Photo of seniors for the article: Why Customer Experience Marketing in Senior Living Matters

Why Customer Experience Marketing in Senior Living Matters

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Photo of seniors for the article: Why Customer Experience Marketing in Senior Living Matters

All senior living communities sell the same thing—the same levels of care, the same amenities, and the same floor plans (more or less). The way to differentiate your community in this “sea of sameness” is by creating memorable experiences at key touchpoints for prospects, residents, and families.

This is known as customer experience marketing (CEM or CXM). Wondering where to begin? Don’t worry—we got you! Below, we share three areas to focus on:

● The Website Experience
● The Tour Experience
● The Resident Experience

Note: This post was inspired by a conversation that Debbie Howard (our CEO) had on her podcast with Jamison Gosselin, an executive-level marketing strategist with over two decades of senior living industry experience. In the podcast, Gosselin discussed interesting findings from an in-depth survey he conducted with thousands of adult children. We’re including quotes from the podcast. (Check out the full episode here.)

The Website Experience

Don’t make it hard for people to schedule a tour.

When we review senior living community websites, we often discover how hard it is to schedule a tour. Ideally, you should have a way for people to schedule a tour directly on your site. The online scheduler should be intuitive, easy to use, and provide email confirmation.

Howard says, “It’s funny. When I audit a senior living community’s website, I’m always interested—and a little bit scared—when I click on ‘schedule a tour.’ Because usually when you click ‘schedule a tour,’ guess what you don’t get to do? You don’t actually get to schedule the tour. There’s no date and time picker, which is what the person wants.”

People who schedule tours directly on community websites tend to be higher-intent conversions. So, not having a straightforward way to schedule a tour is a missed opportunity.

Don’t skimp on floor plans or photography.

Listen, it’s 2024, not 2004. We’ve come a LONG way in how we can show off floor plans. Take advantage of modern approaches and create a more engaging experience for site visitors.

Howard says, “People like the floor plans. Every time we do a heat map on a community’s site that has floor plans, the floor plans light up like Christmas. And yet so many communities are still using those silly, basic black and white architectural plans.”

The same is true with photography. Using stock images contributes to the “sea of sameness” feeling. People browsing various senior living websites often encounter the same stock images from one site to another. How are they supposed to keep your community straight?

Custom photography is one way. But don’t underestimate user-generated photos from your staff, residents, and their families.

Don’t avoid the pricing discussion.

Senior living is expensive, full stop. We know it. You know it. Prospects know it. The question is, how expensive? And can it work for the prospect’s budget? That’s what people want to know when they’re looking at senior living websites and hunting for pricing information.

Listen, we get why communities are hesitant about sharing pricing online. Slapping prices on your website might scare people away before they understand financing resources, like bridge loans or the Veterans Aid & Attendance benefit.

However, not sharing pricing information doesn’t create a good website experience for visitors who crave that info. Instead of hiding from it, perhaps try leaning into it.

Higher education is an excellent model to follow. We don’t have to tell you that college tuition is expensive. We know it. You know it. Prospective students and their families know it. (Sound familiar?)

But colleges lean into the pricing discussion. Colleges are transparent about costs because helping people self-qualify helps everyone. But they don’t just list prices and leave it at that. They provide context. They demonstrate the value. They’re quick to point out information about financing and financial aid. (Here’s a great example.)

Think about how you might approach pricing if you leaned into it instead of turning away:

● You could discuss the ranges and what influences those ranges (like the size of the apartment home and its location).
● You could discuss how families successfully finance senior living. Include information and downloads that discuss long-term care insurance, how people can use life insurance policies to fund care, the Veterans Aid & Attendance benefit, etc.
● You could include testimonials from residents and their families who “found a way” and discovered it was much more doable than they initially thought.

Gosselin says context is essential. “Some operators are doing it pretty well. Some are not,” he explains. “And I think we do need to be more transparent about not only what it is that we charge people in terms of amounts, but what does that mean in terms of the services and the amenities and the care and the apartment that people are getting as well.”

If you don’t include pricing info (or you do, but it’s vague), people might leave your site feeling frustrated, which isn’t the experience you want them to have.

The Tour Experience

Yay! You’ve gotten a prospect to convert into the almighty tour. If you work in marketing, you might think your job is done. If you work in sales, you might think you could give tours in your sleep by now.

Both ways of thinking are problematic.

Remember, the tour allows you to differentiate your community from the “sea of sameness.” How you act, how you connect, how you listen—all those things will have a significant impact on the person experiencing the tour. Sales directors must always bring their A-game.

Gosselin says, “How are you defining that initial experience on the tour? What’s your tour path? How do you involve residents and other team members in the community as part of the tour, and how do you just stand out . . . how does the experience of the tour allow you to differentiate yourself from all the other tours that they’re taking?”

Sales directors should:

✔ Review all discovery notes about the prospect and their family. What’s the backstory? What activities are they interested in? Etc.
✔ Alert the front desk that someone is coming for a tour. Share the name so the front desk person can greet the person warmly.
✔ Pay attention to non-verbal gestures. The most effective sales directors know how to “read the room” and adjust accordingly. If the prospect is subdued and quiet, don’t go overboard with sunshine and rainbows. Meet the prospects where they are and build from there.
✔ Never be afraid to deviate. You might have a typical tour routine. For example, maybe you always point out the hair salon. Well, if you’re giving a tour to a bald man, maybe skip the salon and bring him to where folks gather to play chess or show him where he can borrow books or DVDs. You get the idea.

Need inspiration? Check out our on-demand “Red Carpet Tours” webinar, which discusses planning and executing the perfect tour. It’s free.

Keep in mind that pre- and post-tour tasks matter, too.

For example, when was the last time you audited the communication workflow that goes out after someone books a tour? What does the confirmation email say? Is it personal? How about the reminder emails? Are they generic, canned emails that simply say, “Reminder, you have a tour on May 12”? Or do they sound personal?

Which email below would get you excited?

Option 1

Dear Anita,

Reminder that you have a tour scheduled with ABC Community on May 12 at 2:00 p.m.

We look forward to seeing you then.

Best,
(Community Sales Director)

Option 2

Dear Anita,

We can’t wait to meet you on May 12 at 2:00 p.m. and show you around our vibrant community.

The flowers in our garden are in full bloom (you can take some clippings home if you like), and I know some of the “girls” in our community meet for bridge at 3:00. (You had mentioned that’s one of your favorite activities, so I want to make sure I introduce you.)

Looking forward to seeing you!

Best,
(Community Sales Director)

Your post-tour communications should be equally warm and personal—whether it’s an email, a phone call, a home visit, or a combination of all of the above. Again, think of it as creating a rich customer experience rather than simply checking off a box.

The Resident Experience

This is a hot-button issue for all of us at Senior Living SMART. Again, you might think the marketing and sales teams are off the hook once a deposit has been placed. You’ve done your job of capturing a prospect and turning that prospect into a resident.

But here’s the thing: That fantastic experience you created on the website and during the tour needs to extend through the move-in—and beyond.

Post-deposit experience

Anticipating everything a person needs before moving in is a great way to create a positive post-deposit experience.

● Do they need movers? Make introductions to your list of trusted vendors.
● Do they need help downsizing? Provide tip sheets or services that can help.
● Do they know where to go the day they move in? Who will be greeting them? Where should people park? Etc.

Howard says this is where the marketing team can step in and help. “We can leverage marketing automation to deliver a welcome letter,” she explains, “or automatically send packing tips and downsizing tips and moving resources and what to expect on day one.”

Move-in experience

What’s your community’s plan for making it a wonderful experience? Howard says it’s important to have a plan for the first 30 days—and that it could make sense for marketing to pick up the slack once again.

“We know how critical the first 30 days are,” she says. “Every week, you can deliver a little delight and surprise to a new resident. It could be something simple, like passes to the dining room for your family members or a gift card for the salon. It’s not that difficult to deliver flowers on day 30 and celebrate that first month. Because guess what? If you create raving fans, they’re going to leave great reviews, and they’re going to recommend your community to their friends . . . I feel like there’s a whole missed opportunity post-sale and really continuing those positive customer experiences.”

Move-out experience

At some point, residents—even happy ones—will leave. They might move into a higher level of care, move out, or pass away.

You might be wondering what sort of “customer” experience you’re supposed to create for someone who’s no longer there. But remember, the past resident still has family and friends. What’s the experience been like for them?

⮚ Do you make it easy for family members to gather all their loved one’s belongings?
⮚ Do you simplify the process of paying any outstanding bills and finalizing paperwork?
⮚ Do you have a workflow that allows you to stay in touch with family members? Perhaps a newsletter or publication designed specifically for family members of past residents.

You’d hate for the great experience a resident had to be sullied by a sloppy or impersonal move-out experience that the adult child had to endure, right?

Remember, family members of past residents can still make excellent referrals.

Gosselin says, “We are not like your typical business-to-consumer industry where it’s very transactional . . . And the other side of it is because we’re serving people for a longer time, it’s not like going into a hotel room and checking out of a hotel room. You hopefully will move in, you’ll have a great experience, and then you’ll move on, pass away, move to a higher level of care, whatever it might be. But I would say that I think we as an industry need to think more creatively based on how our business operates. And I think we need to do a better job at that.”

Ready to elevate your customer experience marketing?

We can help! We have compelling and creative campaigns and programs that we can customize for your community so that you can wow prospects, residents, and their families at every touchpoint. Get in touch, and let’s discuss how we can help.

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Senior Living Marketing Tips: The Adult Child’s Journey

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We talk a lot about the buyer’s journey, specifically the one the senior embarks on. But what about the adult child helping the senior make the decision?

The adult child’s journey runs parallel, but it is different, and understanding the differences is essential to your senior living marketing efforts.

At the 2023 SMASH conference, Jamison Gosselin, an executive-level marketing strategist with over two decades of senior living industry experience, shared interesting findings from an in-depth survey he conducted with thousands of adult children.

Below, we’ll discuss two key insights that Gosselin shared with Debbie Howard, Senior Living SMART’s CEO and Founder, during our Senior Living Marketing Perspectives podcast. (You can check out the complete episode here.)

1. Having an optimized website isn’t enough to land your community on an adult child’s radar.

Adult children in the early stages of the buying journey are usually trying to educate themselves about senior living—what it is, how much it costs, and what insurance covers. They’ll often perform searches around those questions.

But guess what? Google’s top results aren’t likely to include your community—even if you have content that answers those questions.

Instead, other sites with more authority—think government agencies like the National Council on Aging, lead aggregators like A Place for Mom, and magazines like Forbes—will rank higher in the SERPs (search engine results pages).

So now, the question becomes: Once the adult children educate themselves and are ready to compile a list of communities to tour, how do you ensure your community makes it onto their list?

If you think having an optimized website is enough, think again. Other factors influence the adult child’s list-making before the adult child even makes it to your website. And the most significant influencer is your community’s Google Business Profile.

Gosselin says the Google Business Profile came up a lot among his survey participants. He adds, “If companies are not completely optimizing every feature and functionality available on their Google Business Profile, then they are missing out because the Google Business Profile has a number of bells and whistles that are more than just bells and whistles, frankly, and are like the church bells that should be ding-donging every time someone goes and does a [search on] ‘senior living in Las Vegas’ or ‘senior living in Portland, Oregon.'”

Google Business Profiles are critical because of the prevalence of “near me” searches. If someone searches for “senior living communities near me,” Google understands where the person is searching and will serve up well-optimized Google Business Profiles accordingly.

Optimizing your Google Business Profile (GBP) goes beyond simply claiming it and adding a blurb or two and some photos. Here are several mistakes that we consistently see communities make with their GBPs:

● Not choosing the correct category. We’ve come across profiles for assisted living that use “skilled nursing” as their lead category. That won’t help your GBP show up for searches on assisted living.
● Not optimizing the Q&A section for long-tail keyword phrases. Answering questions is a great way to demonstrate your community’s expertise and compassion while also giving Google more context about what your community offers.
● Not using GBP posts effectively. Treat Google Business Profile posts like mini blog posts, where you can include clickable (and trackable) calls to action, like “Schedule a Tour” or “Join us for lunch.”

2. Don’t underestimate the power of referrals—or the adult child’s role in giving them.

Gosselin says 46% of his survey participants received a referral from a friend or family member. “That’s a huge number,” he adds.

However, too many communities don’t think through their referral or loyalty programs over the long haul. In particular, operators often forget to nurture relationships with the adult children of past residents.

The adult child’s journey with the community might have ended when their loved one died or moved out, but that doesn’t mean the child’s memory of their loved one’s experience ended. If the loved one had a genuinely good experience in the community, the adult child could remain a good referral source for years to come, provided you nurture this relationship and keep your community at the top of their minds.

Ideas for nurturing the adult children of past residents:

• Craft a special newsletter for adult children whose parents are no longer residents. The tenor and tone of this communication must be respectful, not sales-oriented, and you should carefully curate which adult children you add to the distribution list. Maybe you create a quarterly or yearly “Perspectives” newsletter or publication that shows what’s new in the community, highlights residents, and includes a spotlight on a long-term employee. These things can help keep your community on the adult child’s radar.
• Consider memorializing past residents so the adult child remains connected to the community. Invite adult children whose parents were particularly happy in your community to select a memorial item with their loved one’s name, like a brick in the new wall around the gardens, a butterfly tree, or a bench—you get the idea. Encourage the adult child and their family to visit the memorial anytime, including meaningful dates, like birthdays and wedding anniversaries.
• Send a “thinking of you” card to the adult child on the anniversary of their loved one’s passing. You don’t need to do this forever, but you could send a thoughtful card in the first few years after the resident’s death.
PRO TIP: People’s relationships with their parents are often fraught and complex. Don’t make assumptions about what the person might be feeling. Keep it simple. Here’s an example: “As the first anniversary of your mother’s passing approaches, we wanted to reach out and let you know we’re thinking of you.”

• Encourage adult children to maintain connections with other residents. Adult children often become friendly with people their loved ones befriended in the community. Encourage the adult children to stay in touch if it feels right.
• Don’t forget to send a thank-you note when the adult child makes a referral. Hopefully, your team is good at asking prospects who referred them to your community. If it turns out the referrer is the adult child of a past resident, you should still thank them by sending a handwritten thank-you note.

Understanding your community’s personas is the key to effective senior living marketing.

Creating personas isn’t a once-and-done exercise, and it isn’t something you should guess at or make up. We have a proven process for developing custom personas that will inform your marketing going forward. Contact us if you’d like to know more.

Photo of graphs for the article: How to Diagnose Senior Living Occupancy Issues

How to Diagnose Senior Living Occupancy Issues

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Photo of graphs for the article: How to Diagnose Senior Living Occupancy Issues

Anyone who’s worked in senior living sales or marketing knows the tension that exists between the two. Marketing might say, “Hey, look at all the leads we’ve delivered. Why haven’t you closed more?” Meanwhile, the sales team often responds with, “These leads stink! They’re not qualified.”

Marketing and sales teams each play essential roles in driving senior living occupancy. This is why we must dial down the tension and find ways to encourage collaboration. To foster collaboration, everyone must understand two key points: who’s in charge of what and how to diagnose issues.

Below, we outline what marketing teams “own” and what sales teams “own.” Then, we provide tips for diagnosing senior living occupancy issues in each case.

What does marketing own?

Simply put, marketing owns lead generation.

⮚ Are you generating enough quality leads, meaning a good mix of sales-qualified leads (SQLs) and marketing-qualified leads (MQLs)?
⮚ Are the SQLs converting into tours and move-ins?
⮚ Are the MQLs advancing to sales-qualified status over time?

How can you tell if you have a lead gen problem?

Ask yourself the following questions to help diagnose a lead gen/marketing problem.

Where are most leads coming from? Understanding lead source attribution is critical. Your primary source of leads should come from organic search. Paid search takes the #2 spot. Direct traffic (which suggests an awareness of your brand) and referral traffic round out the top four. Read more about the difference between organic and paid search.

Are you bragging about lead volume, but the sales team still complains about lead quality? Listen to them! Too often, marketing teams point to the volume of leads generated rather than the quality. Quality trumps quantity every time. Think about it. Would you rather have 500 mediocre leads that don’t convert or languish in nurturing workflows? Or would you rather have 200 quality leads, half of which are sales-qualified and the other half marketing-qualified? It’s a no-brainer.

Are you dealing with website traffic issues? Traffic problems usually present themselves in one of two ways:

⮚ Not enough quality traffic to yield leads. You need a healthy amount of quality traffic to hit lead quotas for the sales team. Issues like poor optimization or lousy site performance can cause traffic problems. For example, Google might not even serve up your website if it isn’t secure or mobile-friendly. Use our instant website audit tool to evaluate potential problems.

⮚ High traffic, low conversions. Do you offer prospects plenty of conversion points related to where they are in their buying journey? Have you reviewed CTA performance? Do you use specific landing pages instead of a generic “contact us” form? Are you using third-party conversion tools, such as surveys, 3-D floor plans, and chat? All of these things matter and can make a huge difference in conversions. Check out specific strategies for turning website traffic into leads.

Are MQLs advancing to SQLs at an appropriate rate? You don’t want your marketing-qualified leads to wither on the vine. After appropriate nurturing, many of them should convert to SQLs (aim for anywhere between 25 to 40 percent).

How are your paid ads performing? Is your impression score greater than 10%? What is your conversion percentage and cost per conversion? Don’t throw money at paid search without a solid understanding of the ROI you should be getting. Read more about cost-per-lead benchmarks for senior living.

What does sales own?

Simply put, the sales team owns conversions.

⮚ What is your “speed to lead”?
⮚ Is your team converting inquiries to tours?
⮚ Is your team advancing tours to deposits/move-ins?
⮚ Are you underestimating the value of marketing-qualified leads?

Regarding that last point, the shorter the sales cycle, the shorter the length of stay, which means less revenue. Leads nurtured over a longer timeframe tend to reside in the community longer, resulting in more revenue. In other words, don’t dismiss the “not ready yet” marketing-qualified leads—or your marketing team’s efforts in producing and nurturing them. Many of our clients have over 50% of move-ins coming from MQLs.

How can you tell if you have a conversion problem?

Start by looking at how you score and segment leads. Bottom line: Not all leads are created equal. If you treat all leads the same, you’ll have trouble with conversions. This is where collaboration with (and respect for) marketing comes into play. Let marketing nurture the MQLs. The sales team should only focus on sales-qualified leads. Learn more about the biggest lead-scoring mistakes senior living marketers continue to make.

Review how quickly leads are responded to during business hours. The community that responds fastest to the initial inquiry tends to win. (That’s the reality. We can debate whether that’s fair some other time.) At LeadGenie, our outsourced senior living call center, we schedule 70% of our tours in the first hour and 95% in the first two days. How’s this possible? Simple: We answer 85% of sales calls within 30 seconds. Learn more about LeadGenie.

Review inquiry-to-tour conversions. Turn to sales benchmarking reports to get averages (download this free one from Aline). If your conversions are underperforming, this could be due to myriad reasons, such as poor lead response time, lack of discovery skills, lousy rapport, lack of empathy, problems overcoming objections, or simply not listening close enough to the prospect.

Review tour-to-deposit/move-in. Poor conversions could also be due to myriad reasons, such as a lack of planning/personalization of the tour experience, failure to secure a next step at the end of the tour, or lack of creative follow-up after the tour. Read these tips for converting tours to move-ins.

Review call-tracking data. How many sales calls go unanswered? Look at the time of day and day of the week when calls come in so you can ensure coverage at peak times. Listen to the calls to hear your prospects’ experience when they phone the community. Look for training opportunities for the front deck/concierge and the sales team. Check out why we love CallRail for call-tracking.

Review how the team handles other common types of leads. Let’s discuss three common subsets of leads and how to engage or re-engage them.

⮚ Leads that get stuck. Sometimes that once-hot SQL will stall in the pre-tour stage. Others might peter out in the post-tour stage. It’s the sales team’s job to work these leads. This is where creativity, collaboration with marketing, and marketing automation can come into play.

⮚ On-deck/generic leads. Some leads are unresponsive to sales outreach, and some CRMs might use generic-sounding status options for these leads, like “on deck,” “lead,” or “contact.” After several attempts, enroll these leads into a longer lead nurturing campaign and leverage marketing automation to stay in touch with these shy leads.

⮚ Lost but not disqualified leads. Some leads end up in the category of “lost but not disqualified.” These leads chose to stay at home, hire home care services, or move in with family. Continue to nurture them because, at some point, these prospects will likely need a more supportive environment than what family, home care, or adult day care can provide. Add these leads to a longer lead nurturing campaign so that when the next crisis arrives, your community will be top of mind.

Need help diagnosing senior living occupancy issues?

We can help diagnose the problem and align your marketing and sales teams. Get in touch and let’s discuss lead gen.

Photo of a board for the article: Should You Outsource Your Senior Living Call Center?

Should You Outsource Your Senior Living Call Center?

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Photo of a board for the article: Should You Outsource Your Senior Living Call Center?

We don’t have to tell you that phone calls still matter in senior living. You’re living and breathing it every day.

But here’s an interesting stat from Invoca that verifies this experience: “70% of senior living and care consumers will call during the consumer journey. Since senior living and care is a highly-considered purchase, it often requires direct communication with a qualified agent.” (Emphasis is ours.)

The phrase “qualified agent” suggests a call center, a popular topic at the Senior Housing News conference in Tampa earlier this year. During various panels, several operators brought up the value of using a call center to improve lead response and conversions.

The question is, should you manage your own call center? Or should you outsource?

We have a strong opinion on this subject, and for a good reason: We built a senior living call center.

We launched LeadGenie in early 2023 to complement our marketing services and ensure that the leads we generate for clients are answered—and answered in a way that helps the prospect.

We got to this point after listening to countless hours of call recordings filled with lousy customer interactions and prospects who sounded frustrated (rightfully so). Many of these prospects had scheduled tours on the website, yet no one from the community had responded to confirm. Or they were dumped in voicemail, told to call back, or put on hold for so long that they abandoned the call.

It soon became clear that half of the leads we worked so hard to generate for our clients were mismanaged and never reached the salesperson.

So, we decided to build something that would work better for prospects—and our industry. The result was LeadGenie, a complete lead management solution with a call center at its core.

We’re not going to lie: It was really hard in the beginning. We made mistakes and had to rebuild the team and the infrastructure several months into the launch. Today, we know more about call centers and centralized lead management than we ever thought possible, and we love sharing our knowledge.

What to know about senior living call centers

The telephony system you choose can make or break your call center.

Your phone system must be easy for your staff to use. It should include workforce management to ensure proper staffing by day and time, provide transparency to staff performance so you can reward top performers and coach (or fire) underperformers, and generate a reporting dashboard to hold the team accountable to KPIs.

Speaking of KPIs, are you ready for some alphabet soup?

If you thought marketing jargon and acronyms were bad, just wait until you see the stuff related to call centers.

Service Level Agreement (SLA)

We set this with each client based on their goals. The most common is the percentage of calls answered within an agreed-upon timeframe.

We average 85/30, meaning we answer 85% of all calls within 30 seconds for inbound calls. We use minutes to measure outbound calls (generated from third-party leads and web forms) since the team has to receive the lead, read the notes, and make an outbound call attempt. We had a client with a 27-hour speed-to-lead that we reduced to a few minutes.

Once you agree upon the SLA, it should be visible on the client dashboard.

Average Handle Time (AHT)

Each client has a different goal regarding how deeply they want us to explore prospects. Some want light discovery with AHT under 3 minutes. Others want us to act as an extension of their sales team and conduct deep and detailed discovery, which can take eight to 12 minutes.

Call centers, whether you own or outsource, are labor intensive. Labor will be your biggest investment, so setting expectations on AHT is critical to achieving the desired results. Read more about call center best practices.

After Call Work (ACW)

Call center staff must document notes into your CRM once the call is completed. A few minutes per interaction must be built into staffing models and included in reporting.

Call centers might combine AHT and ACW into “screen time” if the telephony system records each agent’s screen for training purposes.

Workflow

Agreeing upon the lead response and follow-up cadence will help set the tone for a successful relationship. Some clients want us to manage a lead for only 24 hours, while others might want up to four attempts in three days. One client requested 14 touchpoints in 10 days, and others want us to own the lead until we qualify, disqualify, or advance it to an appointment.

Some of our workflows involve only inbound and outbound calls, while others include emails. Once everyone agrees on the workflow, there must be accountability for managing it successfully.

So, should you manage your own call center? Or outsource? 5 considerations.

The problem with managing your own senior living call center is you don’t realize how complex things can become until you’re in it. Five areas in particular can become headaches in a hurry:

1. Recruiting

This is a specialized hire (especially if you’re building a remote team). Do you have a recruiting specialist for this role?

2. Training

Do you have a team that can train new hires about the senior living industry? What about sales skills, call center skills, and technical proficiency? It can take skilled call center teams two to three weeks to fully train an agent before they’re ready to get on the phone. Oh, and training should never stop. You must have live call monitoring, evaluations of recorded calls, and one-to-one coaching with each agent.

3. Admin, HR, and Payroll

Do you want to manage a high-turnover, hourly staffing model with last-minute call-outs, no-shows, and missed punches?

4. Accountability and Productivity

Do you know how many sales activities each agent should complete per hour/shift? Do you have KPIs to measure quality, productivity, and results? Do you have the capacity to coach to improve performance and identify gaps in learning?

5. Knowledge Bases

You’ll have to build custom knowledge bases for each community so your agents can quickly provide prospects with answers to their questions. Agents will need more than what’s available on your website, so having the right platform to make it easy for agents to navigate while keeping the prospect engaged is critical.

Think you might be better off outsourcing? Give LeadGenie a try.

LeadGenie has been a great addition to our marketing agency services since it takes all the great leads we’ve been generating for clients and advancing more of them to tours and move-ins.

If you’re considering a call center partnership that allows you to use your CRM, customize your workflow, and measure results, schedule a call with LeadGenie. Visit the LeadGenie site to learn more.

Computer with a toolbox filled on top.

Getting the Most Out of Third-Party Website Tools & Integrations

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Computer with a toolbox filled on top.

Third-party website tools and integrations can be an excellent way to elevate a prospect’s experience on your senior living website. The right products can boost engagement and conversions, but the key word here is “right.”

Below, we discuss what to consider when selecting and using these products as part of your senior living marketing strategy.

The primary question to ask when choosing a third-party website tool or integration

The following questions should always be in the back of your head as you consider different products:

  • What’s the goal?
  • What does success look like?
  • How will you measure results?

But one over-arching question that encompasses all of the above is this: How does the tool fit into your strategy?

Remember, every good marketing decision begins with the right strategy to achieve your goals. Common goals include:

  • Getting more leads in the pipeline
  • Booking more tours
  • Getting more phone calls
  • Shortening the sales cycle
  • Advancing marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) to sales-qualified leads (SQLs)

Your marketing toolbox should have various website tools to help achieve these outcomes. Here are some popular ones to consider—and how to get the most out of them.

Website Tools & Integrations to Consider

Surveys/Assessments & Decision Tools

When prospects visit a senior living community’s website, they often want to better understand their situation and determine which level of care is the best fit. Survey and assessment tools can help.

Some of these tools focus more on the clinical aspects of the decision (e.g., Roobrik), while others are more aligned with lifestyle and socialization preferences (e.g., Waypoint).

Surveys and assessment tools can work well as an initial conversion point, but we often find even better results when used in lead nurturing and marketing automation campaigns.

Where to use them:

  • Place them strategically throughout the website.
  • Use them on thank-you pages to advance prospects to take the next step.
  • Link to them in your lead nurturing email campaigns to advance prospects into the next stage of their buying journey.

Chatbots, Live Chat, or Virtual Sales Assistants (VSAs)

These tools empower prospects to get information without speaking on the phone (or in person) with a sales rep. Our data shows that returning visitors are more likely to engage and convert using one of these tools and that chat is frequently the touch point that converts anonymous website visitors into contacts.

  • AI-based tools can mimic humans and respond to frequently asked questions, freeing your sales team and front desk from having to repeatedly answer the same questions.
  • Live human chat that connects more personally can elevate this experience even further. The prospect might feel more relaxed communicating through a screen (rather than on the phone or in person) while still appreciating that there’s an actual human on the other end of the exchange. This could be especially helpful for adult children researching communities on behalf of a parent. The adult child likely uses this form of communication for other tasks (like cable, banking, etc.).

The good news is that plenty of solid options exist, including SiteStaff Chat and Further.

  • PRO TIP: Think about the experience you want to create. An AI chatbot is a different experience than a human interaction. A bot is better on a mobile device since typing entire conversations on a cell phone is difficult. However, human chat might be better for visitors using a desktop. You could also opt for a hybrid solution that combines human live chat during business hours for laptop users and AI bots for mobile visits to your website and after-hours coverage.

Call Tracking Tools

Call tracking tools like CallRail provide valuable insights, such as . . .

  • Which marketing channels are making your phone ring
  • How well your inbound sales calls are being managed (for example, answered vs. not answered)
  • The quality of the sales interactions (which you can learn about by auditing recorded calls)

To get the most out of these tools, you must set up each marketing channel with a unique local phone number, monitor your dashboards, and audit calls regularly.

When you review the analytics, pay attention to the following items:

Call attribution. This will tell you which marketing channels and campaigns are generating phone calls. An important caveat: You must monitor calls to ensure you’re not wasting precious marketing dollars on generating calls from staff members, job seekers, vendors, or families trying to reach residents.

Missed opportunities. The dashboard should show you how many calls from your marketing channels go unanswered, are abandoned, or go to voicemail. Peak times often correspond with morning and lunch hours.

Call quality. Audit recorded calls to see how your sales reps interact with prospects. Things to listen for include the ability to build rapport, the percentage of time they spend talking vs. listening (the prospect should be speaking 70% of the time), how often the salesperson asks open-ended questions, and whether the salesperson tries to advance the prospect by offering them a tour, lunch, or an invite to an upcoming event.

Documentation. Go into your senior living CRM to see if the lead has been entered and if comprehensive notes summarizing the information gathered on the call exist.

  • PRO TIP: Integrate your call-tracking tool with your marketing automation (like HubSpot) to enroll prospects into SMS lead nurturing and follow-up campaigns.

Bounced Lead Retargeting

“Not all who bounce are lost,” according to NaviStone, a software company that helps marketers drive growth to their brands. NaviStone’s research shows that 95% of all website visitors leave without taking action.

But with NaviStone, you can retarget prospects who bounce with personalized direct mail sent to their home address. Yes, you read that right: They can send snail mail to anonymous website visitors on your behalf. (About 70% of website visitors can be matched with physical snail mail addresses.)

This product empowers you to find your hidden market of anonymous visitors and bring them back to your community.

Marketing Automation

Every marketing channel and conversion tool becomes even more powerful when it integrates seamlessly with a marketing automation platform. Once prospects engage with a website conversion tool, your automation should send personalized follow-up communications as part of a lead nurturing workflow.

Why? Well, most conversions will be marketing-qualified leads (MQLs), meaning they’re not ready for a sales interaction yet. That’s OK. You still have an excellent opportunity to build your sales pipeline for future move-ins with MQLs.

  • PRO TIP: We’ve found that tours scheduled through chat have a higher no-show rate than tours scheduled through calls. To reduce no-shows, create a workflow in your marketing automation platform that confirms the appointment, reminds them of the appointment, pushes the tour notification into the CRM, and alerts the salesperson to connect personally with the prospect pre-tour.

We’ve written extensively about marketing automation. Here are three articles to dive into next:

A caveat about empowering leads to disqualify themselves

Early-stage marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) may just want a quick answer about the price to self-qualify or self-disqualify. Some web chat tools allow prospects to check “cannot afford” after the pricing is revealed and self-disqualify without ever speaking with a salesperson.

Is this what you want? Do you push all of these “cannot afford” leads into your CRM? Or do you only push over sales-qualified leads (SQLs) who are ready to tour or want to speak with sales? Are you sure that every prospect who self-disqualified using a bot understands potential funding resources (like the Veterans Aid & Attendance benefit)? Are you ready to let them go without any follow-up?

We had a client who converted seven “cannot afford” prospects into move-ins because we nurtured and educated them about available funding solutions they were unaware of.

  • PRO TIP: Integrate your chat tool with your marketing automation platform. Segment your leads into SQLs and MQLs and create workflows for each.

Remember, website tools won’t increase your website traffic

One of the most important considerations when choosing a new toy for your website is your website traffic volume. Website tools do not generate traffic. They only convert the traffic generated from search channels (organic, paid, direct, and referred).

Only a small percentage of your website visitors will engage with these tools. If your site doesn’t get a lot of traffic, you’ll have fewer conversions. You should address that issue before you focus too much on adding bells and whistles to your site.

And guess what? We can help with that. Contact us to discuss your senior living website strategy.

Multicolor boxes stacked in various patterns.

More Tech Stack Tips for Senior Living Marketing

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Multicolor boxes stacked in various patterns.

Recently, I had the privilege of participating in a panel discussion at the Senior Housing News sales and marketing conference in Tampa alongside Sherrie Bebell and Wade Goodman.

The session, “Tech Stack Transformation: Innovating Senior Living Sales & Marketing in 2024,” offered a fascinating look into the collective drive to enhance the prospect experience, minimize decision-making friction, and refine the integration of marketing and sales for improved lead quality and conversion rates.

Of course, choosing the right tech stack can be challenging for senior living marketers since many legacy technologies haven’t adapted. Not to mention, there are so many new bright and shiny things to choose from.

We recently shared an article about the tech stacks all senior living marketing and sales teams should use. Now, let’s take a deeper look at three critical areas (and let’s use a fun analogy to explain them: shopping malls).

What do shopping malls have to do with your senior living community’s tech stack anyway?

Like shopping malls, today’s marketing tech stack has anchor stores, lots of smaller boutique shops, and a food court in the middle.

In this shopping mall analogy, the senior living website and CRM are at the ends of the mall, anchoring the smaller boutique shops. The marketing automation platform is the food court—it feeds the marketing machine. The small niche shops are your website chat, surveys, blogs, floor plans, videos, and so forth—the stuff that engages prospects as they pop in and out of their shopping experience.

Just as malls have had to rethink their structure to remain competitive, senior living operators should rethink their three anchor technologies: website, CRM, and marketing automation.

Outdated website? Here’s what to do next . . .

If your senior living website hasn’t been updated in over three years, consider this your sign for a makeover. Modern prospects expect a mobile-first, fast, intuitive, and easy-to-navigate online experience that allows them to research anonymously.

When doing your website makeover, emphasize original photography, comprehensive 3D floor plans, transparent pricing, trust signals like reviews, and robust educational content to keep prospects engaged and loyal to your brand.

Build your site on WordPress, own your hosting license, and avoid falling prey to proprietary websites that you cannot access and do not own.

Learn more about the ins and outs of effective senior living websites here.

Crappy CRM? Time to upgrade . . .

A great senior living CRM integrates with your chosen marketing tools, including your marketing automation, email marketing, chat (live or widget), surveys, call tracking, third-party aggregators, call center (outsourced or internal), Google Analytics, and social media.

The best CRMs also allow integration of choice rather than limiting the selection to only their preferred partners, which they monetize through forced bundling.

Today, with open APIs, Zapier, and custom middleware, operators should expect their CRM technology partner to provide bilateral integration with all marketing tools and platforms.

If your CRM doesn’t offer all of the above, it’s time to upgrade.

Is your marketing automation too basic? Time to upgrade here as well.

Your website (along with Google Analytics) should be able to capture the initial prospect journey information, such as lead attribution sources, most visited pages, entry and exit points, and conversion insights (where and how prospects are converting from anonymous website visitor to lead).

Your CRM picks up the prospect when they have advanced to a sales-qualified lead and documents all sales activities, effectively closing the loop when prospects advance to move-ins.

Your marketing automation, however, is the engine in the middle that works 24 hours a day to nurture and advance prospects throughout their journey. The connection between each of these three platforms ensures that there are no blind spots in the prospect journey and that no lead is left behind.

We recommend HubSpot above all others because of its reporting capabilities and the marketing dashboards you can create by ownership group, portfolio, region, and level of care. These dashboards allow you to visually display the entire lead pipeline by stage. You can see the ROI of every marketing dollar spent by channel, which is critical intel.

Don’t forget to integrate bespoke experiences for added panache, personalization, and conversions.

To complete our analogy of comparing the martech stack architecture with a shopping mall configuration, we can’t forget the smaller boutique stores that connect the anchor stores and the food court.

In our analogy, these would be all the third-party integrations that plug into your tech stack, including chat, surveys, call tracking, videos, map features, and the like.

Just as mall shoppers pop in and out of the niche store as they move between the large anchor chains and the food court, senior living prospects will use these tools when they visit your website.

Our approach to creating this foundational tech stack for our clients

Our clients have enjoyed great success using WordPress CMS, HubSpot marketing automation, and Welcome Home CRM. This combination of products provides complete visibility into the prospect’s entire journey.

From there, we can reverse-engineer move-ins to better understand:

  • The original lead attribution source
  • All the touchpoints along their decision path (engaging with social, paid, content, video)
  • Measure their engagement (number of website visits, landing page conversions, content downloads, and emails opened and clicked)
  • The number of days between first conversion and tour, first conversion and move-in, and tour-to-move-in by persona and level of care

Ready to rock your senior living marketing tech stack?

For communities that want to increase their lead generation and conversion rates, embracing a well-rounded tech stack is key. And we can help! Schedule a brainstorming call with us today, and let’s explore how we can transform your marketing tech stack.

portrait and close up of Two happy seniors buying a new house holding the key with his hand.

Tips for Better Senior Living Sales & Marketing Alignment Post-Deposit

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The biggest myth in senior living sales and marketing is that marketing ends once someone signs on the dotted line and delivers their deposit.

Here’s the reality: Sales and marketing teams must remain aligned post-deposit. Why? Two reasons.

First, happy residents are your best form of advertisement. They write excellent, engaging reviews. They’re also much more likely to participate in your community’s friends/family referral program. (Family and friends referrals enjoy high conversion rates.) However, happy residents don’t just happen. Your community should have a process for ensuring a smooth, branded move-in experience so that all new residents are happy.

But this brings us to the second reason why sales and marketing teams must remain aligned post-deposit: You can’t count on sales counselors to consistently provide a smooth, branded move-in experience. That’s not in their wheelhouse. Plus, the sales counselors are already busy trying to close sales-qualified leads who haven’t reached the deposit point yet.

Luckily, this work doesn’t have to be a heavy lift for your marketing department thanks to the wonders of marketing automation. You can set up post-deposit nurturing campaigns to help create a red-carpet experience for each new resident every time. These campaigns would automatically trigger once the deposit is noted in the CRM.

So, what types of post-deposit nurturing campaigns should you develop? We recommend creating campaigns around these 3 topics:

    • Keeping track of all the paperwork
    • Relocation/moving tips
    • What residents can expect their first week/month

Campaign #1: Say hello to streamlined paperwork

We don’t have to tell you about all the paperwork involved with moving into your community. But the amount of paperwork might surprise the prospective resident—or the person handling it on their behalf, like an adult child.

Creating a post-deposit workflow that helps new residents keep track of and make sense of all the documents will reduce their stress and make it easier for them to access what they need when they need it.

Some tips to keep in mind:

    • If your community has an online resident portal, provide clear instructions on how to access and use it. Include not only written instructions, but also a video walk-through. Audit the instructions—review them yourself and ensure everything makes sense and works as expected. Get feedback from newer residents and their families about their experience with the portal.
    • Make sure you include the right people in this workflow. For example, if a couple is moving in, make sure they’re both included. If family members have been involved in the process, include them. (This goes for all the post-deposit nurturing campaigns, not just this one.)

Campaign #2: Countdown to move-in day

Moving is considered one of the most stressful events in a person’s life. The move can become exponentially harder when you add the emotions of leaving a home you’ve been in for decades.

One of the best post-deposit campaigns you can develop is a countdown to move-in day with practical, actionable steps people can follow. But don’t overwhelm people with too much information in each email.

Things to include:

Start with a welcome email. When we create this campaign for our clients, we immediately send an email from the executive director or CEO thanking the new resident for selecting the community and letting them know how excited they are to welcome them to the family.

    • Downsizing strategies
    • Tips for selling a home
    • What to donate, give to friends and family, sell, and take
    • How to digitize pictures
    • Packing checklists
    • Vetted vendors, like the moving companies you recommend
    • PRO TIP: Speaking of vetted vendors, if you REALLY want to help your new residents transition successfully into your community, connect them with a relocation specialist. Intrigued? Check out our podcast with Maureen Longoria, Co-Founder of LivNow Relocation, which assists older adults and their adult children during this emotionally charged transition.

Campaign #3: What to expect your first week/month

When you sign up for a free 30-day trial of something, you often receive a series of welcome emails that do just that—welcome you to the service, highlight valuable features, and share answers to FAQs.

Model your community’s “what you can expect” campaign accordingly. Send a welcome email that arrives in a new resident’s inbox within 24-48 hours of moving in.

Send follow-up emails over the next 30 days that share info about . . .

    • Dining services. How to order, hours, where to request special meals, etc.
    • Activities for the next month.
    • FAQs. Collect and answer the most common questions new residents have in this email. (Or link to a page on your site with all the answers.)
    • What to do if something’s amiss. Give people a direct line to someone who can help them ASAP if something isn’t right or to their liking. Complaints or minor irritations aren’t unusual during a move into senior living. The key is making sure the new resident feels heard AND that they feel the issue is being addressed.

Need help creating a post-deposit nurturing workflow?

This isn’t a typical workflow that senior living communities implement—or that most senior living marketing agencies offer their clients. But we do! Get in touch and let’s discuss how we can put these workflows to work for your community.

Marketing automation for senior living

Marketing Automation for Senior Living: Real Results

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We spend a lot of time on the blog and with our clients discussing the value of marketing automation for senior living. But the proof is in the results. Below, we’re highlighting what two years’ worth of sound marketing strategy and automation achieved for Sinceri Senior Living, which is based out of Vancouver, Washington, and has over 70 communities across the U.S.

But first, let’s have a quick refresher on marketing automation.

Why does marketing automation for senior living matter?

Marketing automation enables you to send the right message to the right person at the right time. As its name suggests, everything happens automatically in the background. A website visitor’s actions enable marketing automation to glean the visitor’s intent and give them a lead score. The score helps determine the next steps.

For example, if someone downloads a guide about retirement planning and indicates they want to move to an independent living community within a couple of years, they would receive a different score than someone who requests a tour next week because their mom needs memory care ASAP.

The former would be considered a marketing-qualified lead (MQL). They’ve indicated intent and interest, but they’re not ready to buy now or any time soon. They’ll enter lead nurturing workflows designed to keep them engaged.

The latter is a sales-qualified lead (SQL). They’ve indicated sales readiness through their actions and the info provided through the tour request.

The marketing automation can keep track of everyone—who they are, their lead score, and what should happen next. The automation also frees up the marketing and sales team from mundane, repetitive processes—and the automation can quickly scale to accommodate multiple communities.

So, instead of keeping track of who’s who and when to send emails, the marketing team can focus on developing engaging content that attracts more qualified traffic to the website—think blog posts, videos, and social media content. Meanwhile, the sales team can focus on high-intent leads instead of wasting time working “all leads,” which has traditionally been the approach in senior living.

OK, so all of this might sound well and good in theory. But how does marketing automation work in practice? Is everything as seamless as we described above? And what about the results?

Below, we’re sharing two years’ worth of results for Sinceri Senior Living: August 2021 to August 2022, and August 2022 to August 2023. Sinceri is a prime example of how automation can enhance marketing efforts, streamline processes, and, most importantly, drive tangible results.

Year one: Building a solid foundation

Sinceri Marketing Numbers

The stories behind the numbers

Sinceri’s blog enjoyed an impressive 20,007 views, a crucial indicator of increasing online engagement. The real success, however, was evident in the conversion rates. The MQLs stood at 6,923, a significant portion of which (3,694) came from guide downloads and 3,229 from brochure downloads.

The SQLs were even more telling of the strategy’s effectiveness, with 5,160 conversions comprising 3,229 tours and 1,931 requests to speak with sales representatives. This successful nurturing of MQLs to SQLs was marked by 3,406 advancements, a testament to the effective combination of email nurturing and lead scoring.

The move-ins may be the most compelling evidence of the automation strategy’s success. Out of 343 total move-ins, 232 were attributed to first-touch SQLs and 111 to first-touch MQLs, translating into a remarkable $24,696,000 in revenue, considering the average resident lifetime value.

Year two: Refining strategy and focusing on quality

 

The stories behind the numbers

The second year (August 2022 to August 2023) showed an interesting trend. Although blog views decreased to 14,400, this wasn’t necessarily a setback. In fact, it highlighted a more targeted and quality-driven approach to traffic acquisition. The MQLs slightly increased to 6,995, indicating more efficient conversions despite lower traffic. The brochure downloads significantly rose to 5,206, showing a shift in user preference and content effectiveness.

The SQLs saw a notable increase to 7,773, underscoring the efficiency of the nurturing process. The number of move-ins also rose to 392, with a higher proportion of first-touch SQLs (251) than first-touch MQLs (141). This translated into a staggering $28,224,000 in revenue, further cementing the effectiveness of marketing automation in driving real financial outcomes.

The value of marketing automation for senior living operators

The above results demonstrate the value of marketing automation for senior living communities. The results include:

  • Enhanced engagement: Automation tools help the right leads receive the right messages at the right time, boosting engagement and conversions to the next steps.
  • Improved conversion rates: The transition from MQLs to SQLs and then to actual move-ins highlights how automation streamlines the lead nurturing process and positively impacts conversions.
  • Increased revenue: The substantial rise in revenue over two years highlights the direct financial benefits of adopting a well-strategized marketing automation system.

Sinceri Senior Living’s experience with marketing automation offers invaluable insights for other senior living communities. It demonstrates that with the correct setup and strategy, marketing automation isn’t simply a tool for efficiency; it’s a pathway to meaningful engagement, better conversions, and significant revenue growth.

Want to turbocharge your community’s marketing? Let’s talk!

We can help you implement marketing automation so that it delivers the ROI you crave. Get in touch and let’s talk about marketing automation.

Senior woman outdoors hiking with backpack.

What Is a Solo Ager & How Do You Market to Them?

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You’ve likely been hearing the term “solo ager” more and more. This is yet another demographic you must keep in mind as you market your senior living communities, especially if your levels of care focus on active adult living and independent living.

But what is a solo ager, exactly? Do you need a completely new marketing playbook for them? This article aims to answer those and other relevant questions.

What is a solo ager?

Solo agers are adults in their mid-50s and older who are aging “solo” since they don’t have children or current life partners. Some solo agers might be widowed or divorced—or they never married in the first place. Others might not have any children—or the children they had are deceased. Whatever their circumstances, what solo agers have in common is navigating their senior years on their own.

A synonym for solo agers includes “kinless seniors.” (The New York Times published “Who Will Care for Kinless Seniors” in June 2023, which is worth the read.)

Here are some interesting stats about this demographic:

12% of adults over 50 are aging solo. [Source: AARP]

27% of American adults aged 60 and older are aging solo, and older adults in the U.S. are more likely to live alone than anywhere else in the world. [Source: Pew Research Center]

The percentage of one-person households more than tripled in the U.S. between 1940 and 2020, going from 7.7% to 27.6%. [Source: U.S. Census Bureau]

In 2019, nearly one million older Americans had no spouse, partner, children, or siblings (approximately 370,000 were women over 75). [Source: The New York Times]

Solo agers aren’t necessarily sad about going it alone

Don’t let any negative connotations with the word “solo” fool you. Many solo agers have chosen this path. For example, some older adults might end a long-term marriage later in life to pursue happiness elsewhere, like Al and Tipper Gore famously did. This is known as “gray divorce,” and it’s been on the rise.

And even if becoming a solo ager wasn’t intentional, that doesn’t mean solo agers are necessarily sad about their position (though some are). As AARP notes in a recent survey, even though solo agers might face challenges, most feel “optimistic about their quality of life as they age,” with only 12% of those surveyed saying they feel pessimistic.

Still, it’s also worth noting that the same AARP article revealed that solo agers haven’t planned for their future living arrangements, even though statistically 70% of people over 65 will need long-term care at some point.

This suggests an opportunity for senior living marketers. The question becomes how to effectively reach this demographic.

How is marketing to solo agers different from marketing to other demographics?

Senior living communities are used to interacting with adult children just as much as older adults. With solo agers, the concept of an adult child (or other family member) is no longer in play. This could make the sales process easier since you won’t have multiple influencers, just the solo ager. The challenge will be piquing the solo ager’s interest to begin with.

The AARP survey revealed that most solo agers haven’t given thought to what’s next: “Among those still living in their own home, the survey shows 95% have not made a reservation at a community for older adults, looked for a cheaper or easier place to live (82%), or modified their home to make it easier to live in as they age (78%).”

This suggests the solo ager sales cycle might be longer than for independent living, which is already long and requires at least 22 touch points.

Developing marketing campaigns for solo agers—starting with educating them on what senior living is and how they can finance it as a single person—is a smart first step communities can take now. You should also produce content about related issues that solo agers are researching and reading online. For example, many solo agers subscribe to AARP publications. Running ads or advertorials with AARP could be a way to begin planting the seed with solo agers that there’s a place for them in senior living.

  • PRO TIP: A great time to engage solo agers is around the holidays, like Thanksgiving and Christmas. You could do a targeted campaign for solo agers in your area, inviting them to a festive event in your community. The fourth quarter is historically slow for senior living sales because potential residents want to spend one last holiday with their families. But most solo agers won’t have this objection. Your marketing and sales teams could create a compelling offer that entices solo agers to move in November or December.

Do you need a new marketing playbook for solo agers?

Good news! Your marketing playbook doesn’t need to change, but the messaging does. You’ll still want to use marketing automation and compelling content, just like you do for other demos. But you’ll need to begin with more education and help solo agers feel like there’s a true place for them in your community and that you’re not simply swapping the words “solo agers” into all of your existing messaging geared toward other personas, like older couples or people with adult children.

Instead, you must offer messaging that will resonate with this demo and reinforce their independence and desire for choice while empowering them to see the value in—and ultimately make the move to—senior living.

  • Develop a solo ager persona. This is an entirely new persona, one that will evolve as everyone begins to better understand the solo ager’s specific wants and needs.
  • Create educational content that will resonate with them. This persona needs educational content that demonstrates you understand who they are.
  • Follow solo-aging trends. Because this persona is so new, no one has it figured out. We’re in unchartered territory. (The name “solo ager” might change, too.) Set up relevant Google Alerts on solo aging and any synonyms that develop. Follow brands that successfully cater to this demo and study their messaging. Experiment with different messaging, see what works, and fine-tune from there.

From a broader organizational perspective, senior living communities might need to rethink what senior living looks like for this demo. (This is true for Boomers, too.) These are incredibly independent personas. Apartments with shared walls won’t be as attractive as stand-alone homes. This shift could impact your existing campus—or plans for new construction. But it’s not an unheard-of idea. (This senior living community in Massachusetts offers spacious two-bedroom standalone cottages with garages on its campus—and all the typical amenities, like dining and housekeeping.)

Bottom line: Start focusing on solo agers NOW

This is a long-term play. Solo agers in their mid-60s won’t be signing leases with your assisted living or independent living community tomorrow—or next year. However, if you prime this persona’s pump now, especially through education and by demonstrating you understand their unique needs, your community will stand a better chance of engaging with them when they are ready.

If you need help with any of this, work with us. We’ve created a bunch of solo aging-specific content, including a guide designed specifically for solo agers, that our clients can customize and use to target this demo. Reach out to learn more.

Animation of physic with crystal ball predicting the future

Senior Living Marketing Predictions for 2024

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It’s that time of year when we ask our team members to gaze into their crystal balls and make senior living marketing predictions for 2024.

Here’s what everyone had to say…

Deborah Howard, CEO


“I think we’re going to see more movement towards emotionally resonant messaging. We’ve got to get away from “just the facts” messages of ’here’s another blog,’ ‘here’s another guide,’ or ‘here’s another ten reasons you should move into senior living.’

People buy emotionally, and then they support that decision intellectually. If all we’re doing is feeding prospects intellectual stuff, they’ll get stuck.

If senior living communities want to compete successfully in 2024 and beyond, they must include emotional messages in their content—and not just words, but in visuals, too.”

Andréa Catizone, President & COO


“Here are my 2024 marketing predictions for senior living:

  • Increased Emphasis on Personalization: Tailoring content and advertising to individual preferences and behaviors can enhance user experiences and drive better engagement. By the way, that’s something AI doesn’t always do well.
  • Rise of Video Content: Video continues to be an engaging channel. We hope to see more senior living communities do more to capture video reviews, “A Day in the Life,” etc.
  • Voice Search Optimization: My 93-year-old mother’s best friend is her Amazon Echo. Seniors are using their virtual assistants more than ever. Senior living providers, especially larger organizations with established web presences, should start thinking about optimizing for voice search in 2024 to stay ahead of the curve.
  • Privacy Concerns and Regulatory Compliance: Privacy policies and adherence to website regulatory requirements will be a top priority for website owners.
  • Personalized and Targeted Campaigns: Long gone are the days of “one-size-fits-all” when it comes to marketing campaigns. But too many communities still have that mindset. I think we’ll see a (mostly) complete shift away from that thinking. If we want to engage prospects, especially younger Boomers, we must engage them through highly personal content tailor-made for them.
  • Online Reviews and Reputation Management: Not only do good reviews improve your trust rating for the Google bots, but more and more prospects are looking at reviews as part of their research. Communities that understand this and spend time (and budget) maintaining their reputation will compete well in 2024.”

Paul Trusik, Director of Operational Technology


“Gazing into 2024, I expect to see more marketing integrations using AI features, whether it’s to aid in content generation for email marketing or landing page copy or to help sales teams quickly formulate replies to prospects from their respective CRMs. Many of our chat partners are also harnessing AI features to help arm their chatbots with enhanced sentiment alongside informational community scripts.

Also, I expect a rise in SMS (text) campaigns to complement what we’re already doing with email campaigns in our marketing automation platforms.

Some ten years ago, we patiently waited for adult children to start researching online as the senior living industry started ramping up digital marketing efforts. Now, we expect that same demographic will start getting just as comfortable communicating via text vs. email and phone.”

Doug Demaio, Director of Client Success


“My prediction is that senior living marketing becomes more integrated with each aspect of the community experience—and that the marketing itself becomes more experiential.

As the Me generation ages into senior living, they’re wanting more choices, more amenities, and more activities. Senior living providers who lean into this by making things like health, wellness, workout spaces, dining, and outdoor activities part of their marketing materials (making them marketing assets rather than liabilities) will be able to connect with more of these folks.

Marketing overall will also lean into digital tools that allow for a more experiential effect: Being there virtually for tours, chatting with leads in real-time on your website, hosting digital and in-person events — really bringing the lead into the community for an authentic experience, in person, or virtually.”

Jim Podewitz, Director of Content Strategy


“Generative AI burst onto the marketing scene in 2023. I see 2024 as a year of taking a closer look at the quality and accuracy of AI-generated content and reassessing AI’s place in content creation. Ultimately, I think we’ll see AI as a tool for creating better content more efficiently vs. a machine that generates greater volumes of vanilla content.

Another prediction: Prospects want to be contacted by senior living communities the way they contacted the community in the first place. The next generation of marketing automation will embrace a broader spectrum of channels to reach and nurture prospects and use the ones preferred by the prospect.”

Kerri-Anne Pendergast, Director of Social Marketing


“Here are a few things I predict for 2024: Both X and Threads will continue to decline while Instagram (Meta) increases. We’ve continuously seen users take part in image- or video-based scrolling versus something like Threads/X, which are text-based.

More social media platforms will hop on the AI train. Snapchat was an early adapter. Now, Meta is using celebs to help with their AI movement. X, LinkedIn, and Threads will likely follow suit, allowing you to write AI-generated posts.

Another prediction: Think more click-to-buys. TikTok Shop makes it easy for creators to make money on the platform by selling their products directly on their profiles, and users don’t have to leave the app to complete their purchases. Augmented reality also plays a role in this. You can see what something looks like on you, or in your house (furniture), or a 3D version of that item without being in person to make your purchase. (Editor’s note: Read Kerri-Anne’s take on TikTok for senior living.)

Senior living communities will use more video! At least, that’s my hope! 😊”

Christopher Zook, Director of Paid Media & Strategy


“By far the biggest event of the year will be the near-universal deprecation of cookie tracking. All major browsers, including Chrome, Safari, and Firefox, will prohibit cookie tracking to protect user privacy.

Because of this, the most significant transition next year—and probably the largest source of chaos in senior living digital marketing—will be the confusion that arises from not updating conversion tracking correctly. Incorrect installation means sudden drop-offs in reporting numbers, which will make marketing teams think an emergency is happening while sales teams continue to earn the same volume of leads.

Adapting to cookieless tracking is easy, particularly with Google Ads, and massively important as this giant shift takes place across the whole Internet.” (Editor’s note: If you’re a Senior Living SMART client, don’t worry: Our team is WAY ahead of the curve.)

Got questions? Need help with your senior living marketing next year? Get in touch.

We love helping communities increase occupancy through strategic and proven-to-work marketing initiatives. Reach out and let’s talk.