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How to Address "I'm Not Ready Yet" Objections to Senior Living

How to Address “I’m Not Ready Yet” Objections to Senior Living

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“I’m not ready yet” is one of the most common objections that senior living sales teams hear. While it can be frustrating, pushing back too hard can drive prospects away.

So, what should sales reps say?

Below, we share our suggestions.

Demonstrate empathy by seeing things from their perspective.

“I’m not ready yet” is rarely about one reason. It often involves a combination of emotional, logistical, and financial concerns.

Many salespeople instinctively try to “win” the argument, but this approach backfires. Our CEO, Debbie Howard, says selling senior living is like driving on ice—you have to “go with the skid” rather than jerk the wheel.

Lean into the objection and use language that demonstrates empathy:

  • I hear you. I can’t imagine how tough a decision this is to make.
  • I hear you. Leaving your forever home has got to feel incredibly overwhelming and sad.
  • I hear you. You’ve done so much for your mother already. I can feel your exhaustion.

Gently guide the conversation forward.

The goal is to encourage reflection, problem-solving, and possible next steps. Here are a few strategic approaches you can take.

1. Ask open-ended questions to encourage reflection.

Instead of pushing back, invite prospects to explore their concerns by asking them thoughtful questions:

  • What do you think would make this decision easier?
  • What’s the biggest thing holding you back right now?
  • What would have to change for your mom to feel ready?

These questions help prospects vocalize their concerns while allowing you to uncover deeper hesitations.

2. Offer meaningful support and resources.

Rather than arguing against their objections, position yourself as a trusted resource, but make sure whatever resource you offer aligns with their objection:

  • I totally understand. Deciding whether to stay at home or move to a senior living community is a big decision. To help, we offer a “Stay or Go” guide that walks families through key considerations like home safety, socialization, financial planning, and future care needs. Would it help if I shared this with you and your family?
  • Would you be open to speaking with one of our current residents who had similar concerns?
  • Can I connect you with a geriatric care manager who can help you sort through options?
  • Would your mom feel more comfortable with a short stay to see if this feels right? She can move in for a couple of weeks, participate in activities, and experience the lifestyle firsthand—no long-term commitment required.

Providing tangible next steps eases decision fatigue and shows that you’re there to help, not just to sell.

PRO TIP #1: Offer to pay for the first session with the geriatric care manager. The prospect and their family have nothing to lose and everything to gain—and you could very well get a move-in out of a nominal expense in the grand scheme of things.

PRO TIP #2: For many families, the biggest challenge isn’t the decision—it’s the logistics. Selling a home, sorting through decades of belongings, and coordinating a move can feel overwhelming. If you offer relocation services or have a preferred senior move manager, talk it up and make the introduction.

3. Accept that they might need to fail.

Sometimes, families need to try a different solution first and fail. This might involve bringing in home care, modifying the home, or moving Mom in with them.

If that’s the case, reassure them that you’ll still be there when and if they’re ready. Occasionally check in with them over the next few months to a year to see how things are going.

4. Gently challenge their thinking (without pushing).

Help them reframe their concerns with gentle prompts:

  • I completely understand why staying home feels like the best choice right now. Can we talk through what that might look like a year from now?
  • Many families tell me they wish they had made this move sooner. What do you think would happen if you waited another year?
  • What would have to happen for you to feel like moving is the best decision?

5. Keep the door open with a soft follow-up.

If they’re not ready, that’s okay—but let them know you’ll continue to be a helpful, low-pressure resource:

  • I completely understand, and I want you to feel comfortable with whatever decision you make. How about I check in with you in a few weeks to see how things are going?
  • Would you like to join us for an event to meet some residents and get a feel for the community?
  • I recently came across an article on downsizing that might be helpful—let me know if you’d like me to send it over.
  • If anything changes or you just want to talk things through again, I’m always here to help.

Accept that you won’t be able to overcome every “I’m not ready yet” objection, and that’s OK.

“I’m not ready yet” isn’t a hard no—it’s an opportunity to explore what’s holding them back. The key is to listen, validate concerns, and provide resources to help families feel good about their decisions.

By leaning into objections rather than fighting them, sales teams can build trust and guide families toward a move-in when the time is right. And when that moment comes, they won’t remember a sales pitch—they’ll remember who truly listened, supported them, and made them feel ready to say “yes.”

MORE GREAT SENIOR LIVING SALES TIPS:

Senior Living Sales Tips for Better Re-Tours

Senior Living Sales Tips for Better Re-Tours

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WelcomeHome’s benchmark report for Q3-2024 contained an interesting nugget: “Retours are up across the industry, as operators place more emphasis on existing leads due to a decline in new leads compared to last year.”

And yet, we’re willing to bet most sales teams don’t understand how to approach this all-important second visit.

Remember, the first tour is about making a strong first impression. A second tour (or “retour”) is about closing the deal. The retour is often the final opportunity to address concerns, engage new decision-makers, and create an emotional connection that leads to a move-in.

Below, we share senior living sales tips for rocking retours.

How to prepare for the second tour

1. Identify who’s coming and what matters to them.

The first tour is often conducted by a single “scout,” typically an adult daughter, who gathers information and narrows down options. By the second tour, additional influencers—like the prospective resident and other family members—are likely to attend.

Before the second tour, ask the scout the following questions:

  • Who will be joining you this time?
  • What are their top concerns or questions?
  • Do they need to see different things from what you saw during your first visit?

Example: Let’s say the scout on the first tour is the older adult’s primary caregiver. The scout might have focused on amenities, activities, and the overall feel of the community. If another sibling joins for the second tour, and this sibling has financial power of attorney, they might be more interested in hearing about pricing, long-term affordability, and financial planning.

If you know that this other sibling will attend the second visit, you can be ready to field financial questions, like detailed cost breakdowns and future pricing projections.

2. Review notes from the first tour.

If you took good notes, use them to personalize the experience. For example, if the scout asked about specialized diets during the first visit, you could introduce the dining team and discuss meal customization during the second visit.

PRO TIP: Review ALL notes associated with the person who attended the first tour, not just the notes you made. Review notes from website forms, lead aggregators, and chatbot transcripts. (If you don’t have all of these things feeding your senior living CRM, get on that ASAP!)

3. Give colleagues a heads-up.

Don’t assume the head of dining can stop whatever they’re doing to woo your prospect. Be courteous and ask if they’re available when the second tour is coming through. If they’re not, ask them who the next best person would be.

Give them the info they need to succeed. For example, if your prospect is a vegetarian, that would be helpful info for the head of dining services to know, right?

How to give a highly personalized second tour

1. Identify what will make the biggest impact.

Retours should feel different from the first visit, not just a repeat of the same tour. Based on what came up during the first tour AND the questions you asked the scout when confirming the second tour, figure out what areas you must hit.

For example, will the guests on the second tour have . . .

  • Financial questions? Set up a time with your financial counselor.
  • Healthcare concerns? Introduce them to the memory care or resident care director.
  • Lifestyle interests? Arrange resident meet-and-greets based on shared hobbies and backgrounds.

2. Sweat the small stuff.

Small details can make a big impression.

Some ideas:

  • Reserve a parking spot with the prospect’s name on it.
  • Display a welcome sign with the prospect’s name at the front desk.
  • Ensure staff members (including reception) are ready to warmly greet the visitors, take their coats, offer coffee or tea, and show them where the bathroom is.

These “red carpet tour” efforts signal that the family is important and valued. They also give prospective residents a taste of what to expect when they move in.

3. Introduce the right people at the right time.

Families care most about how their loved one will fit in and be cared for.

Arrange meaningful introductions with:

  • Current residents with similar backgrounds, hobbies, or personalities
  • Key staff members based on the family’s concerns (e.g., dining team for dietary needs, activity director for social engagement, the fitness instructor for those asking about a gym or yoga class)
  • Line staff members (CNAs, housekeepers) who will have the most day-to-day interactions with the resident

4. Encourage your guests to spend time in the model apartment.

The apartment should feel inviting and personalized to the prospect’s lifestyle. You want the prospect and their family to linger and get comfortable.

Key strategies:

  • Pin a current activities calendar in the apartment and highlight relevant activities that align with the prospect’s interests.
  • Ensure comfortable seating and refreshments (coffee, tea, snacks) to foster lingering.
  • Talk through how the prospect’s belongings could fit in the space to help them visualize living there.
  • Stage the model apartment in a way that will resonate with the prospect.

Example: If the prospect loves gardening, place a few potted plants in the model apartment and some gardening books on the coffee table. If the prospect loves to golf, place Golf magazine on the table and a set of golf clubs by the doorway. You want people to envision themselves in the space, and that’s much easier to do if there are familiar, meaningful items to capture their attention.

How to make a strong final impression as you close the tour

1. Walk the family to their car.

Our CEO, Debbie Howard, recalls a star sales rep she had when she was the VP of sales. He had an impressively high close ratio, and she asked him how he did it. “He said, ‘Deb, it’s the easiest thing in the world. I don’t just show them to the door and say, See you later. I walk them to the car.'”

The sales rep went on to explain that he chats with prospects the whole time he walks them to the car. Then, he hugs them and opens the door because he wants their last impression of the community to be him doing that.

Try it. Instead of a simple “goodbye,” walk the family to their car, chat casually, and make the final moments feel warm and positive.

2. Reinforce emotional and rational decision-making.

People make decisions for emotional reasons and then justify their decisions with logic. Good sales reps must address both emotional concerns (like sense of belonging and lifestyle fit) and practical concerns (like financial sustainability and care options).

If there’s hesitation, ask targeted questions to uncover lingering doubts:

What’s holding you back?

Can we clarify anything or show you something else to help with your decision?

3. Offer a next step, not just a goodbye.

It’s OK to be a little pushier at the end of the second tour. You can’t get much more “bottom of the funnel” than this moment.

  • Offer an incentive for signing by the end of the month.
  • Invite them back for a trial stay.
  • Make a plan for following up. “I’ll call you tomorrow to see how you’re feeling and if you want to move forward.”

A second tour is a pivotal moment in the senior living sales process.

Thoughtful preparation and personalization can make the difference between ending up with a prospect who goes elsewhere (or stalls) and one who confidently makes a deposit and moves in.

MORE HELPFUL SENIOR LIVING SALES TIPS

A man on the inside

Marketing Memory Care: Takeaways from ‘A Man on the Inside’

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A group of us recently binged the popular Netflix series A Man on the Inside, which is based on a true story. We all loved the show and quickly agreed that it revealed some important lessons about marketing memory care.

Here’s the scoop!

A Man on the Inside: What’s it about?

At the start of this series, we meet Charles (played by Ted Danson), a grieving widower in his seventies whose wife died from Alzheimer’s disease a year earlier.

Charles wants to fill the void and stumbles into an unlikely assignment: working for a local private investigator. The job? Going undercover as a resident—”a man on the inside”—in a senior living community to see if he can identify the suspect responsible for the recent theft of a resident’s ruby necklace.

The story revolves around Charles’s struggle to find a balance between the friendships he forms with residents and staff while being reminded that everyone he meets is a potential suspect.

Check out the trailer below.

The fear of memory care in “The Neighborhood”

When Charles goes on the initial tour of the community, he pauses in front of two locked doors with “The Neighborhood” written on top of them. He’s afraid of the doors because he knows what’s on the other side: the memory care wing. This reminds him of his wife’s illness and the promise he made to her about never putting her in a memory care facility.

Other residents in the community are also fearful of The Neighborhood. They pull away from anyone in the community who starts showing serious signs of dementia, including a resident named Gladys.

Takeaways: When marketing memory care, we must address people’s fears.

What struck us most about how memory care was presented in A Man on the Inside was the fear angle. We understand this is a television show, and tension is necessary for storytelling. However, we encounter these same concerns and fears when marketing memory care. Here are some tips for addressing people’s fears:

1. Normalize memory care through education and storytelling.

Fear often stems from the unknown, and for many, memory care is a big, scary unknown. The more we educate families and prospective residents, the less intimidating the concept becomes.

  • Use storytelling. Feature real-life success stories of residents thriving in memory care. Focus on positive experiences, such as how memory care communities create meaningful moments, offer personalized care, and improve residents’ quality of life.
  • Host educational events. Offer webinars, Q&A sessions, and in-person seminars with dementia specialists and caregivers to demystify what memory care entails.
  • Leverage visual content. Instead of just listing services, use videos, virtual tours, and resident testimonials to show a day in the life of a memory care resident.

2. Address the guilt and fear families feel about memory care.

One of the emotional hurdles in choosing memory care is the guilt families feel. The guilt often stems from promises like the one Charles made to his wife. Many spouses and adult children vow never to place their loved ones in a memory care community, often because they associate it with abandonment rather than compassionate care.

  • Reframe the narrative. Memory care isn’t about “giving up” on a loved one. It’s about providing specialized care that enhances their well-being. Use messaging that reinforces this. For example, “You’re not giving up on them. You’re giving them the care they deserve and the help you need as a caregiver.”
  • Acknowledge the emotional weight. Be empathetic in your content. Blog posts, social media campaigns, and brochures should acknowledge this difficult decision.
  • Offer helpful resources. Provide families with tools like checklists, family discussion guides, and consultation opportunities with memory care experts.

3. Redefine the image of memory care communities.

For many, the term “memory care” conjures images of sterile, hospital-like settings with locked doors, just like the ones Charles fears in A Man on the Inside. While safety is a priority, memory care communities are also designed to be warm, engaging, and person-centered. Make sure prospective residents and their families understand this.

  • Highlight community life. Showcase the vibrant activities and personalized care plans that cater to each resident’s needs.
  • Use language that reinforces warmth. Words like engaging, purposeful living, and meaningful moments create a more inviting image of memory care than terms like “locked unit” or “facility.”
  • Showcase innovative approaches to memory care. Does your community offer sensory therapy, memory gardens, and/or programs designed to enhance cognitive function? Talk them up!

4. Make it easy for families to explore memory care.

Many families hesitate to tour a memory care community because they fear the emotional weight of the experience. Marketing should encourage them to take small, manageable steps.

  • Offer “no-pressure” experiences. Instead of immediately pushing a full tour, invite families to attend a community event, meet caregivers informally, or watch a virtual tour from the comfort of their homes.
  • Create a welcoming first impression. Ensure your memory care website reflects warmth and approachability. Feature clear calls to action, like “Start with a casual visit” or “Join us for an open house.”
  • Provide transparency. Clearly explain pricing, care levels, and what to expect. Uncertainty breeds fear, so eliminating ambiguity can help families feel more confident.

5. Foster a more inclusive senior living culture.

In A Man on the Inside, residents pull away from Gladys when she begins exhibiting symptoms of dementia. Many communities still struggle with the stigma around memory loss, even among residents and staff.

  • Train staff and residents on dementia awareness. Offer education programs that help everyone in the community—residents, families, and staff—better understand how to support individuals with cognitive decline.
  • Encourage intergenerational connections. Partner with local schools or volunteer groups to create programs that bring young people into memory care communities, breaking down barriers and reducing stigma.
  • Create peer support networks. Foster connections between families who have loved ones in memory care so they can share experiences and advice with new families.

As memory care marketers, we must educate, empathize, and communicate clearly to address people’s fears.

The goal is to help families make informed, confident decisions. By normalizing memory care, reframing the narrative, and making the process more approachable, we can turn fear into trust and hesitation into action.

Need help with your memory care marketing? Get in touch.

Best Practices for Building Brand Recognition as a Senior Living Provider

Best Practices for Building Brand Recognition as a Senior Living Provider

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Brand recognition is a critical component of success in the senior living industry. With increased competition and evolving consumer expectations, providers must proactively build a strong, trustworthy brand that resonates with seniors and their families.

Often, despite best intentions and efforts, searching for a senior living community for yourself or your loved one can seem like wading through a sea of sameness. Even when the amenities, activities, and physical plant vary at the communities you’re considering, the same messaging comes through for each. Building a strong brand means standing apart from the crowd and having your messaging, marketing, and operations in alignment.

Here are the best practices for improving brand recognition and establishing a compelling presence in the market.

1. Develop a Strong Brand Identity Internally

Your brand identity is the foundation of recognition and trust in your market. Having internal alignment on the following pieces will allow you to stand out in a crowded marketplace:

  • Define Your Mission and Values: Clearly articulate what makes your community unique and how you serve seniors. To understand these values, connect with your stakeholders. Ask your founders and c-suite what their true “why” is. Senior living is not an easy vertical to operate in. People don’t dive into opening, owning, or operating a senior living community without a vision or a compelling reason. Interview your long-term staff and uncover their opinions on what sets you, their employer, apart. And perhaps most importantly, ask your residents and families – why did you choose us? And why do you continue to choose us month after month? The answers to these questions will help you see the true values that your organization embodies.
  • Create a Consistent Visual Identity: Use a cohesive logo, color palette, and typography across all marketing materials. Your brand creatives should reflect your unique value proposition and give your audience an immediate sense of who you are. Consider getting feedback from your residents and families as you choose your visual identity.
  • Develop a Unique Brand Voice: Ensure your messaging is consistent and reflects your organization’s personality and core values. In this effort, documentation is paramount. Assuring that your brand voice and visual identity are aligned, and accessible to your staff will help keep your brand consistent and recognizable. A brand style guide including fonts, colors, logo versions, visual elements (iconography, textures, etc.), and notes on usage will help keep your branding on point.

2. Optimize Your Online Presence

A well-optimized digital footprint increases visibility and trust with your prospects. Creating and building up a strong digital footprint is a long game. It will take a long-term commitment and a strategic approach. Focusing on the following best practices will give you a leg up:

  • Maintain an SEO-Optimized Website: Ensure your website is user-friendly, mobile-responsive, and optimized for local search keywords like “senior living near me.” A well-structured website should include clear calls to action (CTAs), easy navigation, and accessible information about services, pricing, and amenities. In today’s environment of SEO, connecting with your audience with authentic content that answers their questions is the most important thing you can do.
  • Claim and Optimize Google Business Profiles: Keep listings updated with accurate contact details, high-quality images, and positive resident testimonials. Add virtual tours and Q&A sections to engage visitors. Google Business Profile optimization is the single biggest factor impacting your local SEO authority and appearance in Google’s “map pack” of results.
  • Claim and Optimize Directory Citations: Assure that online directories and citations pages, especially those geared toward the senior living industry, are claimed and accurate. Making sure your name, address, and phone number (NAP) are accurate and formatted correctly is the best first step with online citation sites.
  • Encourage Online Reviews: Positive Google and Facebook reviews enhance credibility and search rankings (especially local search). Develop a system to request and manage reviews from happy residents and families, on autopilot. Be sure that you are following up and responding to reviews – good or bad – to highlight your accountability and connection with your residents and families.
  • Invest in Local SEO: Optimize for location-based searches by ensuring consistency in your name, address, and phone number (NAP) across directories and using geo-targeted keywords in content. Beyond optimizing your Google Business Profile and generating positive reviews, consistency across directories and well-optimized website content will boost your local SEO results substantially. Consider building pillar pages that speak directly of the benefits of retiring in your local community or neighborhood.
  • Leverage Paid Search Ads: Utilize Google Ads and social media advertising to increase visibility for high-intent keywords, targeting families researching senior living options. Aligning your ad creatives with your brand and visual identity will help keep you top of mind while your prospects are searching, further solidifying your brand recognition across channels.

3. Create Valuable Content

Content marketing is a powerful tool for building brand awareness and engagement. It influences user experience, search engine optimization, and highlights your experience in the industry. Strategies for success with senior living content marketing include:

  • Educational Blog Posts: Provide insights on topics like aging, senior care trends, and financial planning for senior living. Creating an authentic and authoritative voice for your blog posts is going to help your prospects understand who you are as a brand. Aligning your content with the conversations that your sales teams are having with prospects is a great way to maintain authenticity and relevance. These posts should always strive to be genuinely helpful to your audience – not “salesy” — while reflecting the brand voice outlined in your brand style guide.
  • Local Area Pillar Pages: Create targeted, content-rich pages to highlight your local area. These pages help with local SEO and also help to set your brand apart with hyper-local content that your competitors won’t be featuring. Your locality can be a vital part of your brand.
  • Resident Stories and Testimonials: Humanize your brand with real-life success stories. These stories are truly one-of-a-kind and apply only to your brand. They speak powerfully to your prospects because they are authentic and unfiltered. Content generated by your residents tends to resonate well with prospects because they can see themselves reflected back at them, rather than feeling like they are being “sold” to by community staff.
  • Video Marketing: Virtual tours, resident interviews, and staff spotlights help create an emotional connection while building authority for your website domain as well. Video content is becoming a must for building brand recognition and trust with your audience. It’s perceived as more natural, more authentic, and less curated. It’s harder to “hide” things when you have a robust video marketing library, from the prospect perspective.

4. Leverage Social Media Effectively

Social media is essential for engaging with prospects and families. Social media is often perceived as more natural and authentic than website content, because it is more immediate and seemingly less curated. Prospects view your social pages to get an unfiltered glimpse inside the community, to see a bit of the day-to-day experience. Key strategies for successful senior living social media marketing include:

  • Consistent Posting Schedule: Share valuable content, community events, and resident stories regularly. Striving to post everyday helps keep your content in front of your audience and builds trust with your prospects. They can see inside the community and understand the benefits of living there on a day-to-day basis. The authenticity and transparency is appreciated.
  • Engage with Your Audience: Respond to comments, answer questions, and participate in discussions. Connecting with your audience helps the social media algorithms highlight your content to a wider group of people, but it also showcases the human side of your organization and shows that you put care into all of your interactions, no matter how “small” they may seem.
  • Use Paid Advertising: Targeted Facebook and Instagram ads help expand reach and attract qualified leads. Highlighting photography and videography from inside your communities in paid advertising is a great way to spread your brand message and increase recognition in the area.

5. Strengthen Community Engagement

Being active in the local community enhances trust and brand reputation (not to mention, it can be a great source of new referral leads). Best practices include:

  • Partner with Local Organizations: Collaborate with hospitals, senior centers, and local businesses. Rehab facilities, community centers and groups (Elks, VFW, Rotary International), and your local chamber of commerce are also great options for networking and partnering. Show up authentically with the goal of adding value to these organizations – not extracting it.
  • Host Educational Events: Offer seminars on topics like dementia care, financial planning, and wellness. Working with local businesses or community attractions like libraries and museums can be a great way to jump-start your event series. Working with experts in the industry can expand your network and also lend more credibility to your organization.
  • Participate in Senior Living Expos: Showcase your community at industry events and local fairs. The best compliment you can get when it comes to building brand recognition for senior living is… “We see you everywhere!” Showing up in person to these types of events is a great way to garner that response.

6. Invest in Public Relations & Thought Leadership

Establishing authority in the senior living industry builds brand credibility. Ways to achieve this include:

  • Contribute to Industry Publications: Submit articles or guest posts on leading senior living websites, newsletters, podcasts, and publications. Senior Housing News, Senior Housing Business, McKnight’s, AARP, and more are constantly churning out valuable content for this market. They also have already garnered enormous audiences. Leveraging their media prowess can do wonders for your own presence and credibility.
  • Engage in Local Media Outreach: Position your leadership team as experts by securing press coverage. This works in tandem with hosting informative events and engaging on social media. Your team should always come across as being the resources and the experts when it comes to aging in your local area.
  • Speak at Conferences and Webinars: Present insights on senior care trends and best practices. Document your successes and submit your findings to industry conferences, summits, panel discussions, podcasts and webinars. First-hand industry research is incredibly valuable to many of these organizations – being able to speak on trends you are seeing day-to-day is highly desirable content that can be extrapolated from for other providers.

7. Utilize Marketing Automation & CRM Tools

Automation and personalization enhance brand recognition by improving lead nurturing and communication. Consider:

  • Automated Email Campaigns: Send targeted emails based on user behavior and interests. Following up with leads contextually, rather than generally, shows that you have deep knowledge of senior living and that you actually care about where your prospect is in their journey. Expertise and passion go a long way toward creating a favorable brand.
  • Personalized Follow-Ups: Use CRM data to customize interactions with prospects. This goes beyond including someone’s name in an email – by segmenting users based on their behaviors, you can truly align your content creation with their journey and their pain points.
  • Chatbots and AI-Driven Assistance: Provide instant responses to inquiries on your website by leveraging machine learning, chatbots, and AI. This allows prospects to get the information they want faster and removes that burden from your sales team – allowing for more productive and informed sales conversations.

8. Monitor and Measure Brand Performance

To ensure continued success, track key metrics such as:

  • Website Traffic and Engagement: Use Google Analytics to assess visitor behavior. Are metrics like engaged sessions, pageviews per session, and time on page improving? Direct traffic should also see improvements as additional prospects become familiar with your brand and online presence.
  • Social Media Insights: Analyze follower growth, post engagement, and ad performance across social media channels.
  • Lead Conversion Rates: Measure the effectiveness of marketing campaigns and outreach efforts by measuring the change in lead conversion rates over time. If you’re connecting with the right audience and they are finding the information they need within your site, your conversion rates should increase as they download new information and get in touch with your sales team.

Conclusion

Building strong brand recognition as a senior living provider requires a multi-faceted approach that includes consistent branding, digital presence, valuable content, and community engagement. By implementing these best practices, you can establish trust, increase visibility, and attract more residents to your community.

Need help enhancing your senior living brand? Contact our team of experts to develop a customized marketing strategy that elevates your presence in the industry!

Baby Boomer Marketing

Baby Boomer Marketing in Senior Living: Tips for Skewing Younger

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Many independent living (IL), continuing care retirement communities (CCRCs), and active adult/55+ communities face a similar challenge: attracting younger, healthier baby boomers (late 60s, early 70s).

This challenge can cause big headaches, considering the financial sustainability of these communities often depends on residents staying longer (think 5, 8, and even 10 years) before transitioning to higher levels of care. Getting younger and healthier people to move in sooner can help ensure they stay longer.

But here’s the thing: If you think you can market to “all” boomers the same way, think again. Younger and older boomers might be from the same generation, but their needs differ.

This post will explore key steps to take if you’re trying to appeal to younger boomers.

Rethink your buyer personas.

If you’ve developed personas for people in their late 70s or early 80s, that’s great, but they likely won’t reflect the mindset of folks in their sixties or early 70s.

For example, many younger boomers are still working and probably won’t relate to messaging about slowing down and taking pottery classes on a Wednesday afternoon.

So, what should you do?

Conduct focus groups and develop a persona for younger boomers.

In addition to getting into persona basics, probe deeper and ask them the following:

  • What’s holding you back from moving in now?
  • What amenities or services would make you consider moving sooner?
  • What concerns do you have about independent living communities?

PRO TIP: If you have a waitlist, create focus groups with the people on it. Focus on folks in their mid-to-late 60s through early 70s.

From there, develop four main types of personas.

Create separate personas for each of them. Yes, the messaging can and will overlap, but taking the time to do this work up front will help with content creation, lead scoring, and lead nurturing.

You’ll likely be talking to a combination of the following:

  1. Couples (married or unmarried partners)
  2. Solo agers (never married, no kids)
  3. Single adult woman (widowed or divorced, with or without kids)
  4. Single adult man (widowed or divorced, with or without kids)

Develop messaging and marketing assets that will resonate with each persona.

Younger boomers tend to respond to more aspirational messaging highlighting the benefits of independent living while addressing the fear of missing out (FOMO).

  • Messaging should be positive and forward-looking. Focus on the excitement of new experiences, friendships, and opportunities within the community. Campaigns should create urgency (“What are you waiting for?”) while contrasting life at home with the vibrant lifestyle of a senior living community.
  • Social proof is key. Testimonial videos and reviews should showcase real residents who made the move and never looked back. Persona-driven social media campaigns can highlight different interests (pet lovers, foodies, fitness enthusiasts, artists) to show prospects that their “tribe” is already thriving in the community.
  • Balance emotion with logic. Behavioral science has taught us that people make decisions for emotional reasons but then rationalize their reasons with logic. The above points cover the emotional aspects. But don’t forget to reinforce why moving in now is a smart choice—financially, socially, and for long-term well-being.
  • Content formats should be dynamic and engaging. Include video tours, floor plans, photo galleries, event highlights, testimonials, and even TikTok videos and Instagram Stories/Reels to bring the community to life.

By using relatable storytelling, social validation, and compelling visuals, content can help younger boomers see themselves thriving in the community and take action sooner.

Don’t forget to create separate campaigns for each persona you’re targeting.

Because each persona will have unique needs (for example, consider the solo ager compared to the married couple), you’ll want to create separate campaigns for each.

But remember that campaigns for each persona will each have integrated components. For example, your campaign for the solo ager might include print, email, social media, and PPC ads that reinforce the same messaging for that particular persona.

Need help with your baby boomer marketing?

Listen, we get it: There’s a lot to think about. Our senior living marketing agency can help. Get in touch, and let’s discuss how to convert more boomers to tours and move-ins.

Use Traditional Marketing

Use Traditional Marketing to Build Community Awareness

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While most prospects find senior living communities through digital sources (like organic search and paid ads), other more “traditional” marketing tactics can still be critical during this all-important “find” stage.

The primary purpose of these traditional tactics is not to generate leads but to make people aware that your community exists.

Remember, prospects and adult children often live within a small radius of your community. Effective signage, a presence in the local media, and a strong local referral network can help people become familiar with your community’s name long before they search Google.

Below, we dive into several ways to build brand awareness in senior living via these more traditional marketing tactics:

  • Local media
  • Referral networks
  • Direct mail
  • On-site and off-site events
  • Grassroots marketing

Local media

The target demo for senior living still reads local newspapers, magazines, and publications. The messaging for print ad campaigns or paid advertorials (a popular staple in weekly and monthly publications) should highlight services and reviews. For the call-to-action (CTA), you can experiment with “Schedule a tour” or “Attend our [fill in the blank]” (like a book club; events do exceptionally well in these campaigns).

Consistency is key when building awareness. You can’t run a few ads and expect immediate results. Success requires sustained effort over time.

Speaking of results, they can be subtle and difficult to measure. Consistent messaging often registers subconsciously: “Didn’t I see an ad for that in the newspaper?” “I think I drive by that place on my way to work; I remember seeing a sign.” “Oh, that’s where we donated school supplies last fall.” These small connections gradually build familiarity and trust.

Print ads are especially important for communities going through transitions, like lease-ups, acquisitions, or changes in management.

We recommend running half-page or quarter-page ads every month. Use a combination of evergreen content, such as resident spotlights, testimonials, and “Did you know?” facts, along with any upcoming community events. CTAs should be relevant to the content (learn more, call today, save your seat), and any URLs or phone numbers should include tracking for proper attribution.

Referral networks

For needs-based senior living (assisted living and memory care), prospects often “find” a community through a direct referral from a professional contact such as a discharge planner, social worker, physician, home care provider, adult day care center, or geriatric care manager.

Independent Living prospects might seek counsel from trusted advisors, such as elder law attorneys, financial professionals, spiritual advisors, and realtors, since their decision is more planned.

Building a professional referral network requires time and a collaborative approach. However, the investment is worth it, as these referrals tend to have the highest closing rate at the lowest price.

Direct mail

Today, you can buy direct mail lists that go beyond age, income, and zip code. You can now source highly targeted lists to include parameters like health criteria, diagnosis, and household demographics.

For example, providers needing to generate leads for memory care can buy a list of contacts within the community’s radius and include other qualifying income and asset criteria related to dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

The three essential components of an effective direct mail campaign include:

  • The quality and accuracy of your list (refresh your mailing list yearly)
  • The demographics (for example, health status, persona, financials, age)
  • The offer. Make it compelling! Think visually appealing design and an engaging message and CTA.

Including a QR code, vanity URL, or call tracking number will help measure each campaign’s ROI.

On-site and off-site events

A combination of various events—social, educational, networking, and community—can help attract different audiences at different decision stages.

Early-stage prospects in the awareness/research stage might be more comfortable attending an off-site event at a restaurant, library, church, or country club rather than booking a tour in your community. Dine & Discover, Lunch & Learn, and speaker/author events work well for these folks.

Prospects in consideration and decision stages are more likely to attend on-site events, such as educational programs (financial, legal, downsizing), open houses, Parade of Homes, support groups, and social events.

Grassroots marketing

Grassroots marketing is all about building meaningful connections within the community. Joining local chambers of commerce, donating to organizations like Toys for Tots, food pantries, or Meals on Wheels, and supporting school supply drives are excellent ways to establish awareness. Offering event space for community gatherings, hosting health fairs, and organizing immunization clinics further solidify your presence as a trusted and engaged community partner.

Yes, it is possible to get move-ins from hosting Girl Scout meetings, piano recitals, bridge groups, and even The Happy Hookers (get your mind out of the gutter—we’re talking about a knitting circle!).

Most of these tactics are outbound marketing—and that’s OK.

By “outbound,” we mean that the messaging is reaching a broad audience, most of whom haven’t expressed a need or interest in senior living. The common denominator is that the members of this audience live or work locally.

The hope is they will see your sign, print ad, or postcard or remember your outreach when there is an opportunity to refer. The lead volume for these tactics will be much lower (again, the goal is awareness, not lead generation). However, the closing ratio tends to be much higher in the long run. Senior living has a long sales cycle, and advancing prospects from awareness to close involves a multi-touchpoint and attribution strategy.

Weave these tactics into one comprehensive marketing strategy for senior living.

Do you need help putting all the pieces together and seamlessly executing various tactics? We can help. Get in touch to discuss your community’s marketing strategy.

Marketing Strategy for Senior Living

Marketing Strategy for Senior Living: A SMARTER Approach

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An effective marketing strategy for senior living begins with defining your business objectives and integrating them into your brand, growth, and resident (post-sale) strategies.

Below, we briefly explore each area, resulting in a blueprint you and your team can follow.

Strong business objectives build a strong foundation for your marketing strategy for senior living.

Every effective marketing strategy starts with well-defined business objectives. These objectives guide all subsequent decisions and ensure your efforts align with your community’s overarching goals.

growth-brand-resident-strategies

For senior living, objectives might include . . .

  • Breaking up with aggregators or reducing your reliance on them for lead generation
  • Attracting the “younger senior” with less acuity/frailty
  • Extending lengths of stay
  • Shortening the sales cycle

When developing your business objectives, focus on specifics and concrete figures.

Using the above list as an example, here’s what those concrete figures might look like:

  • Reduce dependence on aggregators by 30%
  • Bring the average age of new residents down from 82 to 78
  • Extend the length of stay in independent living from five years to seven years
  • Shorten the sales cycle for assisted living from six months to four months

Keep these objectives in mind when developing your brand, growth, and resident strategies.

Weave a killer brand strategy into your overall marketing strategy.

The goal is to create and maintain a strong brand identity that resonates with prospects, residents, and referral partners and helps differentiate your community from the sea of sameness.

Key components of a brand strategy include:

  • Your “why”: Clarify your community’s purpose and mission. What drives your team’s passion for serving seniors?
  • Ideal Client (Resident) Profile (ICP): Think of your best residents. They are your ICP. Does your website speak to your ideal resident, or is it trying to be everything to everyone?
  • Value proposition and unique selling proposition (USP). Your value proposition is how prospects benefit if they choose your community. (Think of it like this: What’s in it for them if they move in?) Your USP is that special something-something that makes your community different from your competitors.
  • Brand identity: Develop consistent messaging and visuals to establish trust and recognition.

Develop a growth strategy focused on driving new opportunities.

A growth strategy focuses on attracting, capturing, nurturing, and converting leads. The goal is to create a seamless journey for potential residents from awareness to decision-making.

Here’s a breakdown of essential growth elements:

  • Attraction: Use your website, social media, and other channels to increase targeted traffic and generate interest. Showcase testimonials, reviews, and affiliations to foster trust.
  • Lead capture: Implement tools like landing pages, forms, and calls-to-action to capture visitor information.
  • Lead nurture: Use marketing automation, personalized content, and other tactics to build relationships with leads over time.
  • Lead conversion: Leverage marketing technology (martech) to streamline the sales process and track key performance indicators (KPIs), such as:
    • Marketing-qualified lead (MQL) to sales-qualified lead (SQL))
    • SQL to tour
    • Tour to deposit or tour to move-in
  • Prospect re-engagement: For leads that get stuck in the pipeline, use digital retargeting with paid ads, targeted workflows to advance MQLs/pre-tour leads, and targeted workflows to nudge post-tour leads that have stalled. You can also use a workflow to re-engage leads sitting in the “cold” and “lost but not disqualified” status in the CRM. (We have effective workflows for all of these scenarios.)

Don’t stop once you close a prospect.

Post-sale strategies are just as critical as pre-sale efforts. By prioritizing resident experience, you can boost retention and strengthen your reputation, leading to more organic growth.

In fact, senior living professional Jamison Gosselin conducted a survey that revealed personal referrals (like friends and family) had a ton of influence on those learning about specific retirement communities (this was cited by 52% of respondents). Building an intentional customer strategy that fosters brand ambassadors will lead to increased referrals (and these leads tend to have the highest conversion rate).

Key elements to keep in mind during the post-sale stage include:

  • Onboarding plan: Moving is stressful. To make it easier for new residents to move in, provide valuable resources for downsizing, packing, choosing a mover, and planning for move-in day.
  • Welcome program: The first 30 days can make or break a new resident. Develop a new resident welcome program that’s as special on day one as it is on day 30.
  • Retention plan: Never stop delighting residents. Keeping residents happy will reduce turnover while creating new brand ambassadors.
  • Referral program: Develop a referral program that makes it easy for happy residents and their families to refer others to your community.

Bring it all together in one comprehensive marketing strategy for senior living.

Do you need help putting all the pieces together and seamlessly executing various tactics? We can help. Get in touch to discuss your community’s marketing strategy.

Fresh Ideas For Planning Events That Drive Traffic & Generate Leads

Marketing Events for Senior Living: Fresh Ideas That Drive Leads

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Editor’s note: We updated this article on 12/17/24 to shift away from pandemic-related suggestions..

Well-planned marketing events for senior living communities can generate qualified leads, re-engage stalled prospects, and create opportunities to develop new professional contacts and nurture existing relationships.

On the other hand, poorly executed events can be a big waste of time and money.

How can you make sure you’re putting together events that deliver excellent ROI? Here are three types we recommend: educational events, social events, and community events.

Educational events: Show that you’re an expert and a resource

Educational senior living marketing events will help position you as a trusted advisor and valued resource. Below are some topics and themes to consider.

  • Author Visit. Many authors do book tours, both in-person and virtual For in-person events, the author can speak and bring books for purchase and signing.
  • Downsizing/ Transitions. Invite real estate pros and downsizing experts for a lunch & learn series.
  • Financial Solutions. Same idea as above. Your community hosts experts for a casual lunch. Think VA benefits, life insurance conversion, and long-term care.
  • Memory Care Topics. Again, hold lunch & learn sessions on popular topics like brain fitness, education, research, driving, and dementia.
  • Support Groups. Ideas include caregiver support groups, Alzheimer’s support groups, men’s groups, bereavement groups, etc.
  • Continuing Education Units (CEUs). Do this in your community or bring your program to a local hospital or skilled nursing facility.

Social events: Be social and show off your community’s fun side

Give prospective residents and their families a taste of what your community is like by inviting them to attend social events and fun activities. Here are some ideas:

  • Art classes. Paint and sip nights can be a fun way to get people to mingle, and the prospective resident gets to bring home artwork that will remind them of your community.
  • Fitness classes. Offer day passes to your most popular classes.
  • Networking. Think breakfasts, lunch, cocktail receptions, martini mixer etc.
  • Dash & Dine. Stop by for a tour or event and take home dinner on us!
  • Brunch. Ideas include champagne, jazz, holiday, and Mother/Father’s Day.
  • Senior/Senior Prom with local high school (Star Dust Prom).
  • Holiday/ Special Day Socials / BBQs. Think of all the possibilities: Valentine’s Day, Saint Patrick’s Day, Mother/ Father’s/ Grandparent’s Day . . . and that’s just the beginning. You could focus on a silly day like National Hot Dog Day (third Wednesday in July). Invite a hot dog stand to set up shop on the premises and invite people from nearby towns to come by for hot dogs and ice cream on you.
  • Chef demonstrations. What better way to give people a sense of the food and menu options than by having your chef demo one of their top dishes or specialties (like cake decorating).
  • Fashion Show. Collaborate with a local store and use staff, residents, family, or professionals as models.

Community Events: Grass roots and local community

  • Host spiritual groups. Think parish nurses, Stephen Ministries, non-denominational meetings, or meetings with rabbis, pastors, priests, etc.
  • Host seniors’ groups. Think Red Hat Society, senior centers, and other related groups.
  • Host art shows for local schools/ artists or resident art
  • Host piano recitals for local teachers if you have a piano
  • Dinner & a movie if you have a theater
  • Sponsor a community yard sale
  • Host fundraisers. Consider fundraisers around the annual Alzheimer’s Walk or Prostate Cancer Awareness Month in September.
  • Sponsor a community health fair with free screenings
  • Host community group car wash (for example, for the local high school)
  • Host a variety/ talent show
  • Wreath/ miniature tree decorating – referral sources and families buy a wreath or tree and decorate it (usually with a theme) and raffle them off for charity at a social event.

Bonus: More great marketing events for senior living communities

Need help coming up with ideas? Get in touch and let’s discuss how events can fit into your marketing strategy.

Why All Senior Living Websites Need To Have a Blog & Premium Content

The Benefits of a Senior Living Blog & Premium Content

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Even as we sit here in 2020, it still amazes us the resistance we occasionally encounter when we tell people they should have a senior living blog and offer premium content (e.g., free guides, infographics, checklists, ebooks, etc.).

So let’s explain our rationale once and for all.

1. Senior living blog posts and premium content provide additional opportunities to attract people to your site and engage them with helpful info.

The more paths you can give people to enter and explore your website, the better. And that’s precisely what premium content and senior living blog posts do.

Remember, most people begin their shopping online these days. A basic 10-page or 20-page senior living website isn’t enough to cover all the information people are searching for. But every blog post you write is considered a website page. Every landing page you have for a free download, like a guide or infographic, is considered a page. And ALL of these pages are excellent ways to help attract site visitors and convert them into leads.

Google also likes a deeper website with lots of helpful info: “If your pages contain useful information, their content will attract many visitors and entice webmasters to link to your site.”

2. Blog posts and premium content provide a great opportunity for long-tail keyword optimization.

A long-tail keyword is one that’s hyper specific, but doesn’t have a ton of monthly searches. That’s OK, because the specificity of the search term often indicates someone’s eagerness to buy sooner rather than later. For example, someone searching on “yellow sneakers women wide width size 8” indicates a certain level of interest beyond someone who simply googles “women’s sneakers.”

Armed with a solid list of long-tail keywords relevant to senior living, you can optimize your blog and premium content so that it helps capture the people conducting these long-tail searches.

3. Blog posts and premium content can speak to a specific point in the buyer’s journey—and to different buyers.

Some of your core pages—like your home page—need to speak to everyone. It’s the home page, after all. It needs to be welcoming to everyone who lands on it, regardless of who they are or where they are in their journey.

But a guide that that discusses the differences between independent living and assisted living is speaking to someone earlier in their journey. The one-sheet on your community’s pricing is speaking to buyer who is in the decision making stage.

Having different types of content that speak to different types of buyers at different points in their journey is not only helpful to your prospects, but also your marketing and sales teams. How? Well, marketing and sales will be able to score the leads appropriately based on the types of blog posts and premium content the prospects read and download.

In the example we used earlier, the person learning about independent living and memory care would be a marketing-qualified lead (MQL) since they’re still in the educational stages, while the person who requested pricing would be a sales-qualified lead (SQL).

4. Blogs and premium content allow you the space to dive deep into complex questions.

Think of the most common questions people ask about senior living. Do a quick answer on your FAQs page. But go into a deeper explanation in a blog post or guide.

5. Blogs and premium content give you a great place to show your community’s personality and unique point of view.

In a previous article, we mentioned that one of the challenges facing senior living communities is that most (if not all) are essentially selling the same thing—and your core web pages won’t differ too much from competitors’ web pages.

But with a blog and other premium content, you can begin to differentiate yourself simply by how you talk and the approach you take to common questions (or objections/challenges).

In fact, we’d argue that more and more senior living communities need to get into this “personality-driven” content. Write a blog post on a day in the life of your…activities director, nurse practitioner, head of dining, you get the idea. Include candid photos and real quotes. Or create a guide on “How 3 Real Families Helped Ease Their Parents’ Angst About Moving into Our Community.”

THAT’S the type of content people won’t see anywhere else because it’s unique to your community. It’s honest, and it tackles the stuff that’s in the back of so many people’s heads.

The communities that start producing truly original, heartfelt, honest content are the communities that will succeed the most this decade—and a blog and premium content are a great way to disseminate this sort of material.

Need fresh ideas for your blog or premium content?

Let’s brainstorm together for 30 minutes!

content marketing

Using Content Marketing to Generate More Leads, Tours, & Move-Ins

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Content marketing, when done correctly, can help you attract and convert website visitors into qualified leads, scheduled tours, and move-ins.

But what content should you create? Most people immediately say “blog posts.” While blogs are a great tool to improve SEO, increase traffic, and engage visitors, you need to do more than simply “blog” if you want to generate leads, tours, and move-ins.

1. Invest in Premium Content Marketing

Your site probably has lots of ungated content, meaning people can access it without giving you their info. Your blog posts are examples of ungated content.

But offering premium content—something people can’t get anywhere else that is “gated” behind a form—motivates visitors to give you their contact information in exchange for the valuable content. From there, you can continue to nurture the prospects along their sales journey. So what should the premium content be? Think guides, e-books, “how-to” articles, and checklists.

A good place to promote your premium content is through a call-to-action (CTA) at the end of a blog post (e.g., “Get our free guide on aging well!”). The blog posts are the bait, your prospects are the fish, and the premium content serves as the hook.

Keep in mind that it’s important to have a variety of premium content because prospects will “bite” on different content based on their stage of readiness and interests.

2. Create Stellar Landing Pages

Your landing page is where the premium content “lives.” This the “gate” part in gated content. The landing page should include:

  • An image of the premium content – so work with a graphic designer on a beautiful cover!
  • A compelling description of what the prospect will learn – so work with a copywriter!
  • A form to gather contact information in exchange for receiving the content. If you want to be sure to gather real emails, distribute the content to prospects via email rather than direct download.

Don’t overwhelm prospects with too many required fields! This is a first date, so simply ask for first and last name and email address. In terms of how to create and host landing pages, we recommend HubSpot because they offer progressive profiling so you can ask additional questions with every opt-in form. As prospects take more premium content, you get more information such as preferred location, their role, and desired lifestyle.

Remember, marketing’s job is to “plate up” sales-qualified leads (SQLs) to the sales team. Each landing page represents a piece of content related to the sales funnel. Your sales team will be especially interested in prospects who opt into content that indicates they’re sales-ready. And by knowing what content the SQL has downloaded, your sales team can have a more productive conversation when they talk to the prospect on the phone or meet face-to-face.

3. Set Up Effective Senior Living Marketing Automation to Nurture Leads

Congratulations, you took an anonymous website visitor and converted them to a lead – great! Now, it’s time to nurture these leads to create face-to-face or voice-to-voice interactions with the sales team.

However, if you reel in the fish too quickly, it will get spooked and drop off the line. That is what happens when you send every lead directly into your CRM. Instead, use a marketing automation platform that will create automated workflows to provide additional content and offers (e.g., tours, lunches, home visits, events) that are relevant to the lead based on the “bait” that reeled them in.

For example, if someone downloads a piece of educational content on tips for aging well, this suggests they are at the top of the sales funnel and perhaps just beginning to learn about senior living options. How you nurture them will be a lot different from the way you nurture someone who’s downloaded a guide on how to finance different senior living arrangements.

If you follow these three steps, you will establish your brand as a thought leader and you’ll continue to bring prospects back to your website throughout their journey. Best of all? You’ll be serving up SQLs that your sales team can take across the finish line.

If you need assistance setting up these systems, please contact us or call 888.620.9832.