Subscribe by Email

Instead of a post with insightful and reflective musings, I thought I’d lighten the mood a bit and share a few of my favorite Thanksgiving jokes. Who knows — during that awkward lull in the conversation at dinner, you might find them useful!

Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!

Q: If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring?
A: Pilgrims!

Q: Why did the turkey cross the road?
A: It was the chicken’s day off.

Q: Why can’t you take a turkey to church?
A: Because they use such fowl language.

Q: What’s the best dance to do on Thanksgiving?
A: The turkey trot.

Q: What kind of music did the Pilgrims like?
A: Plymouth Rock.

Q: Which side of the turkey has the most feathers?
A: The outside.

Q: Why did they let the turkey join the band?
A: Because he had the drumsticks.

Q: What did the turkey say before it was roasted?
A: Boy, I’m stuffed!

Print-Friendly Version

After decades of being an innovative thought leader, Steve Jobs has resigned as CEO of Apple. Even though everyone knew it was going to happen, the actual announcement does make you stop and think, “Could this be the end of an era?” There aren’t many companies that have had the influence and impact on how we do business, communicate with one another, socialize and use technology as Apple has, inspired by the vision of Steve Jobs. The “wow” moment for me personally was when my dad,
a lifelong IBMer, stood in line outside of an Apple Store when the I-Pad 2 was released. It was a sight I thought I’d never see. That’s the kind of influence this one man, and the organization he created, has had — not only on my life, but on the lives of millions of others around the world.

We talked about innovation in our last post. Steve Jobs was the master of innovation. It started by wanting to change the way computers were used, but you could almost say that, in the end, he changed the world.

It makes me wonder what we can change in the world of senior living. What would it take to be the Steve Jobs of senior living and to build an organization dedicated to continual transformation? It gets talked about a lot, and there are forces changing senior living already — such as the technology developed by Steve Jobs. But who’s ready and willing to step up and take the challenge? Can it be you?

Print-Friendly Version

I’m a sucker when it comes to online shopping. In fact, every so often I have to unsubscribe from my favorite shopping sites to keep my budget balanced. Okay, really it’s because I can’t figure out a way to sneak more boxes into the house! But those retailers know me well and they’re relentless. Shoes…check. Wine…check. Cute clothes for little boys…check. Doggie delights…check. And, they make it so easy – my inbox is constantly filled with opportunities to get “deals” on all the things I love most! How did they know?

And it always gets me thinking about how we can do a better job of personalizing the experiences for our prospective residents. Technology is making it easier than ever before to customize messages, no matter how it’s delivered – direct mail, e-mails, personalized URLs or other vehicles. In fact, it’s so easy there’s simply not a good reason to send out the obligatory “Dear Friend” letter any more. And forget the one-size-fits-all lunch and learn. Break it down – make it meaningful – have a session on the benefits of pet massage, or 10 ways to improve your golf game, or easy ways to container garden.

However, in order to send personalized messages, hold interesting events or customize sales collateral, you have to have a lot of accurate data on your prospective customers. It’s not hard to do, I mean, really, Nordstrom has figured out I like shoes – especially when they’re on sale. So ask yourself, what pieces of your customers’ interests have you gathered? Where do you keep this information? How do you use it? What COULD you do with it?

It might take a little more time and effort on your part, but the return can be huge. Research shows personalized messages build customer loyalty, strengthen relationships and generate more sales.

Think about that next time you send Mrs. Smith – who likes tennis, water aerobics, knitting, cats, travel, scrapbooking, and is an active member of the Red Hat Society – a note about the exciting things going on at your community. Make it special and relevant to her, and who knows… maybe she’ll end up being your next resident. Sooner rather than later.

Print-Friendly Version

If you aren’t old enough to remember this song, you can stop reading now. However, if you remember the context in which this first became famous, then this blog is for you.

I was recently in a meeting with a new client and we were talking about the adoption of social media with a group of marketing directors. In the process of this conversation, the client made a very astute comment which I’m sure I’m misquoting, but it went something like this.

“If you aren’t personally on Facebook or participating in some other social media, you need to be, because you need to understand how to utilize it as a marketing tool. Because it’s not going away.”

Although many of us, including myself I have to admit, don’t want to believe that Facebook, Twitter or Foursquare are here to stay (because honestly, who has the time?), we have to get past the hype and start to consider how we can harness and embrace the power of these one-to-one conversations.

This isn’t a new topic for us, and it’s certainly one that we’ll continue to track. But if now is the time for you to get serious about social media, here are some other blog posts you might find interesting:

Social Media Can Make a Difference in Your Digital Marketing

Seniors Are Plugged In: Can You Keep Up?

When Social Media Goes Wrong: Turn It into a Positive

And the Survey Says…

Print-Friendly Version

A Seth Godin blog recently sported this title. The gist of the blog was that when said to you, other staff members and associates, new hires or freelancers, those nine words essentially kill any hope of new ideas, innovation or creativity for an organization.

It got me thinking about our field – senior living – and in the almost 20 years I’ve been working with communities across the country, how often I’ve heard those (or very similar) words uttered.

“Have the sales office open on weekends? That’s not how we do it here because…”

“Serve food 24/7? That’s not the way we do it here because…”

“Sell a prospective resident using e-mail? That’s not how we do it here because…”

“Provide a variety of contract options with varying levels of refundability? That’s not the way we do it here because…”

“Hold back some information from the initial sales presentation to give a reason to follow up? Are you kidding, we can’t do that because…”

You get the idea, right? There are countless examples.

This phrase needs to be stricken from our vocabulary. The world has changed and is changing, each and every day. The more your organization or you hold back – the further and further behind you’ll get. And things are already hard enough, aren’t they? 

We’ve all got to get better about approaching what we do with an open mind, an innovative spirit and an adventurous attitude. As the new year begins, take a moment and ask yourself instead, “How can we do it differently and better around here?” Trust me… you’ll encourage everyone to look at things in a whole new light.

Print-Friendly Version