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If you’re at the LeadingAge conference this year, did you scan the QR code on the back of your registration material envelope? If so, you were rewarded with access to the LeadingAge 2011 mobile site that puts the conference information in the palm of your hand: event schedule, sessions and more.

I thought this was pretty darn useful. So I saved it to my home screen on
my phone. And I told a lot of other people. And now I’m telling you. See how
it works?

If we provide something of use to our target audience and influencers, it’s more likely they’ll engage with our brand. They’ll talk about us. They’ll pass along our information to others.

It takes more planning and effort on our part as marketers to provide something of value, but frankly, we have no other choice. Consumers today are in control. They can choose to access information about our brand, or not. So let’s give them something they can actually use.

On that note, here’s something I’d like to pass on to you to make your life easier during the conference. Visit this site on your mobile phone. And I’ll see you in the convention center!

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Innovation has to start somewhere.

Our goal is to be innovative in everything we do at GlynnDevins. In fact, it’s one of the business objectives we challenged our associates with earlier this year – even before we defined exactly how we would achieve or measure success.

Since then, I’ve learned a few things along the way:

1. To create a culture where people are inspired to innovate, you need to be comfortable with experimentation.

2. You need to empower teams to pursue an idea that may not yield immediate results.

3. You need to lose your fear of failure. The most innovative ideas usually come from failing early and often.

Yes, you’ll also need to measure your innovation investment and return so you can make better decisions, which ultimately will inform your approach to the three points above. But that’s a post for another day.

For today, start experimenting!

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Good ideas come from everyone and everywhere. And they’re even better when they collide. As more people catch on to this concept, the potential for broader thinking and breakthrough ideas multiplies. This can lead to real innovation within organizations and partnerships. Here’s a video that illustrates this theory, literally. I love the ‘Eureka’ moment in the bathtub.

Is your organization regularly coming up with great ideas that can collide with others?

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The ability to innovate is a powerful business advantage in any marketing environment. And the challenges we face today in senior living demand it. So how can we make innovation a priority? Here are some ideas:

1.    Make innovation a strategic initiative. Create a culture that values and invests in bringing new ideas to light.

2.     Ask for ideas. Ask associates what they think about our biggest marketing challenges in senior living. Ask clients and customers. Ask residents.

3.     Invite people from several disciplines to strategy sessions. Varied experiences and unique perspectives help uncover new opportunities and solutions. Differing viewpoints are good.

4.    Use new technology and new media channels even if it’s uncomfortable. Personally, I’ve found that when I experiment with new tools and technology, I immediately start to connect ideas in ways I didn’t before. This results in business-building ideas for GlynnDevins and our clients.

5.   Listen to and participate in discussions on innovation. If you’re responsible for leading innovation in your organization, join groups on LinkedIn, subscribe to blogs on the subject, and follow thought leaders on Twitter. I’ve also started following people and topics of interest on Quora, which is defined as “acontinually improving collection of questions and answers created, edited and organized by everyone who uses it.” Sounds pretty innovative to me.

Let’s share some ideas. What are you doing to encourage more innovative thinking?

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As marketers, and consumers for that matter, we all know that two of the most powerful factors in a purchasing decision are a) trying a great product, and b) hearing positive word-of-mouth from someone we trust.

So, how can we help people experience our product for themselves and tell others about it? A quick brainstorm at GlynnDevins resulted in these 10 ideas for increasing visits to senior living communities:

1. Offer a Mom & Daughter Weekend Stay. Put your best foot forward (with plenty of attentive staff), and show both the prospect and her adult child just how appealing a senior living lifestyle can be. Trust me, they’ll tell their friends.

2. Host a Local Walk for Fitness or Charity. If your community has beautiful grounds and walking trails, what better way to showcase these features? Or, if your community is centrally located in a desirable neighborhood, here’s a great way to promote it.

3. Teach Seniors to Use Facebook in Your Computer Center. Help them connect with others by introducing them to Social Networking 101. Maybe even direct them to your community’s Facebook fan page!

4. Encourage New Residents to Show Off Their New Home. Offer to provide catering, so guests can sample the great food and friendly surroundings inside your community.

5. Start a Monthly Book Club in Your Library or Multi-media Room. Or, if you have the accommodations, maybe it’s a screening of a new film.

6. Collect Food for Kids in Need. Be a location to collect and assemble backpacks full of nutritious food for area schoolchildren who may not have healthy snacks over the weekend.

7. Make a Fresh Impression with a Farmer’s Market. If your community has a large parking lot or grounds available, invite farmers to sell their locally grown fruits and vegetables. What a great way to promote healthy living!

8. Host an Annual Event. With Halloween approaching, how about offering a safe place for kids to trick or treat and parents to relax?

9. Have a “Day In The Life.” Open up parts of your community so prospects can sample your dining, fitness and activities.

10.  Get to Know Local Clubs and Organizations. Chances are, your community has large spaces that could accommodate regular meetings of these groups.

In most cases, all you need is an energetic staff and a welcoming environment. So hopefully, you already have all the tools you need, right inside your community.

Let’s exchange some ideas. I’d love to hear what your community is doing to generate positive word-of-mouth. What new and creative ideas do you have for helping people experience our product?

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