There is a significant challenge surrounding assisted living sales and marketing on account of the disconnect between operators and their site-level sales and marketing teams. This is causing delays and confusion for prospective buyers, leading to lost sales and decreased referral traffic.
Research shows that, on average, 47% of sales calls to long-term care communities go unanswered. And when they finally reach a member of the assisted living sales team, is shown that 38% of sales staff fail to express any empathy or concern for the senior’s care needs. Even worse, only 56% of long-term care sales directors invited prospects for a facility tour, and 49% of prospects ended the call with a negative impression of the senior living community.
Another of the biggest challenges facing assisted living sales teams is lead generation. According to a survey by McKnights, about 50% of respondents noted that lead generation was their biggest challenge, closely followed by the utilization of social media in the sales and marketing process.
The good news is that there are ways for assisted living providers to turn their sales and marketing around. In this blog, we will discuss some of the strategies an assisted living sales team can use to increase their sales leads.
But first, let’s address the role of ads in social media marketing.
Tips for Creating Assisted Living Ads
Social media has become an increasingly valuable way for assisted living facilities to connect with potential residents and their families. And a key component of social media marketing is advertising, which greatly helps organizations reach their target audience and generate leads.
Assisted living ads on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn allow facilities to target specific demographics, such as seniors and their adult children, based on factors like age, location, and interests. That way they find the people most interested in their services, increasing the likelihood of generating leads and closing assisted living sales.
Sales and marketing teams in assisted living facilities looking to make the most of ads can benefit from some helpful tips:
- Plan your ads: An assisted living facility sales team should determine their goals, create an audience persona of their target market, and decide on the theme of their ads. An example of a goal would be driving more traffic to their website or generating more leads. As for an audience persona, this could include information on age range, interests, geographic location, and other demographic data. Also, the sales and marketing team should decide on the theme of their assisted living ads. For instance, they could focus on the amenities they offer, such as yoga classes, a swimming pool, vast outdoor spaces, etc.
- Write your ads well: The message should be clear, concise, and error-free. Grammar and punctuation errors can lead to confusion among readers, which can result in prospects not understanding the message of the ad or taking action. Furthermore, errors in assisted living ads can make a facility appear unprofessional and could lead to a negative impression of the assisted living facility.
- Carefully design your ad: The right visuals catch the target audience’s attention and create an emotional connection. Always consider the psychology of color, typeface, and images, but don’t deviate from your brand identity. For instance, using bright or contrasting colors may draw attention to the assisted living ad, while the use of a large font size makes it easier for readers to view the ad text. Also, images should be carefully chosen to evoke emotion from viewers, as opposed to depicting stereotypical views of older adults that do not represent seniors.
- Place your ad where your audience is: Choosing the right platform and targeting the right people can help assisted living facilities to increase their sales leads. According to Inertia, Facebook is best for senior living community ads, as it is the fastest-growing of all platforms for the demographic of seniors (sixty-five and above). With Facebook Ads Manager, assisted living facilities can target their ads to users based on age, location, interests, and other demographic data. Google Ads is also another option that assisted living sales teams should consider.
By following these tips, teams can create successful and effective assisted living ads that will help them attract the right audience. Next are ten proven strategies for increasing assisted living sales.
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10 Proven Senior Living Marketing and Sales Tactics
In today’s digital world, assisted living facilities must employ effective strategies to market and sell their services successfully. With the right senior living marketing tactics, assisted living sales teams can increase their leads and drive more revenue to their business.
Below are some tips which, if included in senior living sales training for an assisted living sales team, will result in increased sales for the said facility.
- Optimize the UX of your facility’s website: Great User Experience (UX) is essential for converting leads into residents and is achieved by ensuring the website is easy to navigate, has clear calls to action, and provides all the information a prospect needs to make a decision. Additionally, having high-quality images and videos of the facility on the website gives prospects a realistic idea of what the community is like.
- Track the ROI of your marketing efforts: The Return on Investment (ROI) of your marketing efforts is crucial for understanding what is working and what is not, especially when it comes to assisted living ads. This can be done using tools like Google Analytics to track website traffic, lead generation, and conversion rates. By monitoring these metrics, you can determine which marketing tactics drive the most results and adjust your strategy accordingly.
- Engage in social listening concerning your community: Social listening is staying informed about what people are saying about your facility and the industry in general. You can do this by setting up Google Alerts for your nursing home name, monitoring social media platforms, and participating in online forums and discussion groups related to senior living.
- Let current residents act as your facility’s brand ambassadors: Encourage residents to share their experiences at your facility with friends and family, and provide them with materials, such as brochures and videos to share. Also, you can ask them to participate in the creation of videos that showcase them going about their day in your facility.
- SEO your website: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is optimizing your website to rank higher in search engine results. This can be done by including keywords relevant to your facility and the services you offer, creating high-quality content, and building backlinks to your website. Because this is a specialized skill, some facilities may instead opt to employ external SEO consultants to do this for them.
- Formally train your sales team: Training your assisted living sales team is essential in ensuring they have the skills and knowledge needed to engage with prospects effectively. This can include training on topics such as effective communication, sales techniques, and understanding the needs of older adults and older children, who are sometimes the key decision-makers.
- Engage in openness and transparency with prospects: Trust and credibility are essential in the long-term care industry. Thus, being open and transparent is key to creating trust in your prospects. Always be honest about the services you offer, associated costs, and any limitations or restrictions that may apply.
- Pay attention to the needs of prospects: Personalization is something that an increasing number of assisted living residents are looking for. This can only be achieved by carefully listening to the needs of your prospects. Ask them questions to understand their unique needs, and provide them with tailored information and resources.
- Employ the use of a senior living CRM to track all leads: One of the best elder care software programs to use in sales is a senior living CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system, which allows the user to effectively track all leads, manage communication, and monitor the progress of each lead in the sales process.
- Ask for the sale: Your assisted living sales team needs to seal the deal by asking for a commitment from their prospects. Asking for a sale means having a clear call to action on the facility’s website and providing an easy and convenient way for the prospect to take the next step, such as scheduling a tour.
By employing these tactics, an assisted living facility leader can expect a gradual increase in the number of leads and, ultimately, an increase in census numbers in their facilities.
Tips for Assisted Living Sales Teams
Before concluding, it is worth mentioning some tips for the assisted living sales teams and their interactions with prospects. Unlike the above tactics that dealt with the organization and its resources, these are more personal and deal with sales personnel and how they conduct themselves when trying to close a lead.
Assisted living sales teams should always:
- Avoid being pushy or preachy
- Focus on the individual and not demographic assumptions
- Show what the assisted living facility has to offer (amenities and features), and not just tell people about it
- Entertain the audience and avoid being too serious
Following these tips ensures that a senior living sales team makes the most out of each interaction with prospects, increasing the chances of making the sale.
For more on recent trends in long-term care, read our blog and subscribe to the LTC Heroes podcast.
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