapy, or something more mainstream, such as dining, housekeeping or special events, occur in the context of a larger relationship. Because of this, there are intangible benefits that are hard to communicate in marketing materials, but are tremendously powerful and speak to the board member’s question about how to position against staying in the home, whether you need services or not. A story that was shared with me helps illustrate my point.

Bob and his wife moved to a community. Sadly, Bob’s wife passed away within a year of the move. To help cope, and as a way to expand his social network, Bob became an avid user of the fitness center, taking a number of classes. Bob was well liked and joined more than one class, giving as much as he got from the experience. Unfortunately, during one of these classes, Bob fell and broke his hip. After a stay in the hospital and rehab, Bob was able to get back to his apartment, but wasn’t very mobile and needed the aid of a walker at all times. Without his wife, and struggling with the idea of needing a walker, Bob isolated himself and depression set in. I’m sure many of you have experience with situations just like this, and know that in many cases the ending of a story like this isn’t always a happy one.

In this instance, though, it is. The community’s fitness director, who knew Bob from the classes, made sure she checked in on him when he was back in his apartment. During her visits, she could see where this was headed. She started working with Bob on exercises in his apartment, one-on-one outside of his regular therapy. Her personal attention and interest got Bob from a walker to a cane and from a cane back into fitness classes, where he was warmly welcomed. Bob regained something important to him and avoided the spiral of isolation and depression.

Would this have happened if he had received those same services in his home? I don’t think so. The power of this success story is in the relationships that existed before the accident, the support of a community that surrounded Bob, and the value he saw in regaining the connection with others. Bob was part of a community, and the community helped Bob when he needed it.

By the way, this true story occurred at that board member’s community. I think they’re in a very good position to deliver the power of community.

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Regular readers of our blog may recall me sharing a few weeks ago that I was in the market for a new car. I drew some insights from my experience. But you may also recall I hadn’t yet made a purchase – until now. And that experience offers a few additional insights.

We bought a model of car that we haven’t owned in the past from a dealership we had never visited until my wife walked into their showroom on a very, very hot Wednesday afternoon. She had come to look at a specific model that had a good safety rating. That model, it turned out, was not in the showroom. They only had the four-door models outside sitting in 100 degree heat.

Step in the sales person, Linus, and the small courtesy that led to a sale. “Ma’am,” he said, “let me go outside and get the air-conditioning running in the car you’d like to look at, and I’ll come back in and get you when it has cooled down.“ A simple gesture, yes. An obvious gesture, no. But one that made a huge impression on my wife. We both visited the dealership again three days later, asked for the salesman by name, had an equally positive experience to that of a few days before, and made a purchase within an hour.

Turning on the air-conditioning is not something you teach. You teach customer service principles and you empower your associates to act on them, but each individual salesperson must recognize when the opportunity presents itself. It’s a trait more than a skill. But they can pay huge dividends. Based on Linus’s customer service we were open to buying, settled on a price quickly and liked that Linus was going to get a commission. It was a win/win.

Now it helped that Linus was selling a quality product. But there were other equally good choices for us. In fact, that dealership was going to be the first of three planned visits for us to make a final decision. We never made it to dealership number two or three.

Nothing new here folks, this is an age-old lesson. So, take ten minutes and evaluate yourself and your team on customer service, and see if you can find some ways to make a big impression with a few small gestures.

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