Prospective senior living residents have certain expectations when it comes to quality of life and communications, meaning that providers need to up their customer service game to keep their residents, according to one marketing expert.
During the first and second quarters, Bild & Co. surveyed more than 118 family members and 25 residents on their experience 90 days after moving into a senior living community. The survey results emphasized the importance of continued customer service, which can help providers set themselves apart from the competition.
Among respondents, 71% of family members and 82% of residents rated their overall move-in experience between 8 and 10 on a 10-point scale, with 10 being the best. For those who rated the experience a 7 or below, the survey revealed that 65% of participants said that customer service was the biggest issue.
“We got accustomed to serving the Great Depression era. Their standards were different. They were a hardier bunch,” Bild CEO Jennifer Saxman told McKnight’s Senior Living. “The boomers are used to a better quality of life from an early age. They expect communications to be better. They expect a level of customer service that will only continue to grow.”
Part of the challenge, Saxman said, is that community owners and operators think they have time to prepare for the wave of baby boomers that will age into the senior living sector — boomers currently are aged 59 to 78 years, and if they move to a senior living community, most people do so between the ages of 75 and 84, according to the American Seniors Housing Association’s Where You Live Matters consumer site. But Saxman said this group already is involved in community searches for their parents, and they want a process that involves ease of buying and a high level of customer service.
The best way to ensure a high level of customer service, she said, is to have consistent staffing. A few of the most consistent complaints that residents submitted via the survey were about providing better customer service to families, staff members being more responsive and housekeeping/laundry services needing to be improved.
“We spend so much money on advertising,” Saxman said. “Keep consistent staff, keep them happy. If you invest your money in your people, it can go such a long way.”
Carrying the sales process forward
The first 30, 60 and 90 days are critical to a new resident’s happiness, which creates an urgency for providers to set up a solid move-in process, according to Bild. Preparing residents and their families for bumps during the transition period is an important starting point.
“It starts with the sales process,” Saxman said. “It’s not going to be an overnight success.”
During the sales process, she said, teams are eager to share all of the benefits that come with moving into a senior living community. But providers can further their own credibility by also giving prospects information on how to achieve their goals and overcome potential stumbling blocks, Saxman said. She likened the first 90 days to a dating period, when staff members learn more about the new resident’s likes and dislikes.
“People do better when they know what’s expected of them or potentially what could happen or transpire,” she said. “A lot of times, that experience they got in sales or in the sales process completely stops the second they move in. If that’s what you’ve got going on in your community, that’s a recipe for disaster, and that’s why you’re going to see a lot of quick move-outs.”
Quick move-outs occur because communities don’t have a solid process to ensure that the sales process is still going on after the move-in, Saxman said.
“The biggest thing to remember is, this is a huge change for a lot of people. It’s human nature that we don’t do that well with change,” Saxman said. “The biggest thing is, don’t let them move in and think ‘We got them.’”
Providers must keep making new residents feel valued, important and special, Saxman advised. She suggested providing residents and family members with an FAQ document or setting up a meet-and-greet to gather feedback from them. Tapping into the experiences of new and current residents through surveys also allows providers to continually pivot and improve their processes, Saxman said.
