The LIFT l January 2021

JANUARY 2021 //

SENIOR LIFESTYLE IS HIGHEST RANKED IN CUSTOMER SATISFACTION with Assisted Living/ Memory Care Communities Tied in 2020. For J.D. Power 2020 award information, visit jdpower.com/awards

WE RISE AND SUCCEED TOGETHER.

In this edition – Presentations that enhance virtual events

Stories are being told

Direct mail success

Hear the people’s voices

The question of integrity

Social media for December 2020

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Presentations That Enhance Virtual Events

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Elizabeth Dodd, MA, Sales Specialist with Senior Lifestyle You’ve planned what you want to do for the next quarter’s event schedule at your community, arranged for speakers and ordered your collateral – but now what?

Executing successful events is more than having a good speaker or assembling a great group for your next virtual happy hour. Last month’s edition of The LIFT mentioned 9 Tips for Holding a Successful Event. Let’s dive a little deeper to explore what that looks like. It all comes back to planning.

Make a PowerPoint. I like to have my screen shared for when attendees log into my events and have something interesting to look at.

Most of my presenters have presentations of their own that they will speak to, but I make a PowerPoint to kick off the meeting. As host of the event, you will welcome individuals as they come in, but rather than staring at you, they will have something to look at.

Post your agenda. The first slide on the PowerPoints I make for events usually has a digital image of the flyer along with my contact information. When I kick off the event, I’ll give an agenda for what we’ll be doing. It looks like this: “Welcome to our Essentials of Event Planning event with Attorney Vince Krekeler! I’m so glad you could join us. This is part of our 2021 speaker series aimed at providing you great educational initiatives that can help you navigate the sometimes-challenging road of senior living and associated topics.

We’ll quickly introduce our team here in attendance and then look at the upcoming events in our speaker series before I’ll turn it over to our speaker.”

Introduce your team. Sales is a team sport, and so are events. It’s important to have your Executive Director on, along with other key members. Are you doing some sort of health chat? Your Health & Wellness Director is a great person to have at the virtual event.

“I’d like to introduce our Health & Wellness Director, Sally. Sally oversees our wonderful care staff here at our community, manages our Medication Management Program for

our residents and is a fantastic nurse!”

While introducing your team, you can share interesting selling points about your community. We all have those great public speakers in our midst. Rely on them and ask your teammates to say a few words.

Highlight your community. You’ve got a captive audience that’s focused on you before you turn over the stage to your speaker. Make the most of it! “We are so thankful to be able to provide this opportunity to hear from our speaker today, along with being part of your journey as you explore senior living options…”

Then you jump into what’s so wonderful about your community. Be brief, but colorful.

This may be someone’s first exposure to your community. What makes your community the leader and expert provider of senior living in your marketplace? Have a slide with beautiful pictures of your community.

Invite to upcoming events. The next slide details what’s in your event pipeline. If they attend one event, there’s a good chance they will attend another. Make sure you run through what will be happening in the next month or so. If you have related topic matters, like a series on dementia education, make sure to highlight that and let them know how they can RSVP. Suggest next steps. You’re just about to turn things over to your speaker, but before doing so, let them know if you’re open for tours (if applicable) and they’re welcome to come in and see that gorgeous first floor onebedroom apartment overlooking your garden.

“In addition to our upcoming virtual events, we are also open for tours. I’d love for you to come by!”

Making a PowerPoint presentation makes your virtual event more visually stunning and enables a professional way for event attendees to “see” what is going on at your community, what makes you special, and why they should move their loved ones to your community – or if it’s a referral partner event, why they should refer to you!

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Direct Mail Success These events worked!

Driven by simple, informative direct mail, these events delivered results for three Senior Lifestyle communities.

The Carlisle Palm Beach Repositioning Campaign with Holiday Open House

HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE

at The Carlisle Thursday, December 17 4 – 6 p.m.

In December, efforts to strengthen The Carlisle’s market position came to fruition with a postcard and invitation to a Holiday Open House. The community reports a total of 26 calls.

We’re in the holiday spirit at The Carlisle Palm Beach! Join us for a festive afternoon of music, drinks and food. It’s a wonderful time to meet our team and take a tour of our decorated community.

Come see our exceptional hospitality for yourself. We provide: • Chef-prepared, nutritionally balanced, restaurant-style dining • Housekeeping, home maintenance and transportation • Robust calendar of social and educational programs

Independent Living | Assisted Living | Memory Care | AL 9713

During our Open House, we will be following all safe social distancing practices and do request that all attendees wear a mask.

We look forward to seeing you there! Kindly RSVP by calling 561-660-9137.

Garden Estates of Tyler “Try Our Menu”

Mail recipients responding to the postcard received a copy of the chef’s menu. They placed their order and picked up a free lunch curbside – or had it delivered. The community reports 32 RSVPs.

Try Our Menu

Compliments of the Chef THURSDAY, JANUARY 21 l 11 A.M. 2055 W. GRANDE BOULEVARD l TYLER, TX 75703 We’ve been thinking about how we can make life a little easier right now for local seniors – so we’re treating you to lunch! With many options to choose from, our grab-and-go menu is sure to have something to delight your tastebuds and warm your heart this winter. Simply reach out to us to get a copy of the menu – then place your order by January 18. We’ll include information about our community.

We’ll have it available for you to pick up curbside or even deliver it right to your door.

Relax and take a day off from cooking. Kindly RSVP by January 18 to Hannah Alexander by calling 903-747-1210 to request a copy of the menu and place your order.

Greatwood at Sugar Land “The Benefits of Stretching”

It’s no stretch to say this online event succeeded on simplicity and usefulness.

Responding to the mailed postcard with 5 phone calls and 4 email RSVPs, seniors, older adult children and referring professionals got their logon information for the late-afternoon session where they could learn healthy stretching practices.

The community reports they also invited residents to watch via big screen, and the event became highly interactive, with a lively Q&A. Plus, the community now has promising connections with several industry professionals to pursue.

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The Benefits of Stretching A Virtual Event with Ryan Terry THURSDAY, JANUARY 21 l 4:30 P.M. Staying active is even more important when you’re staying home – but it’s also important that you take every precaution to do it safely! Join us for a stretching workshop, where we’ll show you the proper ways to warm up and prevent injury – while increasing your balance, flexibility and energy levels.

Get a peek into the Greatwood lifestyle as you get ready for the new year.

SENIOR LIFESTYLE IS HIGHEST RANKED IN CUSTOMER SATISFACTION with Assisted Living/ Memory Care Communities Tied in 2020. For J.D. Power 2020 award information, visit jdpower.com/awards

Kindly RSVP to Lisa before January 19 by calling 281-612-1474 and we’ll send you a personal meeting invite and logon instructions.

Independent Living l Assisted Living | 132339 WWW.SENIORLIFESTYLE.COM

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You Can Win with Direct Mail Direct mail continues to generate the highest number of calls – an average of 3.8 per drop in December and 5.6 for 2020.

In 2020, after the COVID-19 pandemic took root, these themes performed well, based on the average number of calls per placement or drop: Try Our New Menu Compliments of the Chef Thursday, November 12

Dine and Dash Island Shores Dropped October 29 29 calls received

We’ve been thinking about how we can make life a little easier right now for local seniors – so we’re treating you to a meal. With our new all-day, all-options menu, residents can have the meal they want when they want – and for one great day, so can you!

Enjoy a delicious meal on us! Guarantee your space today by calling 920-888-9046.

Independent Living | Assisted Living | AL 14664 WWW.SENIORLIFESTYLE.COM

The Easiest Move You’ll Ever Make An Online Webinar | Presented by Shlomo Arel, Senior Real Estate Specialist

Wednesday, October 21 | 1 p.m.

Thinking of making the change to senior living?

Join Shlomo Arel, Senior Real Estate Specialist, for a presentation on how his organization can take the stress off your shoulders and do all the heavy lifting – while you sit back, relax and stay in charge.

We’ll go over all the details to consider when you’re making a move and how we create – and execute – just the right plan for you.

The Easiest Move The Breakers at Edgewater Beach Dropped October 13 28 calls received

Start simplifying your life. Kindly RSVP by calling 773-830-3345, and we’ll send you a Zoom invite and instructions.

Independent Living WWW.SENIORLIFESTYLE.COM

YOU’RE INVITED TO AN ONLINE PRESENTATION ON …

BACK TO BALANCE Wednesday, November 18 • 12:30 p.m.

Fall Prevention The Sheridan at Cooper City Dropped November 18 23 calls received

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Does your data have as much integrity as you?

Track it: ROI matters.

When people respond to direct mail, they’re interested in what you’ve got to offer. Track them! Interested people turn into leads. Track them! Leads convert to sales – and if you’ve been tracking, you’ll see their conversion coming.

You should hear from your Account Manager what creative is running, and if you don’t know, please reach out to get those source codes. You need to know how callers got your number – ask them “How did you get our number today?” when they call – if you’re going to get to the root of the lead source. And don’t forget to monitor your call-tracking platform so you never miss lead calls.

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We’ve said it before right here in the LIFT: By faithfully entering all data points into Yardi, you’ll collect the information you need for moving the prospect through the sales funnel, and for tracking and measuring. You’ll know which lead generation tactics are most effective, which leads are hottest, and how successful your marketing is against your investment.

You’ve got integrity. Does your data reflect it?

The Stories Are Being Told Q1’s story survey is with you now

Did you get the email with the story survey?

It’s time now to collect stories from residents.

We’re eager to build a collection of narratives that capture residents’ uniqueness – so we can share the ongoing, lustrous tale of life shared in Senior Lifestyle communities.

And that’s where you come in. By collecting stories from residents who have something to say, you help us further refine our position as a senior living provider for some of the most interesting people around.

Need the survey tool? You can download a copy here.

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Hear the people’s voices.

Gather their opinions with Review Tracker

by John Accrocco, Marketing Coordinator We got fantastic online reviews published for Addington Place of Meyerland – thanks to a collaborative team effort. Wendy Saurette, their director of sales and marketing, told me how great it is “to finally see positive feedback on Google, Facebook and Caring.com!”

So how does this work? And can you get fantastic online reviews for your community?

Review Tracker is the automated online review gathering platform. We use it to communicate with a list the community provides – typically, an assortment of happy residents and family members. The personalized emailed request for reviews will automatically route responses to Google and Facebook. A 14-day reminder email is also included, for those who don’t respond at first.

So you provide the list of 1 to as many as 50, and Review Tracker sends the email, routes the responses to review sites for posting, and then generates weekly review reports for your community. And remember, by collecting plenty of positive reviews, you’ll ensure your community is sending out its positive vibe.

If you’re not already using Review Tracker, get in touch with me so we can get you started. Email jaccrocco@seniorlifestyle.com.

Let’s get those reviews out there!

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Social Media.

A look back at December 2020.

OVERALL ENGAGEMENT RATE:

10.9% The engagement rate increased by 20% over November 2020. With posts about holiday-related activities, an increase in engagement was expected – and great news!

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communities had equal or higher engagement rates on their individual pages – which is down from 56 communities in November.

These communities had an average of 4-13 posts per week, about twice per day to about once every other day for a consistent presence.

All communities should set and maintain this cadence. To do so, you’ll need to submit posts 3-4 times per week. With your submissions and Grapevine’s created content, you’ll develop a consistent Facebook presence.

WORTH NOTING: Of the communities with engagement rates lower than the overall rate, 66 submitted posts to Grapevine at a rate of 1 per week or fewer.

ALSO WORTH NOTING: Two communities

posted an average of 19 times per week, which works out to roughly 3 times daily. Posting that often may overload readers’ willingness to engage, so it’s generally not recommended.

HARBOUR SENIOR LIVING OF SOUTH HILLS

had an engagement rate of 24.1%. It posted 23 times in December, or about 6 times weekly. The community usually includes 5-10 photos with their submission to Grapevine.

CARRIAGE COURT OF MEMPHIS featured Christmas

tree decorating in a post that scored a 70.6% engagement rate. The post offered 3 photos of residents decorating the tree.

EVERGREEN offered a post

of residents at happy hour.

There were 106 comments.

Residents were photographed individually – preferred for these social-distancing days – holding signs with fun happy hour sayings.

Overall, published posts were up 26.5% compared to November. Clearly, what was posted resonated with audiences.

more to like.

Overall Facebook page likes rose 1.3% over November.

Page likes appear to be holding steady – a good sign.

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