General

Want honest feedback about your senior living community? One of the most valuable opportunities to gather it comes after a resident has moved out. Exit interviews with former residents and family members provide candid insight into what your organization is doing well and where there are opportunities to improve. While satisfaction surveys and online reviews

Like the commercial that asks the question “what is it worth?” and the response is “priceless”; so is the value of positive publicity. For senior living communities (independent, assisted living, memory care and continuing care communities) the value of the printed word in an article has a 70% greater retention rate than advertising which is

Our clients often ask us if their Facebook site is worthwhile as they don’t see a rapid increase in followers. To justify Facebook, you may want to consider research by the Pew Research Center on social networks and how the use of technology is related to social engagement. It’s interesting to learn that their research

In the senior housing industry, marketing teams should know their competitors as well as their own community. Unfortunately, researching the competition often falls by the wayside. We often hear comments such as “we don’t have any competitors”; “no one is like our community”; or “we simply don’t know”. More often than not, we’ll also hear,

Since many senior housing communities are called first for information, our telephone mystery shopping inevitably points out weaknesses that occur from a community’s first hello. Regardless of the time of day, we hear sing-song voices projecting an overall lack of interest in handling the incoming telephone call and untrained personnel trying to provide information. At

Recently, I have been talking to several sales directors and described some of the services our company provides. I was rebuffed and told using the services of The Ehlers Group would put them out of their jobs. It’s interesting to me that there is confusion in the differentiation between marketing and public relations from what

As competition grows among senior housing communities, it is very important that the brand image of a community is understood and used to build customer relationships which positively affect leasing and sales. In the acquisition of existing communities, it is vital to know how a community is perceived prior to purchase and in launching a

Having a senior living website is simply not enough. To ensure your online presence is engaging and ranked highly in search results, content and design has to be oriented around your “ideal” prospects’ needs and wants. Tip 1: Be sure you truly understand your potential customers Instead of “shooting from the hip”, Use demographic and psychographic

Many assisted living and continuing care communities rely on customer satisfaction surveys for feedback. While these certainly offer constructive information, their value can be supplemented with marketing research tools that have far wider implications and can often assist with senior housing marketing. A technique we are finding opens the door to a wealth of information

When families begin searching for a senior living community, the first impression often happens long before they walk through the front door. It may begin with a Google search, a community website, a referral source, a placement advisor or a simple phone call requesting information. That first interaction can shape how a prospective resident or