4 Key Questions to Ask a Senior Living Marketing Agency Before You Sign

To get the most out of an outsourced marketing arrangement, you need to have a strong alignment between your communities and the senior living marketing agency.

How will you know if you’re aligned? By asking these four pivotal questions and paying close attention to the answers.

1. Who owns the marketing channels and assets?

We’ve made this the number one question for good reason. Over the years, we’ve seen too many operators get lured in by what looks like an easy button: a “free” website (just a small monthly licensing fee!), bundled tech tools, or agency-managed ad spend.

But “free” and “easy” won’t necessarily translate into “simple” and “fair” if you decide to leave the agency (or worse: it goes belly up).

Here are some red flags to pay attention to.

Be skeptical of a so-called “free” website.

If there’s no upfront build fee, that usually means the agency owns the site. They likely built it on a proprietary platform designed to make it hard (if not impossible) to transfer to you. If you leave, you’ll have to start over. Don’t let this happen to you. Make sure you own and host your website.

Avoid percentage-based ad spend models.

Some agencies will offer to front your Google Ads budget and take a percentage of the spend instead of a flat management fee. That might sound nice until you realize it incentivizes them to spend more, not get better results. It’s all too easy for them to opt for broad match keywords and cheap clicks instead of the high-intent conversions you actually need. (And yes, some agencies charge up to 30%. We refer to this as marketing malpractice.)

Audit the tech stack.

Many agencies will manage your review platforms, citation tools, Google Business Profile optimization, and analytics under their accounts and/or licenses. That’s absolutely fine as long as you can take everything with you when you leave. Confirm up front that everything is transferable, and make sure they understand that they’ll be using your Google Suite, not theirs.

Protect your creative assets.

Logos, floor plans, brand guidelines, design files—make sure you own it all. We’ve had clients come to us with nothing but heartbreak because their last agency refused to release editable files, which meant we had to rebuild everything from scratch. Talk about a waste of money and time.

2. How will the agency build a customized marketing strategy for your brand?

Remember, tactics are not strategy. If an agency starts talking about blog posts, digital ads, or email campaigns before they’ve asked about your business goals, brand identity, and ideal prospects, consider that a giant red flag. The best agencies will always talk about strategy first.

Here are some additional questions to confirm the agency’s strategy-first approach:

What’s your process for building a strategy?

You want to hear the agency’s process for learning about your brand, your value proposition, your unique selling proposition, and your ideal resident—and how these things will inform the strategy they develop. (And if they don’t have experience in senior living, they should talk about their process for getting up to speed.)

How do you measure success?

Strategy without data is just guesswork. Ask what KPIs they track, how often they report, and—most importantly—how they course-correct when something isn’t working.

Bonus tip: Ask to see real reports. If you can’t understand them, neither will your executive team.

Does the strategy go beyond “generate more leads”?

Every agency will say they’re focused on lead generation. But a great agency will go further. They’ll not only ask about your reliance on third-party lead aggregators like A Place for Mom, but also discuss ways you can reduce reliance. (Yes, it is possible.) They’ll also talk about eliminating blind spots between marketing and sales. And finally, they’ll talk about their approach for bolstering brand recognition in a competitive market.

3. Does your marketing tech stack align with the agency’s expertise?

During the vetting process, review your current marketing tools with the agency. What tools are they familiar with? For example, maybe you use Birdeye or Yext for reputation management, but your agency prefers something else. (At SLS, we love BrightLocal.)

Are you willing to change tools so the new team can continue using their preferred toolset? Is the agency partner willing to work in your existing platform until the end of the contract?

This conversation isn’t about vendor loyalty. It’s about making sure the tools you’re using line up with your agency’s strengths. A powerful tech stack only works if the tools sync up and everyone knows how to use and get the most out of all the tech.

Bottom line: A strong tech stack combined with agency expertise will lead to better results.

4. Are you aligned where it really counts—on culture, values, and vision?

You can have the best tools, tactics, and reporting, but if the agency’s culture doesn’t align with yours, it likely won’t work over the long haul.

Culture fit isn’t fluff. It affects communication, trust, collaboration, and results. A strong agency partner should be able to clearly define their ideal client. That way, you can determine if you’re genuinely a good match.

Here’s how we define our ideal client. (And we’re not shy about sharing it with prospects.)

​​✔​ Growth-Oriented Leadership

• Actively seeking to increase occupancy
• Investing in branding, expansion, or repositioning
• Marketing is seen as a strategic lever, not just a cost

​​✔​ Values-Aligned Partners

• Collaborative, transparent, mission-driven
• Trusts expert guidance and long-term partnerships
• Open to innovation and marketing transformation

​​✔​ Operationally Ready

• Has a marketing leader/team or is open to fractional support
• Comfortable using CRMs, marketing automation, and digital tools
• Wants aligned sales + marketing and measurable ROI

​​✔​ Multi-location Senior Living Operators

• For-profit or nonprofit
• 5 to 75 communities in size
• Regional or national footprint

Remember, anyone can call themselves a senior living marketing agency. Look for ones that want to be your occupancy partner.

Take the time to probe and ask smart questions. Strategy-first agencies that are genuinely a good fit for your community and want to help grow your occupancy are harder to find, yet worth it when you do.

By the way, if you match our ideal client persona, get in touch and let’s talk.