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senior living marketing

Senior Living Marketing: The Power of Differentiation

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Marketing a senior living community can be challenging. After all, most communities are essentially selling the same thing. As a result, it can be difficult for consumers to identify the community best suited for their lifestyle and needs.

How can you elevate your senior living marketing to show true differentiation? Read on.

1. Differentiate through technology. Here’s what to keep in mind when evaluating your options.

2. Differentiate through value and price. You could use a “high-end” approach. This caters to the belief that the more costly a product or service is, the more valuable it is. Another option: Position your brand as the provider of high quality at a value price. (Hint: Southwest Airlines does a great job at the latter.)

3. Differentiate through product and services. Convey value by highlighting unique product or service features. For example, how does your dining program compare to local restaurants? How does your resident wellness program compare?

4. Differentiate through customer service. Thanks to the prevalence of online reviews, good customer service will always be important. But exceptional service will elevate your status in the senior living marketplace even more. What are your residents and families saying about you? Do you have a customer service program that creates raving fans?

5. Differentiate through user experience. Senior living communities must build emotional connections through memorable experiences. Remember, there are many transition “points” for residents and families during their stay in your senior living community. How well do you do at these important points in time? Are you eliciting feedback from your residents and following through on what you’ve heard?

Need help creating an unbeatable senior living marketing strategy?

We’ve spent decades working in the industry. Let us help!

 

sales tour

Senior Living Sales Training: What “Funny Farm” Can Teach Us About Tours

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The movie Funny Farm with Chevy Chase should be required viewing as part of senior living sales training. When Andy Farmer and his wife struggle to sell their country home after a not-so-idyllic experience of rural living, they decide to enlist the help of an eclectic cast of characters from the community. Everyone comes together to create the perfect experience for a hot lead with a “scheduled tour.”

Everything is planned down to the most minute detail: from ducks waddling along as prospects arrive to a deer prancing across the yard to the perfectly staged home setting and refreshments. It all unfolds perfectly with the help of the entire town!

Nothing is left to chance. The deer had been caged, and as the “prospects” arrived, Chevy Chase as Andy Farmer gave the command into his radio to waiting helpers to “cue the deer” at just the right moment.

Senior Living Sales Training: How to Create the Perfect Tour Experience

The couple that was “touring” was so taken by the experience. They offered more than the asking price and closed on the spot. And because everything was so perfect, they even wanted all of the furniture, dishes, and even the yellow dog.

A well-planned tour of a senior living community can have the same effect. People want to fall in love with a place that is the “perfect fit.”  When this happens, there is less price sensitivity because the family sees and appreciates the value. I’ve had many situations where the family wants to purchase the entire model apartment because it is so warm and inviting!

Here are some quick tips for how your senior living sales team can create a “Cue The Deer” experience:

1. Do thorough discovery to learn about the prospect’s life story.

The more you know, the more personal of an experience you can create.  Ask about interests, hobbies, careers, military service, favorite foods, books, movies, music, family, routines, “must haves” and “non-negotiables.”

For example, with my mother, the community must serve tea in a teapot. Heaven help the server who shows up with a tea bag in a cup and tries to pour water over it and call it “tea!”

2. Based on this information, plan the tour and use your team. 

The team can execute some easy personal touches, such as having a welcome sign at the reception desk with the prospect’s name, having their favorite refreshments served in the hospitality room, or scheduling a favorite activity during the visit. You get the idea.

3. Have a personalized gift at the end of the tour – something especially for them. 

Some common themes can be kept on hand (tea/ coffee lovers basket, dog/ cat lovers selections, photo books of local towns spiritual books/ journals, etc.). Others can be purchased prior to the visit if it is something specific (like the latest book by a favorite author).

4. Do things that your competitors are not doing!

For instance, put out a valet parking sign in advance of the tour. (If they can’t find a parking spot or have to park far away, you will have your first strike against you.) Meet the tour personally at the car – what a great first impression, right? Have umbrellas and wheelchairs handy. Have cold water on hot days. Serve refreshments in glassware & china, not Styrofoam and paper. Offer homemade goodies. And, finally, walk every visitor out to their car for the final personal touch.

We can help your sales and marketing teams create red carpet tours!

We can also turn your senior living website into a lead generation machine so that you have plenty of great leads to give tours to. Let’s chat about your needs!

pricing strategy

3 Pricing Strategies to Grow Rate, Grow Occupancy – or Both!

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There are many traditional pricing models offered by senior living operators in an effort to grow rate and increase occupancy.  There are no right or wrong answers as long as the strategy is in alignment with your goals.  Generally, pricing strategy is directly related to the stability of occupancy.  With a higher occupancy, operators can push rate. When occupancy declines, incentives may be offered to boost occupancy and that erodes RPU.  The balance is in knowing when to turn the rate and incentive levers and to be flexible and proactive enough to make regular adjustments.  Pricing is not something that operators can do once a year during budget season and then forget about.

Pricing That Offers a Greater Price Range for Prospects without Eroding Rate

Value/ Premium Pricing

This strategy allows a pricing spread throughout the community that offers greater pricing elasticity to meet a wider range of financial options for prospects without eroding rate/ RPU.  Apartments with a premium location (near an elevator, on the first floor, near dining room etc.), premium view or with premium amenities (upgrades, closet space square footage) are priced at higher rates.  Apartments with undesirable locations (end of long hallways, upper floors), undesirable views (parking lot, dumpster, mechanical units) or with a lack of amenities (dark, small, limited closet space) are priced at lower rates.  This strategy allows 3 price points for each apartment type – standard, premium, and value so the overall community still achieves the average rate while offering a greater range of pricing options.

Variable Pricing

Much like paying points on a mortgage, the greater the upfront move-in fee, the lower the monthly base rent.  For example, for every $2000 more paid up front, the resident base rent is reduced by $200.  This gives the community good cash flow up front, and the advantage for the resident is that the investment is paid back within 10 months. Then all future increases are based on the lower rate.

This strategy provides solutions for prospects who:

  • Have good liquidity from the sale of their home or from strong investments, but they do not have much income (they can put up a large move-in fee and buy down their monthly price that is within their income range).
  • Have a strong income, but do not have upfront cash (waiting to sell their home, money tied up in annuities, CDs or other investment).

Companion Living

In addition to “purpose built” companion apartments, this strategy creates companion living apartments out of studio, alcove, and traditionally private one  &  two bedroom apartments.  The companion price is set between 55 – 65% of the private rate for each resident.  It creates a very low price point, which is attractive to residents who would traditionally be financially disqualified.  It provides the community with 110 – 130% of the private rent revenue and two LOCs.

To be successful, the community needs to set up companion model apartments to show how a small space can work for two unrelated residents.  It may also require some form of divider for privacy.

There are probably many other great ideas out there! Are there other creative pricing strategies you have used successfully to balance the growth of both rate and occupancy? Let’s Chat