Senior Living Lead Management Best Practices

Senior Living Lead Management Best Practices

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You’ve worked hard to get leads from various sources, like organic search, paid ads, and social media. You might think the hard part is over, but how you manage these leads matters—and it can make or break a senior living community, given the competition. Here are some best practices to know and use.

4 SMART senior living lead management best practices

1. Score leads appropriately

Some leads will be in a hurry—they need to move a parent into assisted living or memory care ASAP. Others will just be getting started on their journey, researching what senior living is. And in between, you’ll have other leads at various points.

If you treat every lead the same way, you won’t have much success.

For example: Good luck trying to rent one of your apartments to a person in their mid-sixties who’s doing early research into independent living. Your sales team won’t get far if they hound the person—and they might do more harm than good, leaving the person with a negative impression of your community. Meanwhile, your team wasted time on someone who isn’t ready to buy—and possibly lost out on someone who is ready.

To avoid this fate, you must score and segment leads appropriately. By “scoring,” we mean having an automated process that identifies and segments high-intent sales-qualified leads (SQLs) from marketing-qualified leads (MQLs).

This is where robust marketing automation, like HubSpot, comes into play. Good automation will score leads (according to the parameters you set) and funnel them appropriately. SQLs will go on to the sales team for follow-up. MQLs will enter relevant lead-nurturing campaigns. For the latter, the marketing automation will send the right email (with the right message) to the right person at the right time.

So, for example, an adult child helping her mom move by next year will enter a lead-nurturing workflow that delivers relevant content. On the other hand, a 60-something person getting a head start on researching independent living will enter a much longer-term email nurturing campaign.

It all begins with scoring leads appropriately, so don’t overlook this step.

2. Respond promptly to third-party leads

Remember, third-party leads are shared leads. In other words, your competitors receive the same leads as you. The community that responds fastest stands the best chance of converting the lead into a tour.

There are some drawbacks to using third-party lead aggregators:

  • Third-party leads are expensive. We’ve shared this nugget before, but it’s worth repeating: Most communities pay the equivalent of one month’s rent for third-party leads.
  • Third-party leads have low conversion rates. Aggregators get sales reps’ eyes to light up at the volume of leads. In fact, it’s not uncommon for communities to attribute 80% of their total leads to third-party sources. However, the conversion rate for these leads is low (six to eight percent), even though sales teams often spend most of their time on these leads.
  • Third-party leads require prompt follow-up. Success in converting third-party leads means winning the “speed to the lead” race. We’re talking a response time of 5 minutes or less on average – and that’s no easy feat.

You’re better off taking the money you spend on third-party leads and putting it towards other tactics, like Google Ads. (A good conversion rate for Google Ads in senior living is eight to 15%.)

We know many senior living communities don’t want to give up lead aggregators. If that’s the case for you, make sure you have a plan for fast follow-up.

Need help? We offer a Speed to the Lead solution that empowers your community to respond quickly to third-party leads, deliver brochures immediately, and follow up using an automated five-step lead nurturing workflow.

3. Have a plan for re-engaging cold leads

Your senior living CRM is probably filled with a fair number of “cold” leads. We’re willing to bet that not all of them are cold. Maybe a sales rep got lazy with following up. Maybe you have a backlog of leads you lumped together before you developed a way to score and segment appropriately. Or maybe a cold lead has since warmed up—but you don’t know this because you’ve written them off.

Instead of assuming all these leads are cold, try re-engaging them. Create a program that focuses on cold leads. (Hint: We have a turnkey program called “Stay in Touch” that makes it easy to re-engage cold leads.)

4. Use a senior living call center to manage inbound inquiries

Too often, communities rely on a front desk greeter or receptionist to field calls from people who want to know more about the community. The problem is that they are not trained and skilled salespeople.

Expecting your on-site sales reps to be available to take sales inquiry calls as they come in is also unrealistic. Your reps will be busy doing tours, meeting with families, and networking.

A better solution is contracting with a senior living call center to manage all inbound inquiries. A good call center (like the one we offer) can qualify, score, and segment leads appropriately. SQLs will go to the sales team (along with helpful notes). MQLs can go into relevant nurturing campaigns. You won’t have to worry about leads falling through the cracks. Learn more about LeadGenie here.

Need help implementing any of these senior living lead management best practices?

We have the lead management expertise you’ve been looking for. Give us a shout if you need help with lead management for your community or communities.

Why Isn't My Website Converting animated people reviewing desktop and phone device

Why Isn’t My Website Converting? Advice for Senior Living Marketers

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Are you a senior living marketing professional asking, “Why isn’t my website converting?” Read on, because the problem might be that you’re asking the wrong question. Below, we’re going to explain why—and we’re going to give you four better questions to ask instead.

“Why isn’t my website converting” is the wrong question.

The question is vague because the word “converting” is vague.

We all know what you mean generally, but specifically, are you asking why you’re not converting more people at the bottom of the funnel into move-ins? Or are you asking why you’re not converting anonymous website traffic into leads? And about those leads, are you referring to marketing-qualified leads (MQLs) or sales-qualified leads (SQLs)?

Remember, people don’t come to your site and instantly “convert.”

Sure, some people might enter with an urgent need, but what about everyone else? Consider the following two scenarios:

Scenario 1

Dad just died, and Mom can’t be alone due to her dementia. The adult children do a Google search on “memory care communities in the area,” looking for places with decent reviews. They visit the websites, including yours, do a cursory review, and head right to “contact us.”

Scenario 2

Lily and Bob are nearing retirement. They’re just beginning the search into senior living, specifically independent living. They’re considering Cape Cod so they can remain in Massachusetts near their kids and grandchildren, but they haven’t ruled out Florida, either. They’re checking out communities in both states, but the timeline for their decision is much longer, at least two years out. Bob and Lily enter your site after doing some googling and reading reviews. They subscribe to your blog and follow your community on social media, just so your community remains on their radar.

In both scenarios, the people “converted,” but they converted at different points in their journey—and where they are in their journey matters.

We know that move-ins are the ultimate conversion metric, but to get there, many smaller conversions need to happen along the way.

For example, Lily and Bob might move in two years later, which makes the smaller conversions (subscribing to your blog and following you on social media) super important.

4 better questions to ask than, “Why isn’t my website converting?”

1. Are we segmenting and scoring our leads appropriately?

If you’re sending ALL leads to sales, that’s a problem.

You shouldn’t treat all leads the same way. Someone who downloads a “Senior Living Options” guide is likely in a different place in their journey than someone who requests a tour.

Only sales-qualified leads should go to sales. The marketing-qualified leads should enter nurturing campaigns until they indicate they’re ready for a sales interaction. (It takes too many touches, on average, to convert a lead, to handle them all individually.)

Setting up effective lead scoring will give you much better insight into whether your website marketing produces sufficient MQLs and SQLs.

2. Do we have enough website conversion opportunities for people at various points in their journeys?

Keep the key stages in mind: awareness, consideration, and decision. You should have helpful content for people in each stage.

For example, people in the research stage (like Lily and Bob) might subscribe to the newsletter. Someone nearing the decision stage might find comparison charts useful. Both are essential steps to the ultimate conversion: move-ins.

3. Is there friction at any of our conversion points?

Friction is when the prospect gets stuck at some point on your senior living website, and the reasons why can be many:

  • A broken link
  • A form that doesn’t go through
  • Navigation that doesn’t make sense
  • A poor mobile experience
  • Too many hoops to jump through to get the info they want

Most of us have likely experienced friction on websites—that thing that makes us throw up our hands in frustration and exit the site.

With good analytics, you should be able to identify the culprit (or culprits) and drill down into each conversion point to better understand where people are getting stuck. From there, you can try to identify what’s causing the friction.

For example, if a landing page that’s usually enjoyed excellent conversions suddenly stops delivering, you can investigate why:

  • Does the form work?
  • Is anything in the copy outdated?
  • How does the page render on mobile?
  • What CTAs are leading to the page?

Sometimes it’s something as simple as a broken form.

Other times, it’s not obvious, and you must experiment. That’s where A/B testing can be helpful. Change an element on the landing page (maybe the wording in the headline) and see if that improves conversions.

4. What’s the quality of the SQLs been like? (AKA: Do we have a website problem or a sales problem?)

Your sales team must communicate honestly with themselves and marketing about lead quality. Are they closing the ones they have at an acceptable rate/percentage?

If yes, then ask:

  • What makes these leads “high” quality? This is a question for the sales reps. The info they provide can help inform things like blog topics, FAQs, and premium content offers.
  • What path do these leads take on the website? A good analytics package shows you their path and their various conversion points. If you understand what’s working, you can try modeling other paths that aren’t working after this “winning” path and see if this helps improve the numbers.

If no, then ask:

  • What’s the sales follow-up like? If sales reps are calling once or twice and considering a lead “cold” if they can’t get anyone to bite, this suggests the problem might have less to do with the website not converting and more to do with the sales team needing some training or support in how to effectively follow up with SQLs.
  • Why aren’t the leads good candidates for moving in? If the sales reps are doing a good job following up, discuss why they think the leads aren’t converting. Is something “off” with the lead scoring? Some leads may be misclassified as SQLs when they should be MQLs. Is something off with the buyer personas? It might be time to develop fresh personas and revamp your content strategy.

Don’t go it alone when it comes to website conversion issues.

Understanding why your site isn’t “converting” takes work. Partnering with a senior living marketing agency that monitors web analytics and makes wise adjustments based on actual data can be a smart investment. Curious to learn more? Get in touch, and let’s talk about your website.

Senior Living sales tips converting to move iis

Senior Living Sales Tips: Converting Tours to Move-Ins

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Getting a prospect to tour your senior living community is a critical step in the senior living sales process—but it’s only one step. Once prospects finish the tour, then what? What can your marketing and sales teams do to help prospects cross the finish line and become residents?

We’ve rounded up some tips for helping your teams do exactly that.

Senior living sales tips: what to do during the tour

Build a personal connection

The salesperson’s job is to focus on the prospect. This is an excellent opportunity to discover what makes the prospect tick, their questions, and why they (or their family) might be hesitant about your community. Remember, the main goal isn’t to sell—it’s to listen. Show sincere empathy and take mental notes.

  • PRO TIP: If a prospect raises a concern, you can address it, but “addressing” doesn’t necessarily mean “fixing.” Not every concern can be fixed. Sometimes, it’s more important for the prospect to simply be heard.

Tailor the tour to the prospect’s interests

To do this, you need an excellent pre-tour process that captures relevant details about prospects. Are they foodies who love gourmet meals and fine wine? You’ll want to stop by your community’s pub and talk about the wine tastings on the first Saturday of each month.

Does a prospect love to read? Talk about the community’s book club, stop by the library, and—ideally—introduce them to book club members during the tour.

  • PRO TIP: Don’t force it. Your community might not have something for every interest under the sun, and that’s OK. If someone brings up a new hobby, you could talk about a current resident who started a new program or club that didn’t exist before they moved in. Your job is to show what’s possible in your community in addition to what’s already in place.

Offer a “taste” of your community’s lifestyle

We mean both literal and figurative tastes. Food quality is always at the top of prospects’ lists, so invite prospects to have a meal. Better yet: invite them to come back for a meal after they finish their tour. Book it with them before they leave, but send them home with something to whet their appetite, like yummy baked goods from the community’s kitchen.

As for figurative tastes, invite prospects to participate in activities like an upcoming movie night or book club. Don’t simply invite them, either. Facilitate by introducing the prospect to the resident in charge and reminding the resident as the date gets closer.

  • PRO TIP: During the tour, hand the prospect a physical invitation where the prospect gets to choose from three upcoming events. They can RSVP on the spot. If they don’t want to commit before they leave, tell them you’ll call them tomorrow to see what works for their schedule. This provides an excellent opportunity to check in and gauge their feelings about the community without seeming pushy. You’re simply following up on the invitation.

Pepper the tour with success stories

Share success stories about current residents or their families. Hearing about positive experiences—or experiences they can identify with—can go a long way in helping to alleviate doubts and inspire confidence.

PRO TIP: Introduce prospects to current residents during the tour, including some of the ones featured in your stories. This allows them to see firsthand the positive experiences and relationships that can be developed within the community.

Discuss the move-in process

If your community doesn’t have a new resident welcome program, start one ASAP. Every community should have a program for welcoming new residents and helping them acclimate. The program can include pairing the resident with a peer, making sure someone from the community is there to greet them on move-in day, and scheduling introductions between the new resident and essential personnel, like the chef and the executive director.

  • PRO TIP: This isn’t a once-and-done conversation. Creating a thoughtful guide to moving into your community will benefit everyone involved. You could create a section on your site for new and future residents that includes essential and helpful info.

Senior living sales tips: What to do post-tour

Always follow up

It seems so basic, right? Senior living sales 101. But in our busy world, sometimes the basics fall by the wayside. Always follow up tours with a heartfelt note—ideally, a handwritten one you send via good old-fashioned snail mail. You can then follow up with digital communication like email, but a handwritten note is classy—especially in the eyes of the older generations—as it takes time to write and shows someone you’re thinking about them.

Personalize the note! This is where all that listening you did during the tour will pay off. Demonstrate you were listening by referring to something they said or providing further info about a question or concern they had.

  • PRO TIP: If you’re working with a family member—like an adult daughter looking at communities with her mom—send a note to both people. Make sure you don’t say the same thing. Again, personalize these letters. What’s on the mind of the adult daughter will be different from what’s on the mom’s mind.

Provide written info on the move-in process

You’ll see that we repeated this tip—on purpose. During the tour, you should discuss the next steps if the prospect wants to move in. You should also discuss how your community helps residents acclimate. But post-tour, you should follow up with specifics in writing. Creating a packet with a checklist of next steps, important dates, and even a list of helpful service providers like senior move specialists can be helpful. (You can turn this into a digital packet on your website as well.)

  • PRO TIP: Consider working with vendors on preferred pricing packages. For example, if a new resident uses one of the preferred moving companies you recommended, the company could discount them. This creates added value for new residents and senior living referral sources and networking partners.

Offer incentives if/when appropriate

People love good deals, like waived fees or discounted first month’s rent. If you’re heading into a historically slow season—or your census is below a critical threshold—you can deploy incentive programs until you get your numbers back up.

Need help preparing your sales team for productive tours?

Your best bet is to use a senior living call center like LeadGenie. The staff can qualify callers who are ready for tours and record interesting nuggets about them for the sales reps who’ll be leading the tours. Learn more about LeadGenie here.

Bottom-of-the-funnel content ideas

Bottom-of-the-Funnel Content Ideas That Senior Living Communities Should Try

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Let’s talk about bottom-of-the-funnel (BOFU) content. Oh, wait—you’re not sure what that means? No worries! We’ll walk you through what it is and why it’s essential. Plus, we’ll share fun ideas to rock your BOFU.

What is bottom-of-the-funnel content?

To understand BOFU, we need to discuss what comes before it—and this involves a quick lesson on the basic stages that buyers go through: awareness, consideration, decision.

(You might see this labeled as awareness, evaluation, conversion—same thing, different labels.)

People at the top of the funnel (TOFU) are just getting started on their journey.

They’re becoming aware of their own need or problem. For example, adult children of seniors might have a family meeting because mom is having trouble maintaining her house now that dad is gone. What should happen next? Hire in-house assistance? Downsize to a smaller house? Retire to a senior living community? Something else?

At this point, your senior living community probably isn’t on anyone’s radar yet. The family begins researching, which is when top-of-the-funnel content, or TOFU, comes in:

  • Blog posts
  • Infographics
  • General informational guides
  • Social media posts
  • Print/digital ads

People in the middle of the funnel (MOFU) have been doing their homework and considering their options.

Using our above example, maybe everyone (including mom!) agrees that downsizing and moving into a senior living community makes sense. Now, it’s a matter of learning more about IL, researching options, and evaluating them.

Types of content that speaks to the senior living MOFU crowd include:

  • Webinars
  • Surveys/quizzes
  • Deep-dive informational guides
  • Deeper educational resources
  • Review sites

When someone is in the bottom of the funnel (BOFU), they’re ready to buy.

This is known as the conversion stage. Again, using our above example, the family members might have narrowed it down to three contenders for their mom.

Types of senior living BOFU content include:

  • Events/free lunches
  • Exclusive move-in offers
  • Rate sheets
  • Photo galleries
  • Floor plans
  • Review sites

Keep in mind that there’s often overlap between stages. For example, people in the top of the funnel might not know the difference between independent living, assisted living, and memory care. They might assume nursing homes fall under the senior living umbrella.

However, people in the middle of the funnel have likely learned the basics. At this point, they might focus on the specific lifestyle they’re interested in, read reviews, and compare options.

And people in the bottom of the funnel might have their eyes on three different places. Even though they’ve already read some reviews, now they’re going back and reading more—especially what the one- and two-star reviews have to say.

Why is BOFU content important?

It’s easy to think that TOFU and MOFU content are more important than BOFU. After all, if you can get someone to the point where they’re seriously considering your senior living community, what more can you do?

Think of it this way: if someone hasn’t made a final decision, your community still has a chance. Great BOFU content can give your community a competitive edge over communities that don’t take this extra step.

And even if other communities also have a strong BOFU game, something that your BOFU content mentions might resonate more.

Bottom line: Don’t skimp on developing strong BOFU content.

BOFU content brainstorm for the win!

Need fresh BOFU content ideas? Check out the brainstorm below. Customize them to fit your needs. And if you need help bringing any of these to life, give us a shout. Our content team is ready to help.

“Real stories from happy seniors”

Showcase residents’ positive experiences to build trust and credibility. You can make a video using Canva (or its equivalent)—interspersing pics with words and audio. Then, email the prospect and their family a link with something like “This could be you in 30 days.”

Why this is effective bottom-of-the-funnel content: Happy residents talking in their own words is powerful marketing. And you never know what little nugget will motivate someone on the fence.

PRO TIP: You can create a similar version with clips from family members about how happy and relieved they are that their loved one has acclimated to your community—and how much easier it was than they were expecting.

“At your service: meet the team”

Here’s another video idea that can resonate, especially if you’re trying to create that bespoke senior living experience. Do a video montage featuring key people like the head chef and have them talk about how they can’t wait to meet “you” (the new prospect) and help you settle in.

  • Why this is effective bottom-of-the-funnel content: It’s reminiscent of high-end hotels or cruise ships. Who wouldn’t want their own staff, right?

“Move-in made easy: a little something special for our newest resident”

This is a practical suggestion, but no less effective. Moving is HARD, no matter what the person’s age. Add in other challenges, like selling a house or moving to a new state, and the move becomes even more complicated. A move-in guide shouldn’t be generic. It should assume the close—that the person is moving into your community—and outline all the necessary steps, contact names, phone numbers, and what to expect on move-in day.

Ideally, this would be a nicely designed packet. Make it even more special by including an invitation to enjoy a welcome toast at the community’s lounge. The note can say something like, “We’re looking forward to toasting your arrival the afternoon you move into your new home at Awesome Senior Living Community!”

  • Why this is effective bottom-of-the-funnel content: It’s helpful. It’s thoughtful. It gives people a taste of the service they can expect.

“What to expect your first day, week, and month”

Round up quick snippets from residents about their experience the first day, week, and month after they moved into your community. This is the place to highlight residents who might have been anxious/afraid/sad about making the move and their “pleasantly surprised” reaction to what happened the first day, week, or month.

  • Why this is effective bottom-of-the-funnel content: Some people in this stage might be hesitant about moving—or even sad and anxious. Showing real people with similar sentiments and how your community “pleasantly surprised them” will resonate (while demonstrating empathy).

“Safety and security: your peace of mind matters to us”

Highlight the community’s safety protocols, emergency response systems, and 24/7 security measures to reassure prospective residents and their families that they’re making the right choice when they choose your community.

  • Why this is effective bottom-of-the-funnel content: Safety is a big topic that doesn’t get as much airplay as it should in a community’s content initiatives. We get it. It’s not sexy. But it’s vital info—even more so to someone who’s about to make a decision.

“Your last-minute questions – including the ones you forgot to ask – answered”

Compile a comprehensive list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) and some not-so-common but still relevant questions.

Why this is effective bottom-of-the-funnel content: The title alone should make someone want to click, open, or continue reading. Because someone in the decision stage will likely be curious about knowing the answers to a question they forgot to ask.

This is just the beginning of our BOFU content brainstorm.

Need more ideas? Set up a 30-minute brainstorming session with us at no charge.

Senior Living Marketing: Time for a Mid-Year Checkup

Senior Living Marketing: Time for a Mid-Year Checkup

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June is an excellent time to review your senior living marketing strategy. If you do this mid-year checkup now, you can hit the ground running as we enter Q3.

What exactly should you review during your mid-year checkup?

Don’t worry! We got you.

In this article, we’ll cover the following:

  • Website marketing review tips
  • Social media marketing review tips
  • Email marketing review tips
  • Bonus: Three analytic points that marketers often overlook (but you won’t!)

Let’s get to it.

Senior Living Website Marketing: What To Check

How’s the overall user experience (UX) been over the last six months?

Remember, your senior living website serves as your central marketing hub. You must constantly monitor its performance—and how everyday users respond to and interact with the site.

Things to check:

  • Is the site easy to navigate and accessible to everyone? Don’t underestimate or ignore WCAG: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. And don’t assume your site is still accessible simply because it was the last time you checked. It’s amazing how quickly accessibility can break down as people add or revise new pages. Performing an audit is a good best practice.
  • Does the site load quickly across all devices? People have little patience for slow sites and may depart your site if takes longer than a few seconds to load.
  • Is the mobile site just as user-friendly as the desktop site? The mobile version of your site needs to be just as easy to read, skim, and navigate as the desktop version.

These last 2 items also factor into good SEO. Slow-loading websites and poorly performing mobile sites will cause your search engine ranking to take a hit, so don’t ignore these issues.

Does your site convert anonymous traffic into leads—and leads into move-ins?

It doesn’t make sense to continue pumping out more of the same content if you have no idea if any of it is working. The most successful communities close the loop with their marketing and sales efforts so that they know what content converts.

Things to check:

  • Review stats on form submissions, click-through rates, and phone calls. How do things compare year-over-year? If stats are down, do you know why?
  • Analyze landing page performance. Where could you optimize better? Should you run an A/B test?
  • Evaluate CTA performance and lead capture mechanisms. Sometimes making a small change, like the color of a CTA button, can have a considerable impact.
  • Use heatmaps or click-tracking tools to understand user engagement. Hotjar is a popular option.
  • Identify high- and low-performing pages. Pay attention to user behavior flow, bounce rates, and time spent on each. How can you apply what you see on the top-performing pages to those needing a little extra TLC?

Do you need to revise content due to messaging inconsistencies or poor performance?

Content marketing doesn’t mean you’re simply writing new content. You must monitor existing content and revise it as needed. The work of content marketing is never done!

Things to check:

  • Review copy on the top trafficked pages. This might seem unnecessary, but you don’t want to lose traction. Is anything outdated or off-brand? Can you freshen testimonials, videos, and content offers?
  • Revisit your content calendar for the rest of the year. Can you spot any content “gaps”? Do you need to adjust content topics or formats based on what resonates with people?
  • Review messaging from a marketing and sales alignment POV. Are the messages in synch? The last thing you want is a disconnect between your website and what people hear during tours or sales calls.

PRO TIP: If you’ve been blogging consistently over the last couple of years, chances are good that you already have plenty of the “right” content. Instead of writing new content, pause for a month and focus only on auditing existing content like blog posts and refreshing the copy. Look for ways to repurpose content: turn that white paper into a series of blog posts, or that blog post into a listicle you share on social. Finally, don’t be afraid to retire older content that’s outdated or is no longer working (and that you can’t fix).

Social Media Marketing: What to Check

Are the platforms working for you—or against you?

You don’t need a presence on every social media platform under the sun to have success. Rocking one or two platforms is better than being mediocre across five or seven. Don’t be afraid to pause platforms that aren’t delivering ROI.

Things to check:

  • Assess each platform’s overall performance. Are people engaged? Are you spending time on a platform that’s getting a lot of press (looking at you, TikTok) but that doesn’t make sense for your senior living audience—at least not yet?
  • Review follower growth. Has the platform gained followers? Are they engaged? What’s the overall reach like?
  • Evaluate ROI. First, make sure you understand how to calculate actionable social media ROI for your senior living community. Second, determine which platforms deliver the best ROI. Does it make sense to continue with what you’ve been doing? Or should you pause any platforms?

Is your social media content strategy delighting prospects?

Why continue posting content your audience has zero interest in? Keep in mind that what people like will fluctuate.

Things to check:

  • Assess the overall engagement and relevance of each social media channel. For example, have you jumped on board the TikTok train simply because everyone’s talking about it? Do you spend tons of time creating TikToks, but you’re not gaining traction? If a particular platform isn’t delivering measurable results, it’s not worth spending the time.
  • Evaluate how you and your team use visuals, videos, and storytelling techniques in your posts. What resonates? What doesn’t? Where can you improve?
  • Identify the type of content that works best and revise your social media calendar accordingly. Swap out content that isn’t getting engagement and schedule more of the content that’s been getting results.

Do you have a truly engaged community of fans (even if it’s small)?

When it comes to social media marketing, it can be tempting to focus on highly “visible” metrics, such as likes. But savvy marketers always dig deeper.

Things to check:

  • Analyze community interaction and response rates. How quickly do people respond to your posts? Do your posts continue gaining traction over a few days, or do they fizzle quickly?
  • Review comments, messages, and reviews. If your posts are getting people to comment or send direct messages with relevant questions about your community, you’re doing something right. Don’t underestimate the power of social media reviews, especially when they happen in other threads where people tag your community.
  • How’s your social media networking? Are you collaborating with/tagging relevant partners to increase visibility? If you haven’t prioritized this, now’s a good time to add this to your marketing mix.

Email Marketing: What to Check

How do the numbers look?

You can’t judge one set of numbers for one email. That’s why looking back at emails over six months is helpful. Make sure you’re comparing apples to apples. The numbers for your lead nurturing emails will differ from those for your community’s email newsletter.

Things to check:

  • Don’t get too hung up on open rates (unless you’re looking at adjusted open rates like HubSpot shows). Do pay attention to click-through rates (CTR) and conversion rates.
  • Pay attention to unsubscribe rates and spam reports. These are inevitable, but they should be low overall. If you find a particular email in the last six months caused a spike in either, see if you can determine why.
  • What have you learned from A/B testing of subject lines? If you haven’t done any A/B testing, now’s the time to start.

Are people engaging with your emails’ content and the places you’re sending them to?

Things to check:

  • What type of content does your audience like best? Short and punchy copy? Lists? Free downloads? Videos and webinars? Knowing this will help inform your primary content calendar. For example, shift marketing dollars to video creation if your audience prefers video content to ebooks.
  • Is the email’s design helping or hindering marketing efforts? If people are receiving and opening the email but not acting, it’s not always the content’s fault. It could be the design or layout. Just as you should A/B test subject lines, you can A/B test different design elements. Sometimes simply changing the color of a CTA button can positively impact CTR.
  • Check the messaging of all automated emails. Too often, marketers set up their automated emails and forget about them. Get in the habit of reviewing all lead nurturing content from a high-level messaging and brand consistency mindset. (You should also make sure all links are working and email workflows are still operating according to the logic you initially set up.)

How’s your list hygiene?

Things to check:

  • Assess your lists’ overall health. Do you need to send a re-engagement campaign to people who’ve stopped engaging? When was the last time you purged your list of disengaged subscribers? If you continue to send emails to disengaged people, this will lower your overall sender score. (This is known as graymail.)
  • Review segmentation and personalization strategies. For example, if you’ve been using people’s names in the subject lines, have you seen a correlation with open rates, CTR, and other conversion points? If you haven’t experimented with personalization yet, now’s the time to make a plan.
  • Evaluate the effectiveness of opt-in forms and lead capture mechanisms. How have sign-ups been over the last six months? Try inserting them mid-way through blog posts and see if that grows your list.

Three Analytic Points That Marketers Often Overlook

Most of our tips above included looking at analytics as part of your mid-year checkup of various areas, like the website or email marketing.

But here are three broader analytics points that too many marketers overlook. Add these to your mid-year checkup.

Make sure you’ve set up clear goals and conversion tracking:

  • Define and track specific conversion goals, such as form submissions or phone calls.
  • Analyze conversion funnels to identify potential drop-off points. (More on drop-offs below.)
  • Implement tracking codes and pixels for accurate measurement.

Analyze demographic and behavioral data:

  • Explore demographic insights of website visitors and email subscribers.
  • Analyze user engagement based on age, location, and interests.
  • Use this data to refine your buyer personas and marketing messages for them.

Pay attention to funnel drop-off points:

  • Identify stages in the conversion funnel with high drop-off rates.
  • Analyze user behavior, messaging, or design issues causing drop-offs.
  • Optimize those specific areas to improve conversion rates.

Need help doing some or all of the above?

Listen, we get it. You’re already juggling so much. That’s why sometimes the best step you can take is a step back and outsource to a marketing agency like ours to do the heavy lifting. We’ll come in with fresh eyes and see what’s working and what isn’t so that you’re in great shape heading into Q3 and Q4. Get in touch, and let’s talk about your marketing strategy.

ChatGPT and SEO for Senior Living

ChatGPT & SEO for Senior Living

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We recently wrote about ChatGPT and whether you should use it for senior living marketing. The short answer: Don’t use it to replace your process for creating digital content, like blog posts, white papers, and guides. ChatGPT has trouble producing quality long-form content—it can lose its train of thought, and you can’t rely on it to provide accurate information or for the content to be original.

But even if those issues get resolved, there’s another reason why you shouldn’t rely on ChatGPT to create your digital content: It could end up hurting you in search.

And that brings us to today’s topic: ChatGPT and SEO for senior living.

Below, we’re going to discuss the following:

  • The effect AI-generated content can have on search engine optimization (SEO)
  • Whether AI-generated content can ever be considered “original, high-quality content”
  • How to make sure any AI-generated content you do use doesn’t sound like AI

Let’s get to it!

What effect does AI-generated content have on search engine optimization (SEO)?

Google rewards “original, high-quality content.” And it doesn’t like it if you do things to your content to manipulate rankings. (This isn’t new; think back to the days of keyword stuffing.)

So, what’s Google’s take on whether you should use AI-generated content?

Google says, “If you see AI as an essential way to help you produce content that is helpful and original, it might be useful to consider. If you see AI as an inexpensive, easy way to game search engine rankings, then no.”

This, of course, leads to a natural question:

Can AI-generated content ever be considered original and high-quality?

ChatGPT generates conversational content that’s grammatically correct. But it’s content that you could find anywhere, and there are even valid concerns about plagiarism. (Not to mention, its “voice” is somewhat vanilla and often wooden.)

For example, asking it to write a blog post about the Veterans Aid & Attendance benefit will produce grammatically correct, conversational content that may or may not be accurate… (Another issue with ChatGPT is that it’s only been trained on data through 2021.)

But this blog post won’t include anything highly original, like the story about Bob, who was so grateful for the lunch-and-learn session you held about the benefit or how he uses it to pay for his apartment in your community.

A story like that can elevate a piece of generic content you could find anywhere to something special that resonates with readers.

ChatGPT can’t create this unique content since it won’t know the people in your community, their stories, or tactile things like the colors, the smells, and the feeling you get when you sit out on your community’s patio sipping wine.

You need a human to capture those things. And that’s unlikely to change any time soon.

How would Google (or anyone else) know if you’re using AI-generated content?

The rise of AI chatbots has led to the rise of AI detectors. Open AI (the creator of ChatGPT) has also released its own AI-text classifier. You paste a portion of the text into the tool, and it determines whether AI or a human being generated the text.

If you use ChatGPT to support or supplement (not replace) your content marketing efforts, you’ll want to thoroughly revise any content it creates to sound like your brand, not AI. To do this, run your content through the AI detector. Keep revising the content until the AI detector says your copy is unlikely or very unlikely AI-generated.

Sounds like a lot of extra work, right?

This is for you to decide. Is ChatGPT, in its present state, more of a novelty? Or can it help your senior living marketing team speed up content creation for your community?

Going back to our Veterans Aid & Attendance benefit . . . if ChatGPT creates the initial blog post and you pass it off to a writer to rewrite with real-life examples and with your brand voice in mind, are you saving any time or money?

The answer will likely vary, depending on the writer. Some writers are much faster at producing content from scratch than rewriting someone else’s content, like ChatGPT’s.

Successful SEO for senior living doesn’t cut corners.

Listen, we get ChatGPT’s allure. It would be fantastic if we could rely on AI to create highly original, helpful content that converts site visitors into leads and leads into move-ins. But the technology isn’t there yet—and it might never be.

There’s no substitute for the human touch when it comes to successful SEO for senior living. Reach out if you’d like help from a marketing firm that knows how to do it right.

ChatGPT for Senior Living Marketing

ChatGPT: What to Know for Senior Living Marketing

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You’ve probably heard people buzzing about ChatGPT. Its emergence has dominated headlines (it’s the fastest-growing app of all time), spurred countless debates, and worried everyone from teachers to writers to editors to ethicists to conspiracy theorists.

But what exactly is ChatGPT? And how can it be used to support your senior living marketing efforts?

Below, we’re going to answer those questions and more:

  • What is ChatGPT?
  • What sort of content can ChatGPT produce?
  • Are there any issues with ChatGPT-generated content?
  • Should you use ChatGPT for your senior living marketing?

Let’s get to it.

What is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is a free artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot. It was released in November 2022 by OpenAI. ChatGPT stands for “Chat-based Generative Pre-trained Transformer,” which is a mouthful.

Also, what the heck does that even mean?

Simply put, ChatGPT delivers text-based responses to your “prompts.” A prompt is a question or a request, such as “Write a 600-word blog post about the benefits of senior living.” ChatGPT produces its responses astonishingly fast—and the responses sound remarkably human.

ChatGPT is “trained” on massive amounts of text data. From this data, it has learned how to mimic human conversations.

It’s worth mentioning that ChatGPT isn’t the only AI game in town. Here’s a list of 30 ChatGPT alternatives (free and paid). We’re focusing on ChatGPT because everyone is talking about it.

What sort of content can ChatGPT produce?

You can prompt ChatGPT to create various content, like a well-reasoned essay about Romeo & Juliet, a poem on first love, or an explanation of the Veterans Aid & Attendance benefit.

See the screenshot below, which includes our prompt and ChatGPT’s response.

ChatGPT definition of Veterans benefit

ChatGPT wrote the above in a matter of seconds.

Impressive, right? Well, yes and no.

The above might sound convincing, but ChatGPT’s answer is outdated. The 2023 rate for a surviving spouse is now $1,432, not $1,244. The other numbers are also incorrect.

The above example highlights two of the most significant issues with ChatGPT to date:

  • ChatGPT is “trained” only through 2021.
  • ChatGPT makes LOTs of mistakes.

ChatGPT got the details wrong about the Veterans Aid & Attendance benefit because of its training—it has no “knowledge” of anything after 2021, so it doesn’t know about the updated rates for 2023.

But here’s the thing: ChatGPT also makes plenty of mistakes on things it should know.

Many people have written about this issue. Here are some excellent articles to check out if you want to dive deeper.

Are there any other issues with ChatGPT-generated content?

Yes! If the lack of accuracy isn’t enough to give you pause, then the following issues might:

  • ChatGPT has trouble producing long content. It can lose the “thread” of a discussion once it hits 800 or so words.
  • ChatGPT content often sounds stilted. It’s trying to mimic humans, but it’s not human. While the content is grammatically correct, it can still sound wooden. (And good luck trying to get it to capture your brand voice.)
  • ChatGPT-generated content could have serious SEO implications. We’ll address this in a subsequent blog post, but if you use ChatGPT to create tons of content to manipulate your site’s rankings in Google, we have two words for you: keyword stuffing. (In other words, Google doesn’t like being manipulated, and it’s only a matter of time before it updates its algorithm accordingly.)

Should you use ChatGPT for your senior living marketing efforts, like content creation?

ChatGPT shouldn’t replace your current process for creating high-quality, original, long-form content. The issues with originality, accuracy, tone, and potential SEO implications outweigh any benefits.

But ChatGPT does have potential in other areas:

Use it for brainstorming.

Brainstorming might be the best use for ChatGPT in senior living marketing. Give ChatGPT a keyword phrase and ask it to brainstorm ten potential blog post titles. Then, choose the title you like best and hand it off to a writer.

Below is a screenshot of this idea in action.

ChatGPT blog title brainstorm Vet Benefit

Use it to create outlines.

A keyword-rich blog title and solid outline can help make a writer’s job go much faster. Having ChatGPT do the heavy lifting with the outline is another smart way to use this tool.

See the screenshot below. You’d still want to review and revise the outline. But ChatGPT typically delivers a solid structure that you or your writer could easily work with.

ChatGPT blog outline

Use it for short-form content (but always review and revise).

We asked ChatGPT to write five calls to action for a guide about the Veterans Aid & Attendance benefit. Some might work better as social media posts. All would need to be revised for style and voice.

ChatGPT CTAs

Bottom line: Be careful how you use ChatGPT for your senior living marketing.

ChatGPT is one tool, not the only tool. While it might be helpful with brainstorming and generating outlines, you shouldn’t use it to generate long-form content. Stick to humans for that.

Need help developing an effective content strategy for your senior living community? Get in touch, and let’s chat!

Senior living sales training tips for engaging phone calls

Senior Living Sales Training: Tips for Engaging Phone Calls

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Just about everyone today begins their search for senior living online. But at some point, phone calls come into play, which is why phone skills still matter, even in the age of digital marketing.

How does your sales team do on the phone? Kinda-sorta OK? Meh? Not so great? We got you! Below, you’ll find helpful tips for your senior living sales training.

Hint: Pay close attention to our last suggestion for taking things to the next level.

Tips for Better Senior Living Sales Calls

1. Display genuine empathy

Empathy and sympathy are not the same thing. (And sympathy won’t serve you in this case.)

Empathy is the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and to see and appreciate things from their perspective. Through your words, you can demonstrate this understanding. (If you’re on a Zoom call, your non-verbal gestures can also help.)

Examples of empathy in action:

  • “Oh, my gosh, you don’t need to apologize for sounding frazzled. Making a decision like this is extremely overwhelming. It only makes sense that you’re experiencing so many emotions right now.”
  • “I can only imagine all the questions running through your head since there are many things to consider. We can take as much time as you need and go through your questions one by one. And if you think of something later, call me back, and we’ll chat some more. How’s that sound?”
  • “You know what? That’s an excellent question, and I don’t know the answer. But I completely understand how the answer will affect your decision. If I were you, I’d want to know the answer, too! Let me do some digging, and I’ll call you back. I should be able to do that within the next day or so. How does that sound?”

Related: WHAT IS EMPATHETIC MARKETING & HOW CAN YOUR COMMUNITY USE IT?

2. Listen actively

Active listeners:

  • Focus on the person talking. You shouldn’t be multi-tasking or doing something else while talking with a prospect, like scrolling through Facebook or reading emails.
  • Speak less. As the saying goes, there’s a reason why you have two ears and one mouth. You should spend much more time listening during a sales call than talking.
  • Aren’t afraid of silence. Prospects need time to think, process, and finish their thoughts. Sure, pauses can sometimes feel awkward. Resist the temptation to jump in and fill it. Take a deep breath and count to three. If there’s still silence at that point, you can say something.
  • Make it clear that they’re listening. This means giving appropriate verbal cues on the phone, such as saying “yes” or “uh huh,” while prospects talk.
  • Recap and clarify what they’re hearing along the way. Here’s an example: “So it sounds like you and your husband are interested in a two-bedroom model, not a one-bedroom. Do I have that right?”

3. Don’t rush people

One of our favorite scenes from Grace and Frankie is when Frankie (played by Lily Tomlin) gets her first laptop and doesn’t know how to get online. She calls the Apple tech support number, but they overwhelm her with questions. Flustered, she spouts that she’s seventy, which is the magic word—she’s transferred to a guy named Mike.

Mike is patient. He takes his time. He’s relaxed. He’s chill. He puts Frankie at ease.

Here’s the clip (with a naughty word or two, so consider yourself warned).

 

Remember, you’re talking to an older population, so more people will be like Frankie than not. Even if you’re dealing with adult children, you’re still talking to people who are likely north of fifty—and often quite a way over that. This demographic needs more time to explain things, vent, and ask questions.

An article from the National Institute on Aging (NIA) offers solid advice when talking to older adults: “Be mindful if you are feeling impatient with an older person’s pace. Some people may have trouble following rapid-fire questioning or torrents of information. Try speaking more slowly to give them time to process what is being asked or said, and don’t interrupt. Once interrupted, a [person] is less likely to reveal all of their concerns.”

4. Be mindful of hearing deficits

The NIA also reports that one-third of older adults have hearing loss. You might need to compensate for hearing deficits when chatting with prospects.

On the phone, this can be even trickier, but here are some tips:

  • Ask if the person can hear you OK.
  • Talk slowly and clearly. Enunciate.
  • As mentioned above, don’t fill in pauses (the other person could be processing or coming up with a question).
  • If you have a bad connection (due to a cell phone or cordless phone), ask to reconnect on a landline, if possible.

5. Always provide a brief recap and next steps at the end of the conversation

Say something like this, “Before we hang up, I’d like to make sure I captured everything we discussed. Let me read through my notes, and you can tell me if I missed anything, OK?”

After you recap, say, “OK, so my next steps are A and B. And your next steps are C and D. Does that sound right?”

BONUS: Consider outsourcing to a senior living call center

When we discuss inbound marketing with our clients, we’re always reminding them that the goal is to segment and score inbound leads appropriately. The high-intent ones go to the sales team for follow-up. The warm but not-ready leads continue to be nurtured.

The same philosophy applies to inbound phone calls. Not every prospect who calls your community will have “high intent.” Why waste the sales team’s time by having them field ALL inbound calls?

A better solution is outsourcing your inbound calls to a call center with expertise in handling senior living inquiries. And guess what? We offer that through LeadGenie.

LeadGenie is a fully customizable lead management solution. It provides virtual sales support to respond to your leads quickly and consistently. Visit the LeadGenie site to learn more and to schedule a demo.

How to engage customers

How to Engage Customers (Yes, This Applies to Senior Living!)

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If you’re scratching your head over the title of this blog post, step right up because the article is most definitely for you.

Below we’re going to discuss the following:

The biggest mistake senior living marketing departments make after a prospect becomes a “customer”

  • Why you must continue engaging your customers (i.e., your senior living residents)
  • How to engage customers after move-in (Hint: there’s an official name for this—it’s called “customer retention marketing”)
  • What to do if you need help with your customer retention marketing strategy

The biggest mistake marketing teams make when a prospect becomes a resident: Thinking the marketing is done

Let’s illustrate this with an example:

Your hot prospect Mary Jones is the spitting image of your ideal buyer. She’s interacted with crucial touchpoints on the website. She toured your community with her adult daughter—and they both loved it. She signed the lease and moved in last week.

It could be easy for senior living marketing and sales teams to think, “Our work here is done.”

But consider this . . .

  • Does Netflix think their work is done once they get a subscriber?
  • Does Doritos think their work is done once someone buys their chips?
  • Does Southwest Airlines think their work is done once someone flies with them?

Of course not. Converting a prospect into a customer is a milestone. But keeping the customer is an ongoing task called customer retention marketing. Or in the case of senior living, resident retention marketing.

Now, we know what you might be thinking. A subscription-based brand like Netflix needs a customer retention strategy since it’s easy for customers to walk away—they simply cancel their accounts. Does senior living need the same strategy?

YES. Resident attrition is a real thing. This article notes that over 50 percent of assisted living residents move out within any given year.

Bottom line: Your marketing shouldn’t come to a screeching halt when a prospect turns into a resident. Instead, your marketing team needs a plan for engaging with and retaining these customers.

Other reasons why marketing teams need to continue engaging with new residents

Remember, a resident doesn’t become a customer only once—they become a customer every time they renew their lease. That is reason enough for the continued engagement.

But here are other key reasons why your marketing should continue when a prospect becomes a resident.

  • Residents can be an excellent source of referrals. They and their families can also be tapped for reviews on places like Google.
  • Residents can offer insights into the marketing and sales process—including where you need to improve it. They’ve just been through it, so everything will be fresh in their minds.
  • Residents can offer helpful feedback about the community during their first thirty, sixty, and ninety days. It’s good to get feedback from all residents. But new residents will have a different spin on things since they’re experiencing everything for the first time.

How to engage customers (residents)

Here are some strategies for engaging new residents and fueling your customer retention marketing.

Create a “Welcome to Our Community” workflow

Have you ever noticed that when you subscribe to a new service (like Netflix), you get a flurry of emails in the first few months welcoming you, offering tips and helpful info, and keeping you engaged?

You need to do the same thing with new residents. This welcome workflow should be just that—welcoming! Let them know how glad you are to have them as a resident, reiterate the key points and messages about your community, and provide helpful info (like dining menus, maps, important phone numbers). You get the idea.

Depending on your community’s age demographic, you might create a series of welcome emails, printed pieces (a welcome packet and subsequent flyers), or both. The “series” part is vital. This shouldn’t be a once-and-done endeavor. Focus on a 90-day plan (with the first month having the most activity).

Invite residents to participate in a “Your feedback matters to us” program

Your newest residents are the folks who can tell you if your marketing is accurate. Make it worth their while—offer the resident a gift card to Amazon, Starbucks, or a popular local restaurant in exchange for sitting down with a member of your marketing team.

For thirty minutes or so, the marketing person can talk with the resident to learn about their recent experience with the website, the tour, the sales rep—basically, all the marketing and sales touch points the new resident encountered during their buying journey.

Areas to cover include . . .

  • Does the community meet the expectations that the messaging on the website, brochures, and social media promised?
  • Do new residents feel misled at all? Were they promised one thing but got something else (the old “bait and switch” tactic)?
  • Is there something new residents keep talking about in a positive manner that you have yet to hit on in your marketing?
  • Are your buyer personas accurate? Are the people who become residents—and who are still happy 30, 60, and 90 days out—a true reflection of your buyer personas? Or do you need to tweak the personas? Or maybe add a persona you hadn’t considered?
  • Was there something about the buying experience that the resident disliked or confused them?
  • Is there something about the community they wished they’d known about during the buying process?

The above are starter questions. You will likely come up with others.

Ideally, you’d want to sit down with the new resident towards the end of their first month—and then again during their second and third month. The first sit-down would be the longest session. Then, you could sit down during the second and third months for a chat (again, offer a gift card as a thank-you for their time).

And here’s the thing: DO SOMETHING WITH THIS INFORMATION. This exercise has merit and can help you and your team refine your marketing efforts. Share results with the sales team as well. And if you hear something that other departments should be aware of—like dining or activities—follow up with the managers in those departments.

Invite residents to participate in a resident referral program

We discussed “Make Your Friends Your Neighbors” programs in our article about building trust and loyalty. Here’s how the program works: If the resident refers a friend to your community and the friend moves in, the resident gets a reward (typically in the form of a rent credit).

Create a community-based publication, like a monthly community newsletter, quarterly print publication, or both

A community newsletter or magazine can highlight residents, staff, activities, heart-warming stories, important news, etc. Residents and the marketing team should work together to publish it. It’s a terrific way for marketing to keep its finger on the community’s pulse.

You can also repurpose content for prospect-facing marketing collateral. For example, a resident who’s known for her gorgeous watercolor artwork can be featured in the community publication and on the community’s social media channels and website.

Do you need help with your customer retention marketing?

Call us! We always remind our clients that marketing doesn’t end once a prospect becomes a resident. We’ll help you calculate the lifetime value of your residents and how to budget for effective resident retention marketing. Get in touch, and let’s chat!

What is closed loop marketing

What Is Closed-Loop Marketing & Why Should Senior Living Marketers Care?

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If you’ve worked in marketing long enough, you’ve likely encountered the phrase “closed-loop marketing.” Marketing, of course, is famous for its jargon. But you should pay attention to this phrase—and embrace it.

At its simplest, closed-loop marketing helps you understand which marketing strategies, tactics, and campaigns convert leads into customers (i.e., move-ins). If you want to do more of what’s working, you must “close the loop” to help you understand exactly that.

Is your head spinning? Don’t worry—that’s why we’re here.

Below, we’re going to answer the following questions:

  • What is closed-loop marketing?
  • Are there any limitations to closed-loop marketing?
  • How does closed-loop marketing work?
  • What are the benefits of using closed-loop marketing in senior living?
  • What if I need help with closed-loop marketing?

Let’s get to it!

What is closed-loop marketing?

Closed-looping marketing is a form of analysis that tells you which marketing tactics, channels, and campaigns turn leads into customers—or residents, in the case of senior living communities.

Picture an analog clock. A lead enters your site at the noon position. The lead engages with content and downloads a guide (the three o’clock position). The lead schedules a tour (six o’clock position). Finally, the lead has a follow-up conversation with sales and signs a lease for your community (the 11:59 position). The sales rep marks the lead as a customer, which closes the loop.

Of course, going from lead to resident takes much longer than 60 minutes. But the clock is merely a visual representation. Prospects will spend different amounts of time at various points as they journey around the loop. And some will never complete the loop.

Is closed-loop marketing automatic?

Closed-loop marketing only works if the sales team does its job. A salesperson closing a lead as a customer in your senior living CRM effectively “closes the loop.” Sales reps can also close the loop by indicating a lead is cold/lost—along with notes and insights on why this might be the case.

If set up correctly (more on this in a moment), you can review the closed customer’s journey from the moment they engaged with your community to all the various touchpoints leading up to their signing a lease. Same with the lost prospect.

From there, the marketing team can analyze the data. What channels deliver the best prospects? What content spurs action (like booking a tour)? Which emails get people to re-engage? Etc.

Are there any limitations to closed-loop marketing?

In marketing, you can only measure so much. The first trackable touchpoint a prospect has with your community probably isn’t their first real interaction.

For example, they might have read about your community on a review site, seen a sign in town, or heard about you through a friend or family member long before they ventured to your senior living website where a cookie could then track their journey.

And speaking of cookies . . . it’s possible someone could opt out of having a cookie track their activity. (In theory. Make sure your site’s cookie options are accurate and working.)

Bottom line: Closed-loop marketing isn’t perfect (but no analytics package is—at least, not yet!). Still, closed-loop marketing can provide valuable insights about what moves a person from an anonymous website visitor to a lead to a resident. And it can also tell you where leads stall out or drop off.

For example, if a particular piece of content seems to spur people to book tours, and most of those leads become move-ins, you might allocate more budget to promoting that content (for example, through paid ads).

On the flip side, if you notice a high percentage of lost prospects stall on a particular page on your site, you might do some A/B testing to see if you can remove the friction on that page.

How does closed-loop marketing work?

For closed-loop marketing to work, you need good marketing software (we love HubSpot), a CRM that integrates with the software, and willingness from sales reps to close their leads and provide notes about leads that became customers and leads that didn’t.

From there, you need someone on the marketing side who is savvy with metrics to analyze the data and review the notes from sales. The goal is to look for patterns to answer questions like: what campaigns or content seem to “work” with leads who become customers? Where are the lost prospects getting bogged down? Etc.

That’s an oversimplified explanation, but it gives you the gist. Having good marketing software is the biggest hurdle. We love HubSpot because it has closed-loop reporting baked in. (This HubSpot tutorial reviews the technical aspects of closed-loop marketing.)

How will closed-loop marketing benefit my senior living community? (And do I really need to do this?!)

If you don’t care about wasting dollars on marketing efforts that don’t work, then no—you don’t need to worry about closing the loop. But if you do care about maximizing your marketing budget, closed-loop marketing is necessary.

Remember, you analyze results to know what’s working and what needs to be improved. Then, you can allocate your marketing budget more effectively. Over time, based on actual data and results, you’ll know which marketing campaigns, tactics, and channels deliver the biggest bang for your marketing buck.

What if I need help with closed-loop marketing?

That’s why we’re here! Listen, we get it. There are only so many hours in the day, and your marketing and sales teams are already stretched thin. We can handle getting your closed-loop marketing set up and working correctly so that you and your team can focus on the results and do more of what works and less of what doesn’t. Intrigued? Let’s chat about how we can help turbo-charge your analytics.