Archive for the ‘Assisted Living Marketing’ Category
Tuesday, January 4th, 2011 by Chris Rodde
We are pleased to present an exclusive offer to SeniorHomes.com customers. We have partnered with Bild & Company to offer a FREE webinar to help you get the most out of your leads. The webinar is normally $49 but through a special arrangement with Traci Bild, a limited number of SeniorHomes.com customers can attend for free.
Reserve your FREE spot in the webinar today by emailing webinar@seniorhomes.com
Traci Bild
Here is more information about the webinar…
100% Occupancy Is Not a Pipe Dream: Discover Two Proven Sales Tactics You Are Not Utilizing That Will Have an Immediate Impact on Occupancy, Revenue and Investor Return for Your SNF, Independent or Assisted Living Community.
In the last six months, Bild & Company moved 25 senior living communities to 100% occupancy and zero lost revenue days. Another 16 communities entered their Double Digit Club; moving in 10 or more residents in one month. Each and every one of these communities started out challenged. Learn the top two tactics for moving communities to 100% occupancy, zero lost revenue days and experience it for yourself!
This webinar is a must attend event for those sales and admission directors looking to grow their visit to move in conversion in AL to 50%+, IL to 35%+ and SNF to 90%+. Traci will show you, step-by-step, how to book one appointment for every second follow up contact made, what you must do to eliminate the impact of your competitors and how to cut the sales cycle in half; literally! This webinar is not for the light-hearted, but for those looking for concrete ideas that will make a permanent difference in the way sales are handled at the community level. Strong focus will be put on follow up and closing skills.
If you manage one or more sales directors, this event will bring clarity to the big questions you have about occupancy and why it’s not growing. More importantly, you will learn exactly what you can do to turn things around for positive occupancy growth.
Presenter: Traci Bild, Sales Expert to the Senior Housing Industry
Co-Presenter: Chris Rodde, CEO, SeniorHomes.com
Date: Thursday, January 20, 2011 at 1:00 pm EST / 10:00 am PST (1 Hour Webinar, Streaming Live or Dial
In- Your Preference)
Reserve your free spot in the webinar by emailing webinar@seniorhomes.com!
Tags: Assisted Living Marketing
Posted in Assisted Living Marketing, Nursing Home Marketing, Senior Housing Marketing | 2 Comments »
Monday, January 3rd, 2011 by Angela Stringfellow
It’s back to the daily routine for most of the world today, after the busy holiday season has come to an end. But many adults have a new item on their list this week: Searching for care for an aging parent. 
The post-holiday season is a great time for assisted living marketers to improve occupancy rates. Many families who live across the miles will gather together during the holidays, giving adult children and other loved ones a perfect opportunity to monitor the status of a loved one’s independence. Many issues that may go unnoticed by children who live out of town become obvious when several days are spent together under one roof, such as medication compliance, mobility concerns, and memory loss.
Assisted living marketers can begin making a push by publishing a useful checklist for loved ones to utilize to gauge an aging relative’s safety and independence at home on the company’s website. Post it on your company Facebook page and Twitter feed. Often, the need for assisted living or other long-term care doesn’t cross a family’s mind until it becomes blatantly obvious that a loved one is no longer safe to remain in his or her home alone, and some of the more subtle signs of a loss of independence don’t come to mind until they’re pointed out. Think medication non-compliance, expired foods in the refrigerator, and clutter in the home.
So what do adult children do when they come home from a holiday visit with suspicions that an aging parent isn’t safe to live alone any longer? Most of the time, they turn to the internet to search for information to confirm their suspicions. Make sure your checklist and accompanying advice are visible in the search engines by using keyword optimization, social media, a blog post, and even a press release to get the word out.
The next step most consumers take is to search for potential facilities — near where they live or near their family member’s current home. If there are many miles between those locations, the search can be more difficult but is simplified by online directories like SeniorHomes.com, which list senior housing communities in cities across the country. A simple search by city and state brings up dozens of listings, whether you’re searching for assisted living, independent living, or nursing homes.
If you’ve followed the first few steps by offering relevant and timely information and making it visible through online media, but your facility lacks a presence on senior housing directories where many families begin their in-depth search for assisted living, many of those post-holiday leads might land with your competitors.
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Tags: aging parents, lead generation, senior housing
Posted in Assisted Living Marketing, Home Care Marketing, Nursing Home Marketing, Senior Housing Marketing | No Comments »
Sunday, January 2nd, 2011 by Angela Stringfellow
The New York Times reported on December 26, 2010 that while the 18 to 33 age demographic is still predominant among internet usage, older age demographics are rapidly catching up. Adults 45 and over more than doubled their social networking use in the period between December 2008 and May 2010, but the most surprising gain came from adults 74 years and older — this group quadrupled its social networking participation, with 16 percent of adults in this group now actively using social networking. 
A similar report issued in November by AdvertisingAge points out another interesting piece of data: Baby Boomers who are caring for their aging parents are heavier internet users (among social networking sites like Facebook) than their non-caregiving counterparts. Laurel Kennedy, author of “The Daughter Trap” and president of Chicago-based consulting firm Age Lessons, estimates that approximately 15.5 million baby boomers are serving as caregivers out of the 78 million-strong boomer population.
The gender gap is nearly evenly split, with a slight edge towards women (60%, versus 40% men). This group spends an average of 150 minutes each month on social media and visits 70% more pages than the typical internet user. ComScore, which conducted research on behalf of Age Lessons, breaks down the top ten sites among Boomer Caregivers. It’s not surprising that Facebook leads the pack, with a 91 percent reach. Among some online retailer sites (Amazon.com, Target, WalMart), LinkedIn has a 37% reach and Twitter a 21% reach.
One interesting discovery from comScore’s research is that the online review site Yelp has a 30% reach among Boomer Caregivers, beating out Twitter. In our previous posts reporting on assisted living marketing and social networking use, Yelp never entered the conversation as a most-used site for either internet users or marketers. Could this be an untapped resource for senior housing marketers? Possibly, if boomers are using Yelp to read reviews of health and medical providers and not merely to decide what restaurant to visit that evening. Only more in-depth research could tell for sure, but it’s probably worth your time to monitor your presence on Yelp.
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Tags: Baby Boomers, social media, Yelp
Posted in Assisted Living Marketing, Baby Boomers, Home Care Marketing, Nursing Home Marketing, Senior Housing Marketing | No Comments »
Sunday, November 14th, 2010 by Angela Stringfellow
On Tuesday, November 9th, the National Center for Assisted Living released the results of its “2010 Assisted Living Performance Measures Survey,” which found that the majority of assisted living facilities have implemented performance measure procedures to monitor the quality of care and resident and family satisfaction. This study is the first annual collection of data to focus on performance measures. 
Alongside this survey is the Employee Vacancy, Retention, and Turnover Survey, which analyzes workforce stability. One interesting finding from this survey is that the assisted living industry has an overall average retention rate of about 51 percent. Turnover rates among non-certified caregivers, medication aides, and certified nursing assistants range from 44 to 55 percent.
Findings from the Performance Measures Survey are particularly interesting, however, because they detect strong industry trends. For example, the majority of assisted living facilities (98%) are conducting criminal background checks on all new employees. In some states, this is mandatory, but in states in which it is not, it’s certainly a selling point for potential residents.
Other key findings from this innovative report include:
- 91% of assisted living communities measure resident and family satisfaction
- 94% have a licensed nurse available to residents and staff 24 hours per day
- 94% review incident reports for residents
- 85% measure employee satisfaction
Satisfaction surveys are important in assisted living marketing
Most assisted living facilities recognize the importance of measuring the satisfaction of residents, families and employees. Employee satisfaction, while measured by fewer surveyed facilities (85%), has a direct effect on resident satisfaction. Satisfied employees are more invested in their careers and tend to take greater care when performing job duties, leading to residents who feel cared for and have their needs consistently met. It’s as simple as this: If you’re not measuring satisfaction, you can’t have your finger on the root of potential problems, and you lack the tools to make improvements.
Measuring satisfaction is a crucial component of an effective marketing campaign. Regular monitoring will help you identify areas of concern before they become big problems. It will also help you pinpoint the key aspects of life in your community that residents enjoy most, which is an easy way to identify key selling points. What better way to impress potential customers than to provide data from your most recent satisfaction survey indicating that the majority of residents, families, and staff all report high levels of satisfaction?
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Tags: Assisted Living Marketing, quality improvement, resident satisfaction
Posted in Assisted Living Marketing, Senior Housing Marketing, Senior Living News | 1 Comment »
Friday, October 29th, 2010 by Angela Stringfellow
CareNetworks is conducting a Social Media Success Series, a collection of interviews from senior care providers who have achieved positive results from using social media. The first in the series is an interview with Emeritus Senior Living, one of the largest senior living providers in the country with more than 460 assisted living communities serving 43 states. 
As all demographics, even baby boomers and seniors, are embracing social media, it makes sense for senior living providers to research ways for incorporating social media into their overall marketing mix. CareNetwork’s interview with Emeritus’ eMarketing Specialist, Chris Kim, is evidence that social media marketing is effort well spent.
According to Kim, Emeritus first began using social media in June 2009. In the grand scheme of things, they’re still new to the scene, yet they’ve still achieved some impressive results. Rather than use social media to generate leads, they use it to engage their customers. They started by thinking about what information their typical customer is searching for, and leveraged social media as a tool for brand reputation management, an online presence, and to establish the company as an industry authority. As a plus, Kim reports that social media enabled Emeritus to connect with field employees and third-party service providers.
Currently, Emeritus utilizes the following social media initiatives:
- Facebook
- Twitter
- A corporate blog
- LinkedIn
- YouTube
Note in our previous post, Benefits of Social Media Marketing (which reported on findings from the 2010 Social Media Marketing Industry Report), that Emeritus has focused the majority of their social media efforts on the top five venues indicated by this study. The company continues to build out a robust resource of health and caregiving glossaries, guides, and tutorials (even video tutorials are in the works) on its corporate website for residents, potential customers, their families, and providers. The company’s resources also provided useful content that was used to engage customers on social media profiles.
Here are a few tips Kim offers senior living executives for ramping up social media efforts:
- Keep your content current and updates timely — keep your customers abreast of what’s happening in your facility
- Don’t just post content; instead, ask for feedback and opinions
- Add some flavor. Run a contest, link to other relevant — and fun — resources, like quizzes, and ask fans to post their scores
Read the full interview on the CareNetworks blog
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Tags: Emeritus Senior Living, social media marketing
Posted in Assisted Living Marketing, Home Care Marketing, Nursing Home Marketing, Senior Housing Marketing | No Comments »
Friday, October 29th, 2010 by Stuart Grinnell
In 1994, family caregivers were first recognized during National Family Caregivers Week. President Clinton was the first to honor caregivers as a month-long celebration, signing the first proclamation declaring November National Family Caregivers Month. Every year since, the American President in office has declared November a month to recognize the challenges, struggles, and tremendous sacrifice millions of family caregivers provide every day. 
The National Family Caregivers Association (NFCA) coordinates National Family Caregivers month each year. More than 65 million Americans serve as family caregivers, making them part of a large group of caring and compassionate individuals who strive to meet the needs of aging parents or disabled loved ones every day, yet many members of this population continue to feel isolated and alone.
To help caregivers cope with the daily challenges and emotional toll that caregiving can take, NFCA has created a community comprised of caregivers and volunteers to offer education and support as well as a sense of community among this remarkable group. National Family Caregivers Month serves to both recognize caregivers and to promote education and support resources available to caregivers. Membership in NFCA is free to all family caregivers and provides access to the association’s resource library, which includes helpful information including:
- A home healthcare primer
- Care management tips and techniques
- Advice on improving doctor/caregiver communications
- Medication management
- Tips on choosing assisted living facilities or nursing homes, or other senior housing
- Stress reduction
- Action checklists
- And much more
National Family Caregivers Month is celebrated community-wide, with healthcare providers and community organizations taking an active role in the promotion of the event and recognizing caregivers. Those wanting to get involved can participate in a number of ways, including displaying National Family Caregivers Month posters in their places of business, offering support groups for family caregivers in the community, hosting a caregivers workshop with resources and information, or simply by telling caregivers they know about the benefits of joining NFCA.
Visit the NFCA website to learn more about National Family Caregivers Month and ways you can get involved.
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Tags: National Family Caregivers Association, National Family Caregivers Month
Posted in Aging, Assisted Living Marketing, Home Care Marketing, Nursing Home Marketing, Senior Housing Marketing, Senior Living News | No Comments »
Wednesday, October 27th, 2010 by Jacqui Tom
On October 26, 2010, 125 executives from senior living companies and related organizations convened in Alexandria, Virginia, to discuss the future of senior living in America. Rick Grimes, President and CEO of ALFA, says of the event, “There is a lot of interest by senior living executives to find ways to better serve seniors and their families and collaborate with their staff to promote excellence at their companies.” 
Participants were given the opportunity to share knowledge with fellow leaders, participate in discussions and roundtables, and attend presentations. Discussions and roundtables focused on solutions to the following challenges:
- Staff recruitment and retention
- Economic impacts and how government involvement will affect the industry
- Challenges of longer lifespans and needs for diverse types of assistance
- Forming collaborative relationships with adjuct industries, such as hospice providers, pharmacies, and rehab centers
- Changes to employee benefits as a result of health care reform
Tom Donohue, president and CEO of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, spoke to participants at a luncheon on how a changed political landscape would have eventual impacts on the senior living industry. In addition, the President’s Council, comprised of a representatives from companies serving the senior living industry, gathered for an industry update and discussed possibilities for aiding ALFA in its mission to advance the future of senior living.
Read the ALFA press release.
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Tags: ALFA, senior living
Posted in Assisted Living Marketing, Home Care Marketing, Nursing Home Marketing, Senior Housing Marketing, Senior Living News | 2 Comments »
Monday, October 11th, 2010 by Angela Stringfellow
MetLife’s “The MetLife Report on Early Boomers: How America’s Leading Edge Baby Boomers Will Transform Aging, Work & Retirement” suggests that the oldest Boomers will forego the traditional leisure-filled retirement in order to continue working — possibly indefinitely. Many Boomers are struggling under debt from putting children through college, others have suffered financial setbacks through the economic crisis, some have purchased second homes, and due to a longer life expectancy, many fear they’ll outlive their nest eggs. 
Many older Boomers face a favorable employment outlook because they have many years of experience, and they’re attractive to employers who realize that they won’t have to provide health insurance coverage to Medicare-eligible workers, according to Sandra Timmerman, Ed.D., director of the MetLife Mature Market Institute.
This transition to a new model of retirement will mean significant changes in the long-term care industry. Unless they become sick enough to require round-the-clock care, many boomers will opt for long-term living options that allow them to remain independent and continue working. Aging in place may become more popular as seniors opt for services that can provide care in the home.
Nursing homes are already becoming a place for the seriously ill and disabled, because assisted living communities tend to offer more flexibility to residents. Even assisted living facilities may need to change their marketing objectives to more broadly appeal to independent seniors. A focus on the ability for residents to set their own schedule, leave as they please, and participate in a variety of activities both inside and outside of the facility will be key to any long-term care facility’s success.
The up-and-coming senior population commands choices, and a life of continued work will ensure that seniors remain active, which will improve long-term health. Facilities that can accomodate the varied and changing needs of seniors will remain the most successful as we experience a long-term living revolution.
Read the Business Wire press release.
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Tags: Baby Boomers, long-term living, retirement
Posted in Aging, Assisted Living Marketing, Home Care Marketing, Nursing Home Marketing, Senior Housing Marketing | No Comments »
Friday, October 1st, 2010 by Angela Stringfellow
According to a recent report by the National Investment Centers for the Seniors Housing & Care Industry, assisted living occupancy rates rose slightly in the second quarter of 2010. While it’s only a modest increase, occupany reached 87.7% overall, and according to Michael Hargrave, vice president of the NIC Market Area Profiles (MAP) service, demand is growing at a rate of approximately 7,000 units annually. 
McKnight’s Long-Term Care News published an informative post on how providers can achieve greater success by matching demand to needs. To do this, healthcare providers should conduct an in-depth market analysis that includes a competitive analysis, overall industry trends and local market trends.
If you’re looking to expand your existing services or open a new facility, you should first consider the percentage of the local population comprised of seniors 65 and older. Beyond this, income levels of the senior population, payor sources, and general ability to pay are important considerations.
Demand is just one piece of the puzzle. Market supply also has a big impact on the success of healthcare providers. A saturated market, even if demand is high, means more competition, and this can drive both prices and occupancy rates down. Overall industry trends, such as the trend towards more flexible service offerings and a broader continuum of care (from independent living to skilled nursing and memory care, all from the same provider, for example), are important to consider when evaluating the competitive landscape.
Read the article from McKnight’s Long-Term Care News
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Tags: assisted living, McKnight's Long-Term Care News, supply and demand
Posted in Assisted Living Marketing, Home Care Marketing, Nursing Home Marketing, Senior Housing Marketing | No Comments »
Friday, September 24th, 2010 by Angela Stringfellow
On September 8, 2010, Google announced that it would be launching new search technology: Google Instant. Many searchers didn’t even notice, and if they did, their biggest concern was whether the constantly changing results as they type made their eyes go buggy. Assisted living providers who focus on building an online presence, however, wondered how this new search technology would impact their optimization efforts.
Expert opinions are strongly divided into three camps:
- Those who say Google Instant killed SEO
- Those who say Google Instant will improve SEO
- Those who believe it makes no difference
SEO is sometimes like trying to play a game without knowing the rules, or perhaps playing a video game with someone else who knows all the secret hacks but won’t share. As we know well, Google makes the r
ules, but they’re known for holding the cards close to the chest. For this reason, it may be difficult to tell the impact Instant will have on SEO for several months, when sufficient keyword data is available to be analyzed.
The biggest fear is that long-tail key phrases will become obsolete, as many searchers will put in only the first word in a phrase before seeing results relevant to what they intended to search for. Long-tail key phrases are generally easier to rank for and less expensive to bid on than popular general terms. Others believe, however, that when key phrases are suggested to searchers, they’ll be more inclined to use more specific terms, therefore increasing the number of long-tail keyword searches overall.
Before making drastic changes to your marketing plan or hopelessly abandoning your SEO plans altogether, we suggest waiting it out a few months to see how things play out. In the meantime, stick to your plan. You don’t want to throw another variable into the mix right now, because then you can’t be sure whether traffic and keyword changes are attributable to Google Instant or something else.
Image Copyright Spencer E. Holtaway on Flickr Creative Commons
Tags: Google Instant, search engine optimization
Posted in Assisted Living Marketing, Home Care Marketing, Nursing Home Marketing, Senior Housing Marketing | No Comments »
