No “silver bullet” exists to solve occupancy challenges, according to one senior living marketing firm. But pulling together all of the key components can lead to operator success.
Love & Company hosted a webinar on Wednesday on the five keys to strong sales performance that are necessary to maximize sales and revenue:
- The right product
- A strong brand
- Consistently strong lead generation
- Strong sales practices
- Pricing that reflects value
With today’s overall senior living supply and demand dynamics, senior living communities should be sold out, Love & Company President and CEO Rob Love said.
“We’re in an environment where we have a dramatically increasing number of aging, income-qualified prospects,” he said. “Our supply has slowed significantly in the last few years to the point that demand should be outpacing growth and supply. That should be leading to increases in census for communities.
“But in many many cases, it’s not.”
Along with the growing number of older adults, the “bubble” of affluent older adults also is on the rise. Love said he has seen four-fold growth in the number of people aged 75 or more years in the highest income bracket from 2018 to 2033. That group, with incomes of more than $100,000, will increase to 18 million older adults by 2033, he said.
“That’s growth in the market that really can afford our life plan communities,” Love said.
Although some communities are maintaining high occupancy, occupancy in others has dropped over the past three years and is not recovering well, he said.
Using two case studies of life plan / continuing care retirement communities, Love & Company outlined what it takes to have a strong focus on marketing and sales performance to achieve strong results.
St. James Place, Baton Rouge, LA
St. James Place, a CCRC in Baton Rouge, had an image problem.
Following a COVID-19 pandemic drop in occupancy, the sales team’s primary barrier was the perception that the community was only for the “uber wealthy” and was priced out of reach for residents in the immediate area.
Prospective residents didn’t understand the community’s value equation, and the creative mix and media strategy were not delivering leads, according to Love & Company Account Strategy Director Liz Phlegar. To solve the issue, the marketing firm focused on sales, brand and lead generation.
Along with implementing a new customer relationship management system that created clearly defined goals for the sales process, the team expanded its targeted base to broaden the community’s appeal. A general interest speaker series showed the breadth of interests that residents shared, creating a “halo effect” that positioned the community as a “lively, interesting and dynamic community.”
To overcome misconceptions about the brand, a new brand strategy was adopted to reach an untapped market. The campaign evolved to highlight the vibrant lifestyles and diverse backgrounds of residents through testimonials, which Phlegar said connected with prospective residents on an emotional level.
“With clearly defined goals established and the sales princesses in place, they were able to really focus on building personal connections and building relationships with the prospects, and that is what makes sales successful,” said Genie Heer, Love & Company strategic sales adviser.
The result was a 162% increase in website traffic from 2022 to 2023 and a 143% increase in direct traffic. Lead sources also increased by 57% from 2021 to 2022 and were up 60% in 2023. That change led to a 400% increase in sales in 2021, a 130% increase in 2022 and a 200% increase in sales compared with 2020, he said.
Westminster Canterbury, Richmond, VA
Westminster Canterbury Richmond had a history of stable occupancy and a strong reputation as a market leader with top-of-market pricing and a long waitlist.
The Virginia CCRC was looking for growth opportunities in the local market, but it faced product challenges, including older and limited dining venues, limited fitness and wellness amenities, low inventory in the most popular two-bedroom residences, and occupancy challenges related to its smaller units.
The strategy to increase occupancy, according to Love & Company Senior Vice President of Strategic Sales Sara Montalto, focused on offering the right product, consistent lead generation, strong sales disciplines and pricing value.
The strategy began with the opening of a spiritual life center in the center of campus in 2020. Dining enhancements followed in 2022, along with expansion of fitness and wellness offerings. Construction of additional independent living residences began last summer.
The community also underwent a pricing evolution. The sales team shared that prospective residents were willing to pay more for “ideal” floor plans and unit sizes. Montalto said the sales team was brought in to provide input on the floor plan designs that prospects were seeking, and higher-end finishes and upgrades were included to support a higher price point. The strategy led to higher entrance fees and increased square footage.
The result was early success both in the priority deposit program for the expansion and in sales conversions. The community actually lost 18 depositors who wanted to move into the community right away rather than wait for the expansion. Overall, 55% of expansion sales were new leads who weren’t on the 1,000-plus member wait list, showing the importance of ongoing lead generation, Montalto said.
“That really shows we really shortened the sales cycle to take these people from learning about the project and sooner converting them to want to be part of Vibrancy! expansion,” Heer said. “Scarcity of inventory is now the driver in that success.”
The key takeaway, Love said, is that no one silver bullet exists to solve census challenges.
“It takes a strong integration of all the key components of marketing,” he said. “All these pieces really need to fit together well, including pricing.”
