LydiaMiller
Marketing Specialist & Sales Trainer
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Aug 5, 2010, 10:43 AM
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By Lydia R. Miller, B.Sc., CHSP, BC PIDP
One of the most important life-altering decisions a person has to make is ‘where to live once the family is gone’. Seniors planning for retirement will probably want to delay the process. This will not be the easiest thing to do as there are so many factors to consider and unanswered questions such as:
. When will I be old enough for a ‘retirement home’?
. How long will I maintain my good health?
. When do I sell my house? And how long will that take?
. What do I do with all my furniture and belongings?
. How will I keep active?
. Where will I entertain my family and friends?
. When should I contact a retirement community?
. How will I find the right one for me?
. Will I be able to afford it?
How will these potential new residents search you out? Can you help them answer all of their questions? What will you ask them when they contact you for information? Marketing to an ever-aging population can be daunting especially if you’ve never had to ‘sell’ before. In addition to understanding the daily operations of the facility, your managers and marketing teams will need to possess basic sales skills that will enable them to tour with confidence and fill your vacancies quicker.
As more and more retirement communities are built, competition increases for the current supply of accommodations making it more difficult to maintain a full occupancy level. Referrals are your best source of new residents. However, whether you’re offering total Independent Living, Private Pay Assisted Living or Private Pay Licensed Care, your marketing and management teams must be pro-active in finding new residents.
A well-designed marketing plan should first target the specific type of seniors that will be most suited to your facility and level of services and amenities. In addition to any broadcast advertising and print ads in market/age-specific journals and magazines, the plan should also include a budget for a well-designed maintained website that is supported by online marketing strategies such as Search Engine Optimization to ensure high placement and frequent viewers. No doubt most seniors will have a younger family member assisting them in their search and possibly in the final decision. And rest assured that most if not all of them will be technology savvy!
Lydia Miller is a Certified Hospitality Sales Professional with over twenty-five years of sales and marketing experience accumulated from within the finance, performing arts and hospitality industries.
The Miller Touch specializes in delivering customized sales workshops and presentations for the accommodation industry with a focus on retirement communities and hotel properties. Ms. Miller is a successful consultant assisting retirement communities, hotel operators, and other industry associations improve profitability, sales productivity and client/member relations. She is a founding professor with eHotelschool.com having written advanced online courses in international sales and marketing and in event planning and conference management.
For more information: The Miller Touch Training Group Inc.
Lydia@millertouch.com
Direct Tel: 604.984.7445
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(This post was edited by LydiaMiller on Aug 5, 2010, 12:38 PM)
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