Marketing is arguably the most crucial aspect of a senior living operator’s business plan. Pivot has helped communities that are half-full reach 100 percent occupancy by developing and implementing a monthly marketing program. But, like any core component of business development, marketing must be done strategically, consistently and align with your community’s core objective in order to be effective. If your community’s marketing efforts aren’t yielding results, there’s a good chance your tactics aren’t matching up with your strategy.
The truth of the matter is that we often confuse strategy for a company’s objective or the actions needed to reach that objective. Strategy is actually the bridge or middle step that connects a company’s ultimate goal — such as a fully-occupied senior living community — with specific marketing tactics to attract and nurture leads, including direct mail, blogging, social media and email marketing. Your marketing strategy should also include goals for each tactic you employ, as well as key performance indicators you will track to monitor its effectiveness.
Oftentimes, discrepancies between the marketing strategy you have in place and the marketing tactics that are actually being deployed (as well as how consistently they’re being deployed) comes down to lack of organization and not having the right tools in place. Below are some tips and tools you can use to help your team execute your marketing strategy in a way that’s organized, consistent and, most importantly, effective.
- Use a project management software such as Trello or Monday to organize your projects and streamline collaboration within your team.
- Create a monthly tracker that shows what you’ll do over the month and the timelines associated with each item — this might be an Excel spreadsheet. If possible, put this tracker on a cloud system so your whole team can see what’s coming up.
- Set aside time at the beginning of the month to plan for the upcoming month and reflect on the previous month. Compile metrics monthly and review them to see if your tactics are having enough of an impact.
Staying organized and consistent with messaging will maximize the impact of your marketing tactics while ensuring you’re staying aligned with your overall marketing strategy. If you’re looking for a strong team to help propel your marketing efforts forward, or would like to discuss the best strategy for your community, drop us a line.
