- Senior Living SMART

Senior Living Marketing Perspectives: How the Pandemic has affected the Senior Living Industry

October 12, 2020/in Podcasts/by Debbie Howard

Topics Discussed and Key Points:

How Scott’s passion for senior living led to the founding of Senior Living Growth Advisors and his podcast
The impact of COVID-19 on Senior Living Growth Advisors
How the pandemic affected design in the senior living communities, both existing and in development
Adapting to restrictions and other lifestyle changes brought about by social distancing measures
Emerging technologies operators are using to redefine the senior living experience

Episode Summary:

In today’s episode, Debbie speaks with Scott McCorvie, President of Senior Living Growth Advisors, and host of The Inner Circle of Senior Living podcast. With 15 years of experience in the senior care space under their belt, Senior Living Growth Advisors assists everyone from owners to developers to investors to operators in optimizing their platform and achieving their desired growth success. Scott’s podcast is dedicated to providing value to the senior living investment industry by hosting discussions and interviews with experts and thought leaders in the field.

Scott believes that the senior living industry has remained resilient in the face of the pandemic and the impact it has had to the economy for the past several months. Investment and development projects have been put on hold and due diligence for acquisitions are delayed. On the other hand, Scott has seen more action in the asset management department as organizations adapt and even innovate amid the various challenges.

To remain competitive, independent living facilities had to have over 50% of their space dedicated to common usage or amenities. This can include anything from movie theaters, libraries, exercise rooms and yoga studies, to even woodworking. But it is those communities whose facilities are expertly designed who have the greatest edge over others who have activity rooms in place but receive little engagement from residents.

Scott recommends, particularly for those communities still in development, to establish centrally located, multipurpose common areas that, on the same day, can be reorganized from a lecture hall into an exercise studio. Marketing a senior living community, after all, is showing off a potential “lifestyle upgrade”, and that impression is sold if prospects can see a thriving, activity-filled space.

In addition to adding infrastructure to bolster the health and safety of residents, especially during the pandemic, Scott says that Innovating the senior living experience also relies on improving engagements between caregivers and residents. This can be accomplished through such implementations as voice-activated technologies which make communication more efficient, or TV screens which display the day’s activities or messages from staff and fellow residents. There are many ways to improve the senior living experience, but Scott encourages operators to be particularly bullish on leveraging as much technology as possible to increase resident engagement.

Links:

Email: [email protected]

www.srgrowth.com

Senior Living Marketing Perspectives: Mom’s House- Connecting Families Selling their Senior Parent’s Homes with Buyers

October 7, 2020/in Podcasts/by Debbie Howard

Topics Discussed and Key Points:

The motivation to create Mom’s House
How Mom’s House’s certified home buyers save families’ time and money
Growing the Mom’s House network of home buyers and senior living communities

Episode Summary:

In today’s episode, Debbie speaks with Ben Rao, Co-Founder of Mom’s House, a platform which connects certified home buyers with families who are in the process of selling their senior parent’s house. Mom’s House is known today as “the nation’s largest senior home buyer network”.

At some point during Ben’s career as a real estate investor, he got connected to the founders of Family Solutions for Care, which “indoctrinated” him into the senior space. He realized through this partnership that it is a common problem among families to not have the support of an insurance company as they look to enter a care community. It so happened that Ben was also connected with a real estate investor focused on the senior space, who did over 50 transactions a year through referrals alone. The two teamed up to discuss how to fill this gap in the market, leading to the founding of Mom’s House.

Many families lack the resources and knowledge to get a house listed when it is time for their senior members to move into a care community. Hiring a real estate agent is often their only option, and even in this case it takes around four to six months to finally sell the house. That is, if the family is able to shoulder unexpected expenses and prepare for potential delays throughout those months. Mom’s House changes the game by connecting home buyers certified by the company around the country to these families. Buyers then make an offer to buy the house for cash and close the deal in less than 30 days.

Links:

Mom’s House

Senior Living Marketing Perspectives: Re-imagining Marketing Strategies in Senior Living Following COVID-19

October 1, 2020/in Podcasts/by Debbie Howard

Topics Discussed and Key Points:

How senior living providers can change their marketing strategy following the impact of COVID-19
Reframing the message of an industry under fire by mainstream media during the pandemic
Why websites should not limit their assurances regarding COVID-19 to a single page
Tips on using visual materials such as infographics to improve a brand’s messaging
Differentiating your assisted living facility from a nursing home

Episode Summary:

In today’s episode, Debbie speaks with Jeannette McClennan, Co-Founder and President of McClennan Masson and co-author of the book Innovators Anonymous (2018).

Asked how senior living providers can change their marketing strategy in the wake of COVID-19, Jeannette notes that universities are facing deep occupancy issues not unlike those of the senior housing industry.

There are five factors that universities are focusing on which senior living providers can adopt in order to “reimagine” the industry during these turbulent times: occupancy strategy, testing, temp checks, scientific counsel, and communications strategy. The goal is to raise the comfort level of parents as they look to bring their children onto campus, just as adult children who are finding a home for their aging parents need assurance.

Another observable connection between universities and the senior housing industry is the need to shift marketing strategies and budgets to digital. It is “an opportunity to reinvent your brand and switch up your messaging” to adapt to current challenges.

The senior living industry has gotten a bad rap lately in the media. It is important to reframe the message in a way that is authentic yet direct; comforting yet truthful. Jeannette recommends “overcommunicating in advance” to nip fear and doubt in the bud as opposed to doing damage control after the fact.

Style of communication is also key. It is important to “personalize the message down to the individual”, which is best accomplished via a storytelling format using video featuring authority figures. Jeanette recommends providing a personalized, gamified experience for them on your website to bolster familiarity and trust.

Finally, communities should involve the adult children in their messaging, not just the potential residents, in order to get everyone comfortably on board in making this critical decision.

Addressing COVID-19 should go beyond a single webpage. It requires a complete rethinking of the business’s message. “How do you express safety unique to your brand? Demonstrate it throughout your experience, including through your social presence.”

Links:

McClennan Masson

Innovators Anonymous

Exterior Rendering of Traditions of Mill Creek by Vitality Senior Living

Senior Living Marketing Leaps Into Digital Age With Innovations, Investments

September 9, 2020/0 Comments/in In the News/by Debbie Howard

Excerpt:

Before Covid-19, providers commonly treated their digital presences and social media channels almost as afterthoughts. Over the past six months, however, these platforms have become essential to operations. Much like demand for telehealth services has exploded during the Covid-19 outbreak and could have long-lasting effects on how clinical services are delivered in senior living, the pandemic may have finally ushered in the digital age of senior living sales and marketing.

Tours have gone virtual as providers restricted access to communities to non-essential personnel. Marketing campaigns are increasingly balancing selling the lifestyle that senior living offers with transparency regarding resident safety. Digital campaign spending is growing, and providers are using websites and social media channels to interact more with resident families and prospective residents, and capture information to generate new leads.

With that comes new challenges. The growing importance of digital marketing is resulting in higher provider spends, and digital advertising companies are beginning to charge higher rates for ad placements.

Some providers are now seeking a new balance between increasing digital spending and updating websites to capture visitor information, generate leads and convert those into move-ins.

“We’ve probably seen more innovation in the last six months than we have in the last 10 years of senior living marketing,” Senior Living SMART CEO Deborah Howard told SHN.

Full story from Senior Housing News →

Senior Living Marketing Perspectives: Learn about SMASH- The Senior Marketing and Sales Summit

September 4, 2020/in Podcasts/by Debbie Howard

Topics Discussed and Key Points:

The origin of the SMASH conference
How SMASH has evolved over the years
Topics to expect at SMASH 2020
Lead generation, conversion, and management during and after COVID-19
Reimagining sales and marketing in the new normal
Interacting with prospects with virtual tools

Episode Summary:

In today’s episode, Debbie speaks with Bailey Beeken, President of Senior Care Events and the Founder of SMASH—the Senior Care Marketing and Sales Summit.

Bailey discusses the concept behind SMASH, which was established in 2013. This series of conferences brings together C-level executives in the senior living industry, “curat[ing] the best of the best in leading edge marketing and sales.”

In its first year, the conversation was around social media and other branding platforms such as websites and how they can be used to market the company. In the following year, the focus shifted towards content creation and digital advertising for driving leads to these platforms. A couple of years ago, the primary topic became data management and how to create budgets and strategies around it. This year’s conference set for October 19-21 will go into considerations and best practices in a post-COVID-19 world.

With fewer leads coming in and heavy criticism from the media during these uncertain times, Bailey acknowledges that it is time for the senior living industry to “throw out the old playbook” and lead with purpose by “spending 80% of the time nurturing the 20%”. Communities must tailor their messaging around concerns regarding health, safety, and family by producing content at a cadence that is appropriate to the current climate. “We really have to reimagine the entire prospect journey and recreate all of those in-person activities [online],” agrees Debbie.

It is important for organizations to take advantage of virtual tools to connect and strengthen their relationships with families. “People are going to have to act with urgency. It is not just about getting revenue. The first movers will win here. They will not have all the answers, but they are willing to experiment. […] We have a lot of work to do to counter the message that has been told this past year and everybody has to get onboard with that.”

Links:

SMASH 2020

Phone: (917) 572-1118

Email: [email protected]