Today I had the pleasure of talking with executive directors and marketing directors of assisted living facilities at the annual Mass. Assisted Living Facilities Association Conference. And I got to walk the floor of the exhibit hall and be “marketed to.”
Unlike many industries, assisted living facilities and nursing homes start at a tough place. Older people are angry that they need to move, their children are nervous and skeptical about the facilities’ marketing claims (and emotionally fraught from trying to help an angry parent). Plus just a little online research turns up scary articles like this one in Smart Money, “The 10 Things Your Assisted Living Facility Won’t Tell You.”
When a prospect’s context is one of distrust and skepticism the worst marketing approach is to come on as glib and salesy. ” (A got a whiff of that walking the trade show floor.) That canned spiel fosters distrust in a business where the only thing you’re marketing is trust. People really don’t care whether the facility has a pool, and yoga is offered as well as bridge every oFriday. People want a relationship with an organization that they can trust. They’re not buying the facility, they’re buying a relationship.
As we discussed today, that means:
- Offering frank and genuine advice, insights, and perspectives to people. Instead of the usual blah blah about being “committed to fostering an environment of quality, independent living,” tell me that these types of people are usually happy at your facility, but it’s not right for these types. Be honest, be real, help me vs. sell me.
- Sharing the names and contact information of people who have been in similar situations with one of their parents. and have first hand experience with a facility. People rather talk with people like them than a marketing or sales associated.
- Making the commitment to find different kinds of stories, and make those stories the most important part of marketing. I sat down to lunch with some nurses and heard some amazing stories from them in just 15 minutes. I also experienced how passionately and genuinely they feel about their patients. There’s some amazing marketing value in stories like these.
- Asking patients, families, nurses and aids for their ideas on what makes the facility so special. My guess is that they want to be heard, have a say, and would provide invaluable ideas. It’s important here to hear the negative as well as the positive, respectfully acknowledging the negative and learning from it. At the end of the day, the better the patient and family’s experience, the easier the marketing.
- Changing the selling model. Traditional features-and-benefits sales types hurt the industry more than help. Perhaps people with traditional sales backgrounds are the exact profile of people NOT to hire. (Those nurses might be great.)
Applause for these marketing folks who were open-minded and soaking up new ideas today. Theirs is a very difficult job — especially considering the trust hangover from the unscrupulous few who give the industry a really bad image.
All the ideas listed are wonderful. It is true that marketing assisted living homes is all about relationships. You must build a trust with the parties that are showing interest as well as build a close relationship with referrals in your community.
Also, you must deliver quality services that are above and beyond the expectations of any resident. Marketing and sales without quality operations will never succeed. Many operators and marketing directors must remember that quality operations are one of the best ways to market your product. Also, all the staff must be working together on building relationships everyday, maintaining a great environment, and services, not just the marketing team. Remember, everyone in the building is a marketer. Also, sales occur with great relationships and quality operations and environment all working together. If you leave any out, you may not reach your goals.
I am the President of a senior housing consulting organization and have worked in a leadership role in senior housing for approximately 10 years. I have often attended the National Investment Center for Senior Housing & Care Industry conferences held in Washington, DC and Chicago, IL, as well as many other educational events. I am also a speaker on the subject. I have recently spoken at the World Research Group, Senior Housing Owner/Operator Annual Forum in New York City. There is an excellent resource on the web site below regarding this subject. The manual I speak of offers real life practical ideas to apply to your practices every day. It is called Ultimate Operational, Environmental, and Marketing Strategies for Senior Housing. All the ideas listed as responses to your question as well as many more ideas are drafted out in the manual with more detail and the tools needed to get you started. It won’t leave you guessing.
Many people have benefited from this and raised and maintained their census up to 95-98% from a history of about 80%-85%.
It hits this subject directly, and will help you change the culture of your staff and will impress your employer greatly. Although it discusses many other management issues, the marketing concepts and ideas listed are outstanding and worth the purchase alone.
Your organization will compound its return on investment in this manual greatly.
I recommend you use it and then you can pass it to your administrators and executives for the other issues if you wish.
The book can be found at :
http://www.belovedhomesolutions.com/About%20the%20book%202.htm
The home page is http://www.belovedhomesolutions.com
All the ideas listed are wonderful. It is true that marketing assisted living homes is all about relationships. You must build a trust with the parties that are showing interest as well as build a close relationship with referrals in your community.
Also, you must deliver quality services that are above and beyond the expectations of any resident. Marketing and sales without quality operations will never succeed. Many operators and marketing directors must remember that quality operations are one of the best ways to market your product. Also, all the staff must be working together on building relationships everyday, maintaining a great environment, and services, not just the marketing team. Remember, everyone in the building is a marketer. Also, sales occur with great relationships and quality operations and environment all working together. If you leave any out, you may not reach your goals.
I am the President of a senior housing consulting organization and have worked in a leadership role in senior housing for approximately 10 years. I have often attended the National Investment Center for Senior Housing & Care Industry conferences held in Washington, DC and Chicago, IL, as well as many other educational events. I am also a speaker on the subject. I have recently spoken at the World Research Group, Senior Housing Owner/Operator Annual Forum in New York City. There is an excellent resource on the web site below regarding this subject. The manual I speak of offers real life practical ideas to apply to your practices every day. It is called Ultimate Operational, Environmental, and Marketing Strategies for Senior Housing. All the ideas listed as responses to your question as well as many more ideas are drafted out in the manual with more detail and the tools needed to get you started. It won’t leave you guessing.
Many people have benefited from this and raised and maintained their census up to 95-98% from a history of about 80%-85%.
It hits this subject directly, and will help you change the culture of your staff and will impress your employer greatly. It discusses many other management issues which will improve operations. Also the marketing concepts and ideas listed are outstanding and tied with the operational information, this will help immensely.
Your organization will compound its return on investment in this manual greatly.
The book can be found at :
http://www.belovedhomesolutions.com/About%20the%20book%202.htm
The home page is http://www.belovedhomesolutions.com
those are some great tips thanks for the help im looking into this alot right now
You are 100% correct. Building relationships & developing trust are the 2 most important keys in marketing an assisted living facility. A family wants to feel comfortable leaving their loved ones in your hands.
Promote something of ‘value’ and you can even turn a promotion into ‘content’
I have heard the 90/10 rule works best, but the point is, whether its 80/20 or 90/10 or 75/25 doesn’t matter as much as how VALUABLE is the CONTENT you are delivering 
If you follow 99/1 and your 99% content is irrelavant, untimely, and just plain valueless to your readership, you really don’t have a 99/1 ratio 
Thanks for the article and the comments. I am researching the assisted living industry online and in visiting and getting to know the residents, staff, programs, and facilities at a local residential community. I am applying for the sales & marketing vacancy there. My background is in work as pastor, social worker, teacher, substance abuse rehab in a women’s prison, pastoral counselor, registered mediator, and now as senior living planner enrolled in an educational program leading to certified senior advisor. Your comments are both helpful and encouraging because the relationship aspect of business is where my depth is. I am not a businessman as far as numbers, facility development, and acquiring properties is concerned. I believe, as I seem to be hearing here, that I build relationships of empathy, sensitivity, sincerity, advocacy, and reliability; then the dollars will tend to follow. I think most decisions to purchase are built not solely on cold hard facts and numbers, but the way purchasers feel toward those who offer the products and services. Our elderly have reached a vulnerable stage of their lives in a number of ways. They are dependent upon us, as are their children for our acting on their behalf in the best interest of their parents. Proving ourselves worthy of the trust of both senior and family takes place in our genuine personal investment in the well-being of those we serve–in the case of seniors, those who got us here.